Atlee Holds Off Hanover
Atlee and Hanover squared off in their annual matchup For the longest time in Hanover, the big game was when Lee-Davis and Patrick Henry would meet in the Tomato Bowl; that's not the case any longer. Hanover ruled the county for several years over the last decade and in recent years, Atlee has been making a case for why they should be at the top and tonight, they finished on top.
The game could not have started any worse for Atlee. While the defense of the Raiders held the Hawks to three and out, the Hawks defense came up with a big play when Atlee fumbled the snap on their first offensive play and Kevin Sisson of Hanover recovered the loose ball. To make matters worse, on the Hawks third possession of the night they scored a touchdown. Marcus Bazala playing quarterback for an injured Clayton Cheatham carried the load with 52 yards on three carries including the 10-yard touchdown run to the endzone. The Hawks had a 7-0 lead in front of the home crowd and had snapped their scoring drought.
Like I said, it couldn't not have been a worse start for the Raiders but after that Hawks score, the night got better and better for the Raiders. It began with 64-yard drive that saw the ball spread about to five different players, one of which was Trammell Carey who caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Rashard Davis and with the PAT, the Raiders had tied the game. The Raiders defense then held the Hawks to three and out and went back to work but it appeared the Hawks would force the Raiders to three and out themselves, if not for a pesky offsides call which gave the Raiders new life with a first down. The Raiders then drove to the 10 yard line where Ethan Ratke would boot a 23-yard field goal to give the Raiders the lead, 10-7.
The Hawks were down for the first time in the game and things were about to get worse. A pitch from quarterback Bazala was fumbled and Tanner Ramey of Atlee pounced on it recovering the fumble. The Raiders could not find the endzone but they did get close enough for another Ratke field goal to give the Raiders a 13-7 lead. While the offense of Hanover was unable to match the Raiders, the defense was and as the first half was coming to a close the Raiders were almost intercepted but the Hawk defender dropped the interception saving the Raiders.
Speaking of dropping Hanover's punt return was fumbled and the Raiders recovered. The Raiders were marching again towards the endzone but once more, they would have to look to Ratke to come through in the kicking game as the Raiders were unable to get into the endzone and the half was coming to a close. The field goal attempt however was no good and at the half the Raiders led 13-7.
Whereas the first half started terrible for the Raiders, the second half could not have started any better. JJ Givens received the kickoff and took it to the house for a 90-yard touchdown! With the PAT, the Raiders were up 20-7 and now in complete control. What ensued for the next quarter of play was a back and forth game with both defenses keeping the other from sniffing the endzone. Entering the fourth quarter Atlee was moving the ball once more in large part to the passing game. The Raiders had the ball at the Hanover six with a fresh set of downs when they were called for a false start and then unsportsmanlike conduct Now facing 1st & 26 from the 26, Malik White ran off eleven yards and then Harris was sacked for a loss of seven yards by Kevin Sisson. That presented the Raiders with a 3rd & goal from the 22 and if the Hawks could hold them, they would get the ball back the Hawks however were unable to hold and instead, Harris hit Brandon Crosby with a 22-yard touchdown pass and with the PAT, Atlee was now up 27-7 with 11:54 to go in the game.
Hanover managed to fumble the ball on their next possession and the Raiders were back to work on offense. A false start call and a sack of Harris stalled the Raiders drive and Alex Dillard of Hanover killed it with an interception; that interception changed the complexion of this game. The Hawks had the ball, they were two yards shy of a first down and a Bazala pass fell incomplete but Atlee was called for pass interference and on the next play, they were called for a personal foul. The Hawks had moved thirty yards without making one play and to make matters worse, Atlee was called for roughing the passer on the next play giving Atlee a 1st & goal at the 10. That was all Bazala needed and on the next play, he punched it in With 8:17 to go the Hawks were down by fourteen thanks to a missed PAT. The Hawks then kicked onside and Ryan Mallory was able to recover. With the Hawks at the 27 yard line Marcus Bazala trucked it into the endzone giving the Hawks two scores within 30 seconds This PAT was good and the score was Atlee 27, Hanover 20 with 8:05 to go.
