By Jim Hunter
October 11, 2008
October 11, 2008 12:16 am
—
LINESVILLE — Saegertown celebrated one of its biggest comeback victories in school history Friday night.
In the final 11 minutes of regulation senior halfback Keenan Ellison scored twice, helping the Panthers erase a 14-point deficit, and helped lead Saegertown to a 41-35 overtime victory over Linesville. Jim Chest scored the game-winning touchdown on Saegertown’s second play of overtime on a 4-yard run.
The emotional win kept Saegertown’s perfect season intact at 7-0, while Linesville suffered its second loss in seven decisions.
“You can’t be too upset,” said Linesville coach Pat Gould. “We played a great game. (Saegertown) had a couple plays we really struggled stopping. And I think we had some plays they couldn’t stop on us. Good game.”
An “L” looked very possible for the Panthers at the beginning of the fourth quarter as the Lions — fueled by quarterback Trevor Litwiler’s passing/running skills — led by two touchdowns and were dominating the offensive stats.
Litwiler was a one-man wrecking crew for LHS — completing 12 of 19 passes for 202 yards and rushing for 108 yards on 19 carries.
Saegertown’s big-time players — Ellison and Ian Price — waited until the fourth quarter to make their noise.
With 9:02 left in the game, Ellison zipped around the left end and made a slight cutback and raced untouched for a 23-yard touchdown run to get the Panthers within 35-27.
On the ensuing possession, Linesville recorded two first downs and took six minutes off the clock before Saegertown’s defense stiffened.
On fourth-and-seven at SHS’s 35, Litwiler threw an incompletion. Panthers’ linebacker Jake Carter, who had a monstrous game with double-digit tackles, pressured Litwiler on the incomplete pass.
With 3:21 left in the game, Saegertown took over the ball. Panic time?
Not with cool-hand Saegertown coach Ken Achenbach running the show and Ellison and Price in the backfield.
On third-and-seven at SHS’s 8, quarterback Aaron Stirling kept the drive alive by completing a nine-yard pass to Price in the left flat.
Three plays later, Ellison burned the Lions again.
Hauling in a Stirling pass in the right flat, Ellison showcased his speed by going down the right sideline for a 45-yard touchdown reception with 1:18 remaining in the game.
“Big-time players make big-time plays and Keenan made them for us,” said Achenbach. “Aaron also came up big ... making clutch passes. Give him credit, he didn’t hang his head after throwing a couple picks.”
On the “must” two-point conversion to tie the game, Price caught Stirling’s pass inches off the grass in the right corner.
OT, baby.
“There was a time where I though, we have to step it up,” said Chest. “That’s what we did. We stepped it up and came back in the fourth quarter, tied up the game and went into overtime.”
After winning the coin toss, Saegertown elected to play defense first. It turned out to be the right decision.
On fourth-and-goal at the 10, Litwiler’s pass into the end zone was intercepted by — who else? — Ellison.
On Saegertown’s possession, Price gained six yards on first down and Chest — who hadn’t touched the ball since the beginning of the third quarter — bulldozed across the goal line with the winning touchdown.
“Wedge, right up the middle,” said Chest, describing the game-winning play. “I just knew I had to get across that line.”
“Give these players credit, they didn’t quit,” said Achenbach. “It didn’t look good for us heading into the fourth quarter, but we kept a positive approach and got the job done.
“This is definitely one of the greatest all-time wins in Saegertown’s history. Linesville is a great team and I have a great deal of respect for them.”
Game Notes: Linesville won the statistical battle — outgaining Saegertown in total yards (421-274) and first downs (20-10) ... Five different Lions scored — Evan Smith (30-yard reception), Litwiler (2-yard run), Matt Laird (33-yard reception), Walter Litwin (19-yard reception) and Doug Farley (5-yard run) ... Farley also went over 100 yards rushing with 113 on 25 hauls ... LHS split end Matt Laird caught five passes for 124 yards ... Ellison rushed for 66 yards on 11 totes and caught two passes for 95 yards ... SHS’s Jared Campbell returned a kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown.
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.