Strong Second Half Leads Tribe to 60-34 Win Over Turner – By Glenn Hughes
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After a first half that went back and forth the Charlton County Indians outscored Turner County 30-8 in the second half to end the regular season with a 60-34 win. With the win the Indians claimed the third seed out of the region and will open the state playoffs on November 14 at Macon County in Montezuma.
The Titans got the scoring started early on their first drive of the game. Starting from their own forty five after the opening kickoff it would take just three plays for them to find the end zone scoring on an eight yard run. The run for two points was good and just forty nine seconds into the game Turner led 8-0.
Neither team threatened the next two drives but the Indians would take over from their own twenty five to begin their scoring march. A twenty two yard pass to Tray Jones and runs by Omari Wilson and Elijah Bryant pushed the ball into Titan territory. A sack brought up a fourth down from the forty two. Quarterback A.J. Glover tossed a screen pass to Wilson for twenty nine yards to the thirteen. Bryant took over from there gaining nine yards before capping the drive with a four yard touchdown run. The two point run failed and the Indians trailed 8-6 with 2:03 left in the quarter.
The Indian defense stepped up and Turner turned the ball over on downs giving the Tribe possession from the Turner forty one. A pass to Brandon Woolard along with a personal foul on Turner put the Indians in the red zone at the sixteen. Runs by Wilson and Bryant set up a first and goal from the two. A Turner penalty was half the distance to the goal and Wilson ran it in from one yard out at the 9:30 mark of the first half. Trevan Cobb ran in the two point conversion and the Indian lead was 14-8
But Turner came right back driving sixty two yards aided by two Indian penalties and scored on a twenty three yard run. The pass for two failed and the game was tied at 14-14 with 5:12 left in the half.
The scoring was just getting started though as the Tribe made their own drive going sixty five yards on eight plays with Glover connecting with Cobb from twelve yards out. Bryant ran in the two point conversion and with 1:35 left before halftime the Tribe led 22-14.
A penalty by Charlton on the kickoff along with two other penalties on the drive gave Turner the ball at the twenty three. With just 0:25 left in the half they completed a twenty three yard touchdown pass but the two point try failed leaving the Indians with a 22-20 lead.
On the kickoff Woolard caught the ball at his own twenty nine and outraced the Titans down the sideline for a seventy one yard kickoff return for a score.. Wilson ran it the two points and with just ten seconds left in the half the lead grew to 30-20.
A Turner penalty allowed Charlton to kickoff across midfield and the kick was caught at the seven yard line. The Titan returner broke several tackles and scored on a ninety three yard return as time expired in the half. The pass for two failed and the Indians went into the locker room holding on to a 30-26 lead.
Charlton wasted no time to start the second half scoring. A seven yard run by Glover was followed by a forty yard touchdown run by Wilson. After the two point run failed the Indian lead was 36-26.
On the kickoff Turner fumbled and Elijah Thompson fell on the loose ball for the Tribe. Four plays later it was Bryant rambling forty yards to paydirt and after the failed conversion the Tribe led 42-26 just two minutes into the second half.
The Tribe kept the pressure on and Tyler Kidd recovered a short kickoff . Eight plays later the Indians were in the end zone again with Wilson scoring from two yards out to take a 48-26 lead.
The Titans wouldn’t lay down and quit as they returned the kickoff forty one yards to the thirty two. A thirteen yard pass was followed by a nineteen yard scoring strike at the 5:44 mark of the third quarter. The run for two failed and the Indian lead was cut to 48-34.
The Tribe finally had to punt but the pressure of the Indian defense had the Titans facing fourth and thirty from their own twenty. A low snap on the punt forced him to run and the Tribe tackled him at the fourteen yard line. Five plays later the Indians were in the end zone again with Wilson running it in from four yards out. With 1:31 left in the third quarter the Tribe led 54-34.
Turner felt the constant pressure from Norman Blake and Jordan Robinson and turned it over on downs but the Tribe fumbled the ball back to Turner. But again Turner couldn’t move the ball and a sack by Blake and Hunter Spradley ended the Turner drive on fourth down.
Starting from the Turner forty six Bryant ran three times for thirty two yards before Wilson added five more. Bryant capped off the drive with a nine yard run making it 60-34 with just 3:25 remaining.
Turner marched from their own thirty eight to the Indian twenty one but a pass into the end zone was intercepted by Noah Jackson with one minute remaining. Two kneel downs ran out the remaining time and the Indians picked up a crucial win to even their record at 5-5.
Bryant led the offense with 127 yards rushing and three touchdowns while Wilson added eighty seven more yards and four touchdowns. Glover passed for 131 yards and one score with Jones being his favorite target with four catches for fifty one yards.