Atlee was unable to score on their next possession and then it was Hanover's turn Time was running out for the Hawks A touchdown and PAT and the Hawks could send this to overtime but a score and two-point conversion would give them a win Of course, the Hawks had to get into the endzone first. The Hawks were aided by a pass interference call against Atlee on second down giving the Hawks a fresh set of downs. In three plays the Hawks could only pickup two yards The Hawks were down to their last down Bazala took off with the ball to the right side along the sidelines and was hit It was close but the Hawks were four yards short of a first down
Atlee got the ball back and just kept moving down field and eating up the clock Atlee would take the thirteenth meeting by a score 27-20 and hand the Hawks their second straight loss and bounce back themselves from last weeks loss to Henrico.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st QTR-
4:30- Marcus Bazala 16-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Hanover 7-0.
1:36- Rashard Harris 20-yard pass to Trammell Carey, PAT good; 7-7 tie.
2nd QTR-
9:04- Ethan Ratke 23-yard field goal; 10-7 Atee.
6:59- Ethan Ratke 34-yard field goal; 13-7 Atlee.
3rd QTR-
12:00 JJ Givens 90-kickoff return for touchdown, PAT good; 20-7 Atlee.
4th QTR-
11:54 Rashard Harris 22-yard pass to Brandon Crosby, PAT good; 27-7 Atlee.
8:17 Marcus Bazala 10-yard touchdown run, PAT missed; 27-13 Atlee.
8:05 Marcus Bazala 27-yard touchdown run, PAT good; 27-20 Atlee.
AFTERTHOUGHTS
I do believe the two scores within thirty seconds was the fastest I've ever seen two scores in any game.
The Hawks at 3-2 are still in better shape than they were at this point last season and despite being 3-2 still look to be a better team.
Deja'vu? Clayton Cheatham in #10 jersey on sideline with injury to hand looked a lot like Sam Rogers on sideline in #10 jersey with his hand in a cast
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Atlee Offense- QB, Rashard Harris, roughly 138 yards of offense and two touchdowns on the night.
Atlee Defense- MLB, Chad Vanlandingham, roughly 7 tackles tonight and I honestly believe it was more than that with as many times as I heard his name called.
Hanover Offense- QB, Marcus Bazala, three touchdowns and roughly 129 yards on 15 carries.
Hanover Defense- MLB, Tanner Lacey I cannot tell you the number of times I heard his name called tonight but I have him at about 7.5 tackles.
EXTRA POINTS
Atlee had never beaten Hanover consecutively until tonight.
This was Atlee's first win at Hanover.
Atlee and Hanover squared off in their annual matchup For the longest time in Hanover, the big game was when Lee-Davis and Patrick Henry would meet in the Tomato Bowl; that's not the case any longer. Hanover ruled the county for several years over the last decade and in recent years, Atlee has been making a case for why they should be at the top and tonight, they finished on top.
The game could not have started any worse for Atlee. While the defense of the Raiders held the Hawks to three and out, the Hawks defense came up with a big play when Atlee fumbled the snap on their first offensive play and Kevin Sisson of Hanover recovered the loose ball. To make matters worse, on the Hawks third possession of the night they scored a touchdown. Marcus Bazala playing quarterback for an injured Clayton Cheatham carried the load with 52 yards on three carries including the 10-yard touchdown run to the endzone. The Hawks had a 7-0 lead in front of the home crowd and had snapped their scoring drought.
Like I said, it couldn't not have been a worse start for the Raiders but after that Hawks score, the night got better and better for the Raiders. It began with 64-yard drive that saw the ball spread about to five different players, one of which was Trammell Carey who caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Rashard Davis and with the PAT, the Raiders had tied the game. The Raiders defense then held the Hawks to three and out and went back to work but it appeared the Hawks would force the Raiders to three and out themselves, if not for a pesky offsides call which gave the Raiders new life with a first down. The Raiders then drove to the 10 yard line where Ethan Ratke would boot a 23-yard field goal to give the Raiders the lead, 10-7.
The Hawks were down for the first time in the game and things were about to get worse. A pitch from quarterback Bazala was fumbled and Tanner Ramey of Atlee pounced on it recovering the fumble. The Raiders could not find the endzone but they did get close enough for another Ratke field goal to give the Raiders a 13-7 lead. While the offense of Hanover was unable to match the Raiders, the defense was and as the first half was coming to a close the Raiders were almost intercepted but the Hawk defender dropped the interception saving the Raiders.
Speaking of dropping Hanover's punt return was fumbled and the Raiders recovered. The Raiders were marching again towards the endzone but once more, they would have to look to Ratke to come through in the kicking game as the Raiders were unable to get into the endzone and the half was coming to a close. The field goal attempt however was no good and at the half the Raiders led 13-7.
