After struggling to convert on extra-point plays last week at Magnet Cove, Mountain Pine managed to bounce back in Week 8 at Stanley May Field as the Red Devils clinched a 32-28 conference win over England Friday night.
After drawing a 20-20 tie at the end of third quarter, Mountain Pine senior quarterback Collin Smith found the end zone on a 14-yard touchdown run 33 seconds into the fourth quarter. The conversion play was denied for a go-ahead 26-20 lead for the Red Devils (4-4, 4-1 2A-5).
The Lions could not get their offense going in the fourth, with England senior quarterback Mason Brazeal sacked twice by the Red Devil defense. Senior Jace Chacon downed Brazeal for a loss of 11 yards, and classmate Chance Godwin pushed him back for 7-yard loss.
Godwin refused to let up as the defensive tackle came up big, sacking Brazeal once again moments later to force a turnover on downs.
Mountain Pine's defense set the stage for a 30-yard rushing touchdown by Smith with six minutes remaining in the final frame. A failed conversion set the score at 32-20 in the Red Devils' favor.
England (3-5, 2-3) responded with a 60-yard bomb from Brazeal to senior receiver Tamarous Dodson to set the final at the 5:41 mark.
The Lions got things going late through the opening quarter as Brazeal, the brother of Ouachita Baptist sophomore quarterback Brayden Brazeal, connected with junior Darren McClinton on a 43-yard pass for the Lions' first touchdown. The conversion pushed England to an 8-0 lead with four minutes on the clock.
Moments later, Smith dashed 2 yards into the end zone, putting the Red Devils on the board, but much like last week, Mountain Pine struggled on the conversion to trail 8-6 going into the second quarter.
The back-and-forth affair saw both teams respond to each other's attacks. McClinton rushed for a 6-yard touchdown with four minutes remaining to stretch the Lions' lead out to 14-6.
Two minutes later, Smith saw a hole and broke free for 57 yards into the end zone, but the 2-point play was again denied leaving the Lions down by 2 points at the break.
The Red Devils turned things around in the second half as Smith rushed for 61 yards with two minutes on the clock in the third for a 20-14 lead after Smith found the end zone on the conversion play. Brazeal then found Dodson on a 35-yard pass play with 37 seconds remaining to knot the score.
Sports on 10/26/2019