UV gridders come up short against Harpursville
NEW BERLIN – Unadilla Valley was ready to proceed on a game-winning touchdown drive after seemingly gaining the necessary yardage to move the chains forward. Upon further review, the linesman on the opposite side of the UV bench reset the ball position about six inches shy of the first down line, and the Storm did not see the ball again in a 23-19 loss to Harpursville.
The Hornets (4-1), winners of four straight games, overcame a 13-0 halftime deficit using a mix of inside and outside runs to wear down the Storm (2-3). While it would have been nice to see how UV’s final possession played out, head coach Daryl Decker said, simply, that Harpursville wore his team down. “It’s a numbers game with us, it always is,” the UV coach say. “We only have so many linemen and so many backs. I can only coach the guys we have, and it got to the point at the end where we had guys pulling out doing things they don’t normally do.”
Harpursville’s Steven Lee reversed field on the third-quarter opening kickoff, and picked up 54 yards to reach the UV 18. In three plays, the Hornets scored to cut the UV margin. Late in the third quarter, Harpursville drove 76 yards, and ultimately scored the go-ahead TD on the second play of the fourth quarter, a two-yard TD plunge from Mason Dean. After UV failed to convert on a fourth-down fake punt, Harpursville raised its lead to 10 following quarterback Devon Dean’s 19-yard TD scramble.
“They came out in the second half fired up and they went to their size,” Decker said. “That big kick return to start the second half gave them some momentum.”
The momentum shifted back UV’s way quickly. After Harpursville’s third TD, Justin Hofer cut back from the right to the left, hit the corner, and raced down the sideline for a 76-yard touchdown. Buoyed by that swing of fortune, the Storm defense forced a punt to set up its final drive of the game.
Kurt Haycook found Hofer on a 19-yard pass to midfield, and three runs later, UV was left with a fourth-and-one. Haycook, UV’s senior quarterback, snuck the ball up the middle, and the surge of the line appeared to push well past the first down marker. The initial spot of the ball reflected the surge before the ball was respotted. “I asked the official on our sideline if the other official picked the ball up and moved it back,” Decker said. “He said, ‘yes,’ the other referee had the official spot...I don’t know what they saw, but I assumed we had the first down and I was running a play in thinking it was first down. Next thing I know, it’s first down and we’re on defense.”
As it did most of the second half, Harpursville ran out the game’s final three minutes with a first-down runs by Lee and Mason Dean. The chunks of yards Harpursville gained in the second half did not avail themselves over the first two quarters. Harpursville gained two first downs on its opening possession, but managed just two first downs the remainder of the first half.
The UV offense found its rhythm, mostly with short passes, to build a two-score lead. Haycook directed UV on a 57-yard TD march scoring himself on an 11-yard run up the middle with 7:28 left in the second quarter. Harpursville quickly fumbled the ball away on the next possession when Andrew Kimmel lost control of the ball, and Kody Homann recovered at the 37.
Hofer, Homann, and Thomas Meyers moved the chains on the ground for UV, and Haycook capped the drive with a 21-yard TD pass to Homann.
“The passing game was working well in the first half,” Decker said. “In the second half, we missed a couple of passes that we needed to make to spread them out.”
Score by quarters
Harp. 0 0 8 15–23
UVa. 0 13 0 6–19
Scoring Summary
UV: Kurt Haycook 11 run (Haycook kick)
UV: Haycook 21 pass to Kody Homann (kick failed)
H: Steven Lee 1 run (Mason Dean run)
H: Mason Dean 2 run (Lee run)
H: Devon Dean 19 run (Brendon Van Etten kick)
UV: Justin Hofer 76 kickoff return (pass failed)
Summary
UV H
First downs 10 14
Rushes-yds 30-56 53-232
Passing yds 142 0
Comp-att-int 9-16-0 0-8-0
Punts-avg 3-31.3 2-31.5
Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-1
Penalties-yds 4-30.5 4-25
Individual Statistics
Rushing: (UV) Hofer, 4-18; Haycook, 7-18; Thomas Meyers, 4-11; Homann, 11-6; D. Rifanburg, 4-2. (H) S. Lee, 14-69; D. Dean, 17-60; A. Kimmell, 12-60; Mason Dean, 10-43.
Passing: (UV) Haycook, 9-16-0, 142 yds, TD; (H) D. Dean, 0-7-0, 0 yds; M. Dean, 0-1-0, 0 yds.
