Free Press Article
By Steven Frank
Published: Saturday, October 20, 2007
ST. ALBANS The sky opened over the Collins-Perley Sports Center Friday night in the second half, and so did BFA-St. Albans offense.
The Bobwhites (4-4 overall, 3-4 Division I) scored four unanswered touchdowns in the latter half en route to a 32-14 come-from-behind victory over Mount Mansfield Union in interdivisional high school football action.
Three of those TD's came after torrential downpours accompanied already heavy winds with five minutes left to play in the third quarter.
BFA fullback Nick Manning broke a 14-14 tie with a 7-yard scoring run with 4:22 left in the third. The Bobwhites scored on their next possession following a 27-yard pass from quarterback Kris Sabourin to Ryan Jacobs and running back Matt Meunier's 39-yard scoring run in the quarter's closing seconds.
Will Barnett setup BFA's final score with a 60-yard run down the left sideline against the wind and raindrops that brought the ball down to MMU's 4. Sabourin then scored on a quarterback keeper.
"We came out flat in the second half," said MMU coach Marty Richards, who added that the weather wasn't an issue. "We didn't deserve to win this ballgame because (BFA) played better than us and that's what it boils down to."
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BFA's defense also came on in the second half, allowing just one MMU (6-2 overall, 5-1 D-II) first down.
"We blocked better; we were a little tentative in the first half," BFA coach Geoff Murray said. "I think we shot ourselves in the foot (in the first half). We had some opportunities to get ahead early and we didn't do it."
Jacobs dropped a couple of open passes in the first half and fumbled after a catch inside MMU's 10. That led to an MMU 12-play, 91-yard scoring drive capped by quarterback Nate Dolan's 18-yard TD pass to Chris Collier to put the Cougars up 14-7 with 9:28 left in the second quarter.
Jacobs turned things around in the second half with a couple of clutch catches, notably a 27-yard scoring grab on a fourth-and-7 to tie the game at 14 with 7:10 left in the third quarter.
"It's pretty discouraging when you drop a pass but when your teammates are there to pick you up, that really gets you motivated and the rest just comes to you," Jacobs said.
BFA opened the scoring when Matt Wainscott's interception led to Sabourin's 20-yard scamper on a keeper and Manning's three-yard TD run with 2:29 left in the first quarter. MMU tied the game a minute later on sophomore Ian Shaw's 49-yard run.
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