Saturday, October 04, 2008
Conner's carry ends up winner for Byrd
On one of his three runs, the Terrier back goes 66 yards to get the go-ahead TD against Cave Spring.
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William Byrd running back Derrick Palmer carried almost all of the Terrier offense Friday night, but one of the few plays he wasn't part of made the difference.
The Terriers ran 42 plays from scrimmage with Palmer carrying the ball on 35 of them (83 percent), accounting for 190 yards and two touchdowns.
But late in the fourth quarter, Palmer's backfield mate John Conner broke a 66-yard touchdown, propelling Byrd to a come-from-behind 21-16 win over Cave Spring at Robert Patterson Field.
Conner's carry was designed to give Palmer a respite, as he had been tattooed by Knight linebacker Green Tucker on a kickoff return one play earlier.
Was Palmer hearing echoes?
"A whole lot," he said, as he stayed on the field but served as a decoy. "But Conner made a great play."
"It was the same play we had been running with Palmer, power off-tackle," said Byrd coach Jeff Highfill Sr. "Maybe Cave Spring didn't expect Conner to carry the ball."
"I got the ball, saw the hole open up, hit the cutback lane and I was off," said Conner, who also scored a two-point conversion.
Conner's run capped a flurry of fourth quarter scoring that saw the lead change hands three times in a three-minute period -- there were six lead changes in the game.
Palmer's second touchdown, followed by Conner's conversion, gave Byrd a 15-9 lead, but the Knights retaliated quickly.
They moved the ball 80 yards in six plays, most of the damage coming on a 57-yard gallop by running back Michael Cole. Zac Osborne's 4-yard TD run and Josh Woodrum's extra point put the Knights back in front, 16-15.
The momentum seemed to be swinging Cave Spring's way, particularly when Tucker nailed Palmer at the 34. But then came Conner's clincher.
The Knights were not done, however, and moved the ball all the way to the Byrd 9 before turning the ball over on downs with seconds remaining.
Woodrum ran the ball on a fourth-and-6 from the 12 and only picked up three yards. The Knights had converted a fourth-and-9 four plays earlier, with Woodrum hitting receiver Erik Jacobsen for a 29-yard gain.
Jacobsen caught four passes for 90 yards in the game, including a 39-yarder that set up the Knights' first touchdown.
"Josh is a good runner, but they made one more play than we did," said Cave Spring coach Tim Fulton, whose team has now lost three consecutive games to fall to 2-3. "I've got a great group of players but they came up one play short."
The Terriers (3-3) played without senior linebacker Tyler Snow, who was nursing a hamstring injury suffered in last Friday's 35-26 loss to Carroll County.
"We hung on tonight," said Highfill. "It was a good win for us after last week and with Snow out. Snow makes a huge difference; we saw that last week. He's a heck of a linebacker and a very good blocker too. He's our career leader in tackles and a two-year captain.
"But it was good to get Conner back; he's been injured too. We need somebody to give Palmer a rest now and then."
On Friday, Conner gave Palmer a rest he'll never forget.
Palmer entered the game as Timesland's second-leading rusher (214.2 yards per game) and scorer (12 TDs) in five games. In spite of his eye-popping stats this week, his season averages will drop a bit.
Cave Spring 3 0 6 7 -- 16
William Byrd 0 7 0 14 -- 21
CS -- FG Woodrum 26
WB -- Palmer 8 run (Johnson kick)
CS -- Woodrum 8 run (kick blocked)
WB -- Palmer 11 run (Conner run)
CS -- Osborne 4 run (Woodrum kick)
WB -- Conner 66 run (pass failed)
CS WB
First downs 14 15
Yards rushing 42-210 39-262
Passes C-A-I 6-13-0 0-3-0
Yards passing 103 0
Penalties-yards 5-62 4-20
Fumbles-lost 2-0 0-0
Punts-average 4-29.8 4-37.3
Individual statistics
RUSHING -- Cave Spring, Cole 14-114, Osborne 15-74, Anderson 1-10, Reese 3-7, Woodrum 9-5. William Byrd, Palmer 35-190, Conner 3-69, Wallace 1-3
PASSING -- Cave Spring, Woodrum 6-13-103. William Byrd, Palmer 0-2-0, Conner 0-1-0
RECEIVING -- Cave Spring, Jacobsen 4-90, O'Keefe 1-9, Osborne 1-4.