Whereas the first half started terrible for the Raiders, the second half could not have started any better. JJ Givens received the kickoff and took it to the house for a 90-yard touchdown! With the PAT, the Raiders were up 20-7 and now in complete control. What ensued for the next quarter of play was a back and forth game with both defenses keeping the other from sniffing the endzone. Entering the fourth quarter Atlee was moving the ball once more in large part to the passing game. The Raiders had the ball at the Hanover six with a fresh set of downs when they were called for a false start and then unsportsmanlike conduct Now facing 1st & 26 from the 26, Malik White ran off eleven yards and then Harris was sacked for a loss of seven yards by Kevin Sisson. That presented the Raiders with a 3rd & goal from the 22 and if the Hawks could hold them, they would get the ball back the Hawks however were unable to hold and instead, Harris hit Brandon Crosby with a 22-yard touchdown pass and with the PAT, Atlee was now up 27-7 with 11:54 to go in the game.
Hanover managed to fumble the ball on their next possession and the Raiders were back to work on offense. A false start call and a sack of Harris stalled the Raiders drive and Alex Dillard of Hanover killed it with an interception; that interception changed the complexion of this game. The Hawks had the ball, they were two yards shy of a first down and a Bazala pass fell incomplete but Atlee was called for pass interference and on the next play, they were called for a personal foul. The Hawks had moved thirty yards without making one play and to make matters worse, Atlee was called for roughing the passer on the next play giving Atlee a 1st & goal at the 10. That was all Bazala needed and on the next play, he punched it in With 8:17 to go the Hawks were down by fourteen thanks to a missed PAT. The Hawks then kicked onside and Ryan Mallory was able to recover. With the Hawks at the 27 yard line Marcus Bazala trucked it into the endzone giving the Hawks two scores within 30 seconds This PAT was good and the score was Atlee 27, Hanover 20 with 8:05 to go.
Atlee was unable to score on their next possession and then it was Hanover's turn Time was running out for the Hawks A touchdown and PAT and the Hawks could send this to overtime but a score and two-point conversion would give them a win Of course, the Hawks had to get into the endzone first. The Hawks were aided by a pass interference call against Atlee on second down giving the Hawks a fresh set of downs. In three plays the Hawks could only pickup two yards The Hawks were down to their last down Bazala took off with the ball to the right side along the sidelines and was hit It was close but the Hawks were four yards short of a first down
Atlee got the ball back and just kept moving down field and eating up the clock Atlee would take the thirteenth meeting by a score 27-20 and hand the Hawks their second straight loss and bounce back themselves from last weeks loss to Henrico.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st QTR-
4:30- Marcus Bazala 16-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Hanover 7-0.
1:36- Rashard Harris 20-yard pass to Trammell Carey, PAT good; 7-7 tie.
2nd QTR-
9:04- Ethan Ratke 23-yard field goal; 10-7 Atee.
6:59- Ethan Ratke 34-yard field goal; 13-7 Atlee.
3rd QTR-
12:00 JJ Givens 90-kickoff return for touchdown, PAT good; 20-7 Atlee.
4th QTR-
11:54 Rashard Harris 22-yard pass to Brandon Crosby, PAT good; 27-7 Atlee.
8:17 Marcus Bazala 10-yard touchdown run, PAT missed; 27-13 Atlee.
8:05 Marcus Bazala 27-yard touchdown run, PAT good; 27-20 Atlee.
AFTERTHOUGHTS
I do believe the two scores within thirty seconds was the fastest I've ever seen two scores in any game.
The Hawks at 3-2 are still in better shape than they were at this point last season and despite being 3-2 still look to be a better team.
Deja'vu? Clayton Cheatham in #10 jersey on sideline with injury to hand looked a lot like Sam Rogers on sideline in #10 jersey with his hand in a cast
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Atlee Offense- QB, Rashard Harris, roughly 138 yards of offense and two touchdowns on the night.
Atlee Defense- MLB, Chad Vanlandingham, roughly 7 tackles tonight and I honestly believe it was more than that with as many times as I heard his name called.
Hanover Offense- QB, Marcus Bazala, three touchdowns and roughly 129 yards on 15 carries.
Hanover Defense- MLB, Tanner Lacey I cannot tell you the number of times I heard his name called tonight but I have him at about 7.5 tackles.
EXTRA POINTS
Atlee had never beaten Hanover consecutively until tonight.
This was Atlee's first win at Hanover.