Receiving: (UV) Justin Hofer, 6-102; K. Homann, 2-33; D. Kolvik 1-7.
The Hornets (4-1), winners of four straight games, overcame a 13-0 halftime deficit using a mix of inside and outside runs to wear down the Storm (2-3). While it would have been nice to see how UV’s final possession played out, head coach Daryl Decker said, simply, that Harpursville wore his team down. “It’s a numbers game with us, it always is,” the UV coach say. “We only have so many linemen and so many backs. I can only coach the guys we have, and it got to the point at the end where we had guys pulling out doing things they don’t normally do.”
Harpursville’s Steven Lee reversed field on the third-quarter opening kickoff, and picked up 54 yards to reach the UV 18. In three plays, the Hornets scored to cut the UV margin. Late in the third quarter, Harpursville drove 76 yards, and ultimately scored the go-ahead TD on the second play of the fourth quarter, a two-yard TD plunge from Mason Dean. After UV failed to convert on a fourth-down fake punt, Harpursville raised its lead to 10 following quarterback Devon Dean’s 19-yard TD scramble.
“They came out in the second half fired up and they went to their size,” Decker said. “That big kick return to start the second half gave them some momentum.”
The momentum shifted back UV’s way quickly. After Harpursville’s third TD, Justin Hofer cut back from the right to the left, hit the corner, and raced down the sideline for a 76-yard touchdown. Buoyed by that swing of fortune, the Storm defense forced a punt to set up its final drive of the game.
Kurt Haycook found Hofer on a 19-yard pass to midfield, and three runs later, UV was left with a fourth-and-one. Haycook, UV’s senior quarterback, snuck the ball up the middle, and the surge of the line appeared to push well past the first down marker. The initial spot of the ball reflected the surge before the ball was respotted. “I asked the official on our sideline if the other official picked the ball up and moved it back,” Decker said. “He said, ‘yes,’ the other referee had the official spot...I don’t know what they saw, but I assumed we had the first down and I was running a play in thinking it was first down. Next thing I know, it’s first down and we’re on defense.”
As it did most of the second half, Harpursville ran out the game’s final three minutes with a first-down runs by Lee and Mason Dean. The chunks of yards Harpursville gained in the second half did not avail themselves over the first two quarters. Harpursville gained two first downs on its opening possession, but managed just two first downs the remainder of the first half.
The UV offense found its rhythm, mostly with short passes, to build a two-score lead. Haycook directed UV on a 57-yard TD march scoring himself on an 11-yard run up the middle with 7:28 left in the second quarter. Harpursville quickly fumbled the ball away on the next possession when Andrew Kimmel lost control of the ball, and Kody Homann recovered at the 37.
Hofer, Homann, and Thomas Meyers moved the chains on the ground for UV, and Haycook capped the drive with a 21-yard TD pass to Homann.
“The passing game was working well in the first half,” Decker said. “In the second half, we missed a couple of passes that we needed to make to spread them out.”
Score by quarters
Harp. 0 0 8 15–23
UVa. 0 13 0 6–19
Scoring Summary
UV: Kurt Haycook 11 run (Haycook kick)
UV: Haycook 21 pass to Kody Homann (kick failed)
H: Steven Lee 1 run (Mason Dean run)
H: Mason Dean 2 run (Lee run)
H: Devon Dean 19 run (Brendon Van Etten kick)
UV: Justin Hofer 76 kickoff return (pass failed)
Summary
UV H
First downs 10 14
Rushes-yds 30-56 53-232
Passing yds 142 0
Comp-att-int 9-16-0 0-8-0
Punts-avg 3-31.3 2-31.5
Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-1
Penalties-yds 4-30.5 4-25
Individual Statistics
Rushing: (UV) Hofer, 4-18; Haycook, 7-18; Thomas Meyers, 4-11; Homann, 11-6; D. Rifanburg, 4-2. (H) S. Lee, 14-69; D. Dean, 17-60; A. Kimmell, 12-60; Mason Dean, 10-43.
Passing: (UV) Haycook, 9-16-0, 142 yds, TD; (H) D. Dean, 0-7-0, 0 yds; M. Dean, 0-1-0, 0 yds.
Receiving: (UV) Justin Hofer, 6-102; K. Homann, 2-33; D. Kolvik 1-7.
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