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Bengals start season with victory
Bassett rallies to beat Carroll County, 21-20
Bassett head coach Jay Gilbert congratulates his players after their home win over Carroll County on Friday night.(Bulletin photo by Mike Wray)
Sunday, August 30, 2009
By JOHNNY BUCK - Bulletin Sports Editor
As a senior on Bassett High School’s inexperienced football team, the coaching staff has asked Dustin Hardy to step up his play this fall.
He got off to a great start Friday night in the Bengals’ 21-20 season-opening home win over Carroll County.
Hardy scored Bassett’s first touchdown of the season on a jump ball thrown to the corner of the end zone, then capped the contest with a fourth-quarter interception at the 1:09 mark to end the Cavaliers’ last-gasp effort.
“It feels great, start the season off with the first touchdown, then the pick to basically seal the deal,” he said afterward. “That’s a good feeling.”
After Hardy finished Bassett’s game-opening, 74-yard drive with a 26-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Mason Maples, the Bengals didn’t take long to add another.
Inside linebacker Matt Baker scooped a fumble in the CCHS backfield and returned it 23 yards for a TD on the ensuing drive, giving BHS a 14-0 lead at the 10:03 mark in the first quarter.
It appeared Bassett might have a chance to deliver the knockout blow at that point, but the young Bengals didn’t capitalize.
“We started out, we had great momentum. Our intensity was real high,” said Hardy. “But then once we got up by 14, we started slacking a little. We didn’t have the same intensity as the other team did.”
Carroll County answered with an eight-play, 73-yard drive following Baker’s TD. When Dillion Caviness scored on a 9-yard run, the Cavs had pulled to 14-7.
Midway through the second period, the Zack Surratt intercepted a Maples’ pass to set up a three-play, game-tying drive for CCHS.
Surratt, who led all runners with 135 yards on 14 carries, took a misdirection play 31 yards to the BHS 49 to get things started, and two plays later he finished the effort with a 43-yard scamper up the right hash to make it 14-all.
“Our kids played hard. Again, Bassett was ready to play, and they got on us quick with the long pass, and then, of course, we fumbled, and they picked it up and carried in for a touchdown,” said CCHS head coach Tom Hale. “So we had our backs against the wall early, but our kids really fought back. I’ve got to give our kids a lot of credit.”
Carroll County came out of the locker room at halftime with an impressive drive, though they were forced to use two timeouts — moves that proved costly late in the game.
The Cavs ate more than 6 minutes off the clock on their first drive following intermission, covering 65 yards on 14 plays.
CCHS quarterback Blake Bowman connected with Ulises Moreno on a 4th-and-6 pass play for a touchdown that made the score 20-14, but Cavs kicker Mason King was wide left on his ensuing point-after attempt.
That left the door open for Bassett to take the lead with a TD.
“Every kicker at times misses it, and he just missed one,” said Hale. “I know he feels like the burden’s on him, but it’s not.”
At halftime, BHS head coach Jay Gilbert realized his team had gotten away from the running attack that was so successful on its game-opening drive.
Bassett responded to the Cavs’ third-quarter score on the next possession, putting together a seven-play, run-only drive. Shaq Finney capped it on a pitch to the right for a 26-yard rushing TD, and when BHS kicker Tyler Martin made the PAT, the Bengals had the lead for good.
“We’re just lucky they missed the extra point and kept us in the game,” said Gilbert. “Then we got the ball and drove right back down the field and scored. I think that was the key to the game. I think if they hold us there, it may be 20-14 as the final.”
With Carroll County having used all three of its timeouts, Bassett stayed on the ground and milked the clock in the fourth quarter.
BHS had a chance to take a 4-point lead with a 35-yard field goal midway through the final period, but a low snap prevented Martin from attempting the kick.
Bassett’s defense held strong on the next drive, however, forcing a turnover on downs when Ryan Prillaman stopped Cavs runner Ulises Moreno on fourth-and-3.
“Defensivley, I was a little upset on our linebacker play, but on that fourth and short play, that was a huge play,” said Gilbert. “I mean, they stuffed them. It was a huge play.”
With possession once again, BHS ran six straight run plays to eat the clock.
“As soon as we got the ball back with 6 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, we started thinking: They don’t have any timeouts, so we just need to grind it out and hopefully get a few first downs, which we did.”
Despite a botched fourth-down shotgun snap that gave the ball back to CCHS, Bassett’s defense was able to preserve the win, sealed when Hardy dove to intercept a Blake Bowman pass.
Finney led the Bengals with 70 rushing yards on five carries, while Valentine added 53 yards on eight totes.
Maples, a sophomore, finished his varsity debut completing 4 of 11 pass attempts for 83 yards, a score and two interceptions.
Score by Quarters
BHS 14 0 7 0 — 21
CCHS 7 7 6 0 — 20
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
B — M. Maples 26-yard pass to D. Hardy. (T. Martin PAT.) 10:20
B — M. Baker 23-yard fumble return. (T. Martin PAT). 10:03.
C — D. Caviness 9-yard run. (M. King PAT). 5:03.
Second Quarter
C — Z. Surratt 43-yard run. (M. King PAT). 5:13.
Third Quarter
C — B. Bowman 6-yard pass to U. Moreno. (M. King PAT failed). 5:29
B — S. Finney 26-yard run. (T. Martin PAT). 1:40.
Fourth Quarter
No scoring.
Team Stats
BHS CHS
Passing C-A-TD-I 4-11-1-2 2-8-1-1
Passing (Y) 83 11
Rushing A-Y 36-107 42-232
Total Yards 190 243
First Downs 7 8
Penalties #-Y 5-30 6-30
Turnovers 2 3
Individual Stats
Rushing: CCHS — Z. Surratt 14-135, TD; D. Caviness 16-78, TD; B. Huff 1-9; U. Moreno 4-8; B. Bowman 7-2. BHS — S. Finney 5-70, TD; D. Valentine 8 - 53; D. Swanson 2-15; D. Hardy 1-(-2); M. Maples 20-(-29).
Passing: CCHS — B. Bowman 2-for-8, 11 yards, TD, INT. BHS — M. Maples 4-for-11, 83 yards, TD, 2 INTs.
Receiving: CCHS — U. Moreno 1-6, TD; T. Reavis 1-5. BHS — D. Valentine 1-33; D. Hardy 1-26, TD; S. Finney 1-18; C. Campbell 1-6.
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