Small errors, Lanier’s big plays leave Raiders three yards short of region win
Habersham Central has outscored its opponents in each of the first three quarters for the season to date, except one – the fourth.
Not only do the Raiders not have the advantage in the final period, they have been outscored by 40 points.
Their third loss with the lead in the fourth quarter came Friday night, when the Lanier Longhorns took advantage of opportunities and came away with a road win to open region play,
25-21.
Their struggles in the fourth quarter have made a lot of the difference between a 2-3 start and a possible undefeated run.
“We could just as easily be 5-0, and I reminded the kids of that,” Raiders coach Benji Harrison said. “We have to figure out why we’re not, and it’s obvious. We’ve had too many penalties in big moments. You take away two big penalties Friday night, and we are up two, maybe three scores. But you have to eliminate those mistakes when you play good people.”
The Raiders (2-3, 0-1) needed one more stop after giving up a touchdown to start the fourth quarter, but holding on the two-point play to preserve a 21-19 lead. They had the Longhorns (2-3, 1-0) deep in their own territory, but they gave up a 10-yard run to Kaden Beard (part of his 250 yards) to set up 3rd-and-short.
The Longhorns appeared to false start, but the Raiders called timeout at the same moment the flags came in. The referees granted the time out, and given the opportunity to run again, Beard scampered 59 yards to set up the go-ahead touchdown.
Still, it was the Raiders’ turn with the ball last, and trailing by four, they embarked on an epic drive led by junior quarterback Carson Parker. Parker converted a 3rd-and-16 with a dazzling run, and the Raiders matriculated the ball to the Longhorns’ 9-yard line.
With a little more than 30 seconds left, Parker was caught unaware by an early snap. He recovered quickly and rolled right, but his pass intended for Zeke Whittington was intercepted by Lanier’s Marco Rosas, shocking the home crowd that was ready to burst with excitement.
“It was one of those games where I thought up until that last play, he played one of the best games of his career,” Harrison said. “That’s a tough spot on the last one. We had a bad snap, he got it back. We were screaming at him to throw it away. Our receivers didn’t see the snap because they weren’t ready to start the play. When Zeke sees that, he takes off, and the corner comes up. Carson peeks and says Zeke is wide open and he was. But for whatever reason, he didn’t get enough on the throw. That or he thought he was so wide open he just had to put it out there.”
With the Raiders holding just two of their timeouts after the faceoff with the false start earlier, Lanier was able to kneel on the ball three straight plays, though they never had to push forward on any of them despite starting on the 3.
“They never spotted the ball back when he took a knee,” Harrison said.
Long before that sequence of events, it looked a lot like a Raider win.
Habersham forced a fumble on Lanier’s opening drive, and after Caleb Blackburn’s recovery, the Raiders came out of the blocks with a quick-strike scripted offense that was clicking from the word go.
Three completions to Whittington and slick running from Parker got the Raiders to first-and-goal in 10 lightning-quick plays, and Hayes Gunn finished it off from the backfield. Michael Hill (3-for-3 on PATs) made it 7-0.
Lanier struck back on a long over-the-top pass against the Raiders’ depleted secondary, and the teams exchanged multiple punts, the second of which coming after a big sack by Braydon Wright and Keller Green.
Lanier threatened at the end of the half, and the Longhorns nearly scored at the buzzer on a trick play. But Whittington - helping fill in on defense - ran down the ballcarrier in the red zone to preserve a halftime tie.
The Raiders came out of the locker room with another tempo drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown run by Parker for a 14-7 lead. The Raiders then forced a punt and seemingly hit Whittington deep for another 1st-and-goal. But a holding penalty sent the ball backward 65 yards and killed the drive.
“We have to fix them. We have to be more disciplined,” Harrison said. “Most holding calls are because of your feet. You have to do the little things right to do the big things right.”
Lanier scored on its next drive with a chance to tie it, but a missed kick after a five-yard penalty left the Raiders in front. They added to the lead after a long catch by Canon Wilbanks and a personal foul to boot.
Whittington ran the ball in from nine yards out, and Hill drilled a 35-yard extra point after a celebration penalty pushed the Raiders back.
The Raiders had a chance to pull out a region-opening win, but it was not to be.
“We’ve got to learn how to change our fortunes,” Harrison said. “The only ones who can change them are us.”
Thursday game
With Hurricane Ian bearing down on the southeast and remnants expected here this weekend, the Raiders’ game at Jackson County will be a day early at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
“Defensively, they are a very physical team. I think they are very sound defensively,” Harrison said of Jackson County (2-4, 1-1). “They make you earn everything and don’t just give you many gifts. The defensive front is really solid.
“Offensively, they are similar. They have the ability to run it and throw it. They have a really big kid at running back that tries to make you get tired of tackling him. We have to be very physical and play at a great tempo.”