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Friday, Nov. 06, 2009

Westside all but eliminates Hardaway

COLUMBUS — Westside running back Robert Brown rushed for 170 yards and two touchdowns, and his carries helped burn up nearly three minutes on his team’s final possession as Westside all but ended Hardaway’s playoff hopes Thursday with a 22-17 victory.

“Robert’s been our workhorse all year,” Westside head coach Sheddrick Risper said. “We gave him the ball and just rode him all night.”

Brown scored a touchdown in the third and fourth quarters, helping the Seminoles (9-1, 8-1 GHSA Region 1-AAAA) dig out of a 14-9 halftime deficit. He scored from 5 and 16 yards. Both were backed up by extra-point kicks from German Ramirez.

The Hawks (6-3, 4-4) had hoped to win and then get a loss from Harris County or Bainbridge to reach the playoffs, but now things are more complicated. Bainbridge would have to lose and Harris County and Jones County would have to win tonight to force a mini-game to be played Monday. If everything falls into place, the Hawks would still have to win there to get into the postseason.

Westside had already secured a No. 2 seed before Thursday’s game.

After Hardaway scored, Westside answered with a drive that started off with a 34-yard Brown run but consisted mostly of short carries. Seminoles quarterback Daniel Duhart found Adrian Bentley with a short pass deep in the Hardaway zone, and Bentley turned on the speed and cut outside to reach the end zone for a 9-yard score.

Hardaway needed one play to recapture the lead: a 51-yard Smith pass to Austin Scott, who caught the ball at about the Westside 15, pulled his legs away from a Seminoles defensive back and reached the end zone without being touched again.

The Seminoles’ next drive ended when Antonio Ross fumbled a pass that Hardaway recovered at its own 2. The Hawks got out to their own 14 before giving up a safety on a bad snap.

Brown’s 5-yard rushing score gave Westside a 15-14 lead midway through the third quarter, but Duhart’s two-point run attempt was stopped. Brown’s second score came with just more than six minutes remaining in the game.

Hardaway briefly took the lead again in the opening minute of the fourth period on a 25-yard Evan Scott field goal, but Brown’s final touchdown would left the Seminoles on top.