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Saints Come Up Short against Newton
Photos by: Jennifer Hall – http://photosbyjenny.zenfolio.com/
By: Melissa Grace
There was much anticipation going into Friday night’s game between the Saints and the Newton Academy Generals. Both teams were undefeated in the district and either way a good team was going to leave upset. Prior to the game, PCS acknowledged its’ senior football players, cheerleaders and drill team members. This year’s senior players are Jade Lee, Evan Waites, Michael Goddard, Lendon Ellis, John Robert Lee and Ned Sanders. Following the pregame activities, the Generals won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. Josh Daley kicked off to the 18 yard line where the Generals scooped the ball up and met Kolbe Verdun and Eric Powell at the 25 yard line. A minimal gain on 1st down was turned into a loss and fumble on 2nd down that was ruled to be recovered by Newton on the 25. Following an 8 yard loss by Kash Miller on 3rd down, the Generals elected to punt. The punt was blocked by the Saints defensive line and recovered by Austin Daughdrill in the end zone for a Saints touchdown. The PAT was added by Daley giving Prentiss an early 7-0 lead. Daley’s following kickoff was a line drive for 30 yards that was returned 2 yards as Powell and Steven Colson made the tackle. Back to back plays for no gain led to a 3rd and long pass attempt that was broken up by Blake Greenlee forcing another punt attempt by the Generals. Newton’s punt took a good roll netting 48 yards with no return giving PCS the ball on the Saint 20 yard line. Prentiss was only able to gain 3 yards and elected to punt back to Newton on 4th down. Greenlee’s 40 yard punt was covered by Powell and Verdun at the Newton 37 yard line. PCS lined up off sides on 1st down giving the Generals a short 2nd and 5. NCA gained yardage to the PCS 25 yard line, but fell short on a 4th down attempt. The Saints worked their way just into General territory, but could not convert and chose to punt. Greenlee’s 45 yard punt changed the field and put the Generals down at the 3 yard line. A quick three and out led to another General punt and good field position for Prentiss as they started their next drive on the General 44 yard line. The Saints hit the ground running on this series, but were hit with a holding penalty backing the ball up to the Saint 41 yard line. Facing 2nd and long the Saints went to the air, but Greenlee’s pass was intercepted on the 43 yard line of NCA. The Generals only gained 3 yards on the possession and elected to punt back to the Saints on 4th down. The Newton punt only managed 11 yards giving Prentiss the ball just shy of midfield. Good runs by Austin Daughdrill and Michael Goddard were countered by big stops by the Generals against Powell and incomplete passes broken up by the General secondary. Prentiss tried to convert on 4th and 11 from the 23 yard line, but were unsuccessful giving Newton control of the ball. The Generals worked their way into Saints territory by converting a fake punt on 4th down. However, the Saints came up with a stop as time expired on the half maintaining their 7-0 lead.
As was expected, the Generals opened the 2nd half with a squib kick that was taken by Daughdrill at the 33 yard line and returned to the 45. Three plays later, Greenlee hit Daughdrill on a screen pass that went the distance thanks to determined running and down field blocking. Daughdrill’s touchdown totaled 58 yards and put Prentiss up 13-0. Daley’s PAT was off to the right keeping the score as it was. Daley’s kickoff flew 44 yards and was returned to the 25 yard line as Powell and Colson made the tackle. NCA came out running and put together an 11 play drive that ended in a 3 yard touchdown. The PAT was good cutting the lead to 13-7 with 4:55 to play in the 3rd quarter. As is customary, the Generals followed the score with an onside kick that was mishandled by Prentiss and recovered by Newton at midfield. However, their drive lost 5 yards and NCA chose to punt back to PCS. A 35 yard punt was downed at the Prentiss 20 yard line. The Saints could not get anything going offensively on the drive and elected to punt back to the Generals. Greenlee’s 50 yard punt was returned to the Newton 40 yard line before Miller and Jesse Hall made the tackle for a 10 yard return. A loss on 1st down and a hold on 2nd down backed the Generals up to their own 19 yard line. Consecutive passes moved the ball back to the original line of scrimmage, but on 4th and 10 Newton chose to punt again. A good 53 yard punt was downed on the Prentiss 7 yard line. The Saints worked their way up to the 37 yard line, but could go no further and had to punt the ball back to the Generals. Greenlee’s punt was downed on the 14 yard line, but a personal foul moved the ball out to the 29 yard line for the Generals. Short gains and holding penalties kept the General offense in check until they completed a 70 yard touchdown that tied the game. The PAT was added and with 4:52 to play in the game, the Saints found themselves down 14-13. The onside kick was taken by Verdun at the Saint 48 yard line giving Prentiss a good starting point. Following an incomplete pass on 1st down, the Saints picked up a personal foul that moved the ball back to the PCS 33 yard line. Two plays later, Greenlee was intercepted again by the Generals. The ball was returned 38 yards to the PCS 20 yard line. The Generals lost yardage on the possession and a failed 4th down attempt gave Prentiss the ball back on the 19 yard line with only 2:48 to play in the game. Prentiss worked up to the 25, but an incompletion on 4th down turned the ball over to Newton. The Generals kneeled out the clock handing Prentiss its first loss since November of 2014. Prentiss fell to 8-1 on the year as they head into the final regular season game against conference opponent Heidelberg Academy. With an already impressive power point average, the Saints look to improve their slot in the playoff bracket with a win this week.
OFFIENSIVE STATS:
BLAKE GREENLEE 5/13 PASSING 86 YDS 1 TD 2 INT; 4 RUSHES
ERIC POWELL 5 RUSHES -6 YDS; 1 REC -7 YDS
BLAISE HOLDER 1 RUSH -1 YD
MICHAEL GODDARD 3 REC 13 YDS; 3 REC 28 YDS
AUSTIN DAUGHDRILL 12 RUSHES 52 YDS; 1 REC 58 YD 1 TD
JOSH DALEY 1 REC 7 YD
DEFENSIVE STATS:
ERIC POWELL 3T 7A NED SANDERS 2T 3A 1 QBK SACK
JESSE HALL 1A
BLAKE GREENLEE 3T 1A
STEVEN COLSON 2A
BLAISE HOLDER 2T 4A
MICHAEL GODDARD 2T 2A
AUSTIN DAUGHDRILL 2T 2A, 1 FUM REC 1 TD
JOSH DALEY 3T
KASH MILLER 4T 3A
JACK CHAVIS 2A
KOLBE VERDUN 7T 12A
TANNER BERRY 1A
