A Season's Worth Of Frustrations Vented
November 8, 2009 By Denis Vass of Graham High School
3 months ago, Graham's season expectations were looking good. Then, the injury bug hit. Not just one player, but another, then another, then another... It became a sesaon of frustration for the Red Devils. Last night was no exception. Senior quarterback Blake Throneburg was on the sidelines with his arm in a sling. Junior kicker Kasey Withers was on crutches. Senior running back Mijamin King was knocked out with an injury in the 4th quarter.
Despite these distractions, the season of frustration and injuries ended Friday night at J.K. Malone Stadium, culminating in a victory over the visiting Buccaneers of Bartlett Yancey 37-18.
When asked what the game meant, Graham's coach Mike McCauley replied, "It means the world. It starts off next year. It puts a happy end to an unbelievable year of frustration and injuries. To have this means the world." Indeed, inside the coaches room after the game, the hugging and back-slapping reflected the feelings involved in the victory.
Senior quarterback Blake Throneburg, regulated to sideline duties due to his injury sustained last week, duplicated McCauley's thoughts. "It means a lot. With everybody getting hurt, you play like there's no tomorrow."
And play like there's no tomorrow they did. It took 3 quarters before Graham put the pedal to the metal and exploded for 23 points in the 4th quarter. Before then, it was a game of defense and mistakes and dropped passes for Graham. Graham was playing on emotion and adrelanine due to Senior Night, and it took some time for the Red Devils to get revved up.
Senior Mijamin King got Graham started on their first drive, plowing into the endzone for a 6 yard run with 8:24 left in the opening stanza. Edwin Martinez kicked the PAT, and Graham had their first lead of the game, of which they never relinquished.
Bartlett Yancey hung in there, scoring in the 2nd quarter on a 13 yard run by Brandon Mcgee with 4:02 left before half. The 2 point PAT attempt was snuffed, and the Red Devils clung to a 7-6 lead at the half.
Graham got three receiving touchdowns in the 2nd half, two to Marquise Richmond and one to Phillip Rogers, from quarterback Justin Cousin.
Richmond started the 2nd half scoring high-jumping for a 14 yard lob with 2:53 remaining in the 3rd quarter to put the Red Devils up 14-6 when Edwin Martinez booted his 2nd PAT.
Bartlett Yancey made things interesting, when Daniel Lambert picked up a blocked punt on Graham's punter Bradley Strickland and ran 21 yards for the Buccaneer's 2nd touchdown with 11:04 showing on the clock in the 4th quarter. Once again, the 2-point PAT was snuffed. The Red Devils clung to a narrow 14-12 lead.
Then the Red Devils turned on the jets. Cousin hooked up with Phillip Rogers on a 44 yard strike with 7:07 remaining in the game. A little over a minute later, following an intercaption from Don Milan, his first of 2 on the night, Cousin struck again as he hit Marquise Richmond on a 30 yard strike down the middle of the field. Graham led 27-12 with 5:57 left in the game.
Milan grabbed his 2nd interception with 4:41 remaining. As he was returning, the ball slipped out of his hands, and Bradley Taylor scooped up the fumble for the Buccaneers and ran 18 yards to the endzone for Bartlett Yancey's last score. For the 3rd time, the 2-point PAT was busted up. Graham led 27-18 at that point.
Graham got one more drive, marching down to the 1 yard line, before a missed assignment put the ball back on the 15. Edwin Martinez came in and booted a 25 yard field goal, to push Graham's lead up 30-18 with 42.7 seconds left.
With the clock against them, the Buccaneers were forced to throw. The Red Devil's defenders pinned their ears back and waited. Tim Tate was the beneficiary, snagging an interception with 28.1 seconds remaining and returning it 34 yards for the final score for the Red Devils.
As was the case for most of the year, Graham received a steady performance from it's defense. "With a few exceptions, absolutely solid," Mccauley said. "With the exception of two games, we've been in every game and it started with the defense. They're aggressive, fiery."
If there was any indication just how fiery the defense was, the 2nd half was more then enough to provide evidence. After surrendering 127 yards rushing the 1st half, the Red Devils turned up the heat the 2nd half. Bartlett Yancey was steamrolled for 10 tackles for loss yardage the 2nd half. 3 were sacks. The Buccaneers had -27 yards rushing the 3rd quarter, and 0 the 4th. For the game, the Red Devils amassed 10 tackles for loss, and 5 sacks. They had 3 fumble recoveries, 3 interceptions, and a blocked punt by Bradley Strickland. They limited the Buccaneers to 36 yards passing, allowing only 5 completions on 16 attempts.
Justin Cousin finished the game passing for 194 yards on 15 of 26 attempts. Marquise Richmond finished his career with a stellar receiving night, grabbing 9 passes for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns. Phillip Rogers, who coach McCauley said "made unbelievable plays," caught 3 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown.
With the win the Red Devils finished 5th in an ultra-competitive Mid-State 2-A league with a 3-8 overall record and 1-5 league record. Graham missed making the state 2-A playoffs for the first time in 5 years. The Buccaneers landed in the cellar spot, ending the year with 8 straight losses on the way to a 2-8, 0-6 record.
For the season, Justin Cousin led the Red Devils in passing, hitting 71 of 163 attempts for 851 yards and 7 touchdowns. Blake Throneburg was right behind with 49 of 118 for 663 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Mijamin King led Graham in rushing with 90 carries for 284 yards. Marquise Richmond wrapped up his careed grabbing 41 passes for 588 yards (14.3 average) and 4 touchdowns.
On defense, Keith Thompson was the leader with 85 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and 1 fumble recovery. Tim Tate followed with 72 tackles, 8 for loss, 2 sacks, and 2 interceptions. 3rd was Don Milan, who had 55 tackles, 4 for loss, 2 fumble recoveries, 2 interceptions, 6 passes broken up, and 2 kicks blocked.
For a complete list of individual season statistics, see the relevant page of accumulated season stats.
My pre-game prediction score only missed by 7 points! |
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