Handley 41 Clarke County 35
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27 unanswered points in the second half, wow. 6 or 7 wins now starting to look like a reality for the Judges. If they could pick up a win over Liberty, Kettle Run, or Millbrook, I could see 8.
Could they sneak into the playoffs? I know only six make it but the Loudoun teams are eating each other up already and Liberty isn't looking as good as I thought they'd be.
Handley rallies from 21 points down to stun Clarke County
The Handley football team erased its biggest deficit yet in its heart-stopping, character-revealing season, rallying from a 21-point third-quarter margin and a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun Clarke County 41-35 on Friday night at Wilbur M. Feltner Stadium.
The 3-0 Judges scored 27 unanswered points after falling behind 35-14 with 7:09 left in the third quarter. They took the lead on Kevin Curry's leaping two-yard touchdown catch of Jacob Parker's intentionally high fourth-and-goal throw into the right back corner of the end zone with 2:46 left to break a 35-35 tie.
Handley — which outgained Clarke County (0-2) by a remarkable 235-21 in the second half — held the Eagles to minus-three yards on five plays over the final two possessions to help secure the win in a game that was delayed 80 minutes by lightning and saw rain continue to fall throughout the first quarter and into the second.
In what's becoming a familiar theme, the Judges had no doubt that they could pull off the win. Handley scored the winning points with 14 seconds left against Warren County and 1:06 left against Harrisonburg to overcome seven-point fourth-quarter deficits in its first two games.
"[Down] two touchdowns at halftime, we know that's not anything anymore," said Parker, who completed 13 of 15 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns, all to Curry (six catches for 149 yards). "We've been here before, so we knew we could do it again."
His players' confidence in themselves is part of why Handley coach Dan Jones bypassed kicking a field goal on fourth-and-goal from the 2 with the score tied at 35.
Sophomore kicker Adam Pollak slipped on one missed extra-point attempt and had another blocked in the slick conditions Friday, but he's also someone who nailed a 32-yard field goal last week at Handley.
Jones feels good about Pollak and the rest of the kicking team, but what he truly had faith in was that Parker and Curry would connect after Handley failed to punch the ball in on three running plays from the Clarke County 2-yard line.
"You believe in the kids, and I just had a good feeling that we would capitalize on it," Jones said. "When you've got Kevin, you've just got to throw it to Kevin. I'll take that matchup against anybody."
Jones continues to be impressed by his players' attitudes.
"I just keep preaching, 'You've got to have fun,'" Jones said. "If you enjoy the game, and you have fun, good things will happen. If you start stressing and worrying about things, you press, and you make mistakes. I looked in their eyes, and they were having fun."
Once the Judges stopped making mistakes, they were able to set themselves on a path for another jubilant post-game scene.
On the first possession of the second half, a fumbled snap under center and a shotgun snap over Parker's head led to Parker having to punt from Handley's 15. Kyle Baylor's 33-yard return to the Judges 27 led to a Peyton Rutherford two-yard touchdown run and that 35-14 Eagle lead with 8:57 left. That touchdown run was the fourth of the game for Rutherford, who had 126 yards on 33 carries.
Basically, the start of the third quarter looked a lot like the second quarter for Handley.
The Judges scored touchdowns on both of their first-quarter possessions on 76- and 10-yard touchdown runs by junior Malachi Imoh, who finished with 153 yards on 16 carries, 36 yards on three catches, and had a 31-yard pass.
But in the second quarter, fumbled snaps on second and third down forced Handley to punt on its first possession after three plays. On its second possession, Imoh lost a fumble at the Clarke County 21 after making a catch, and the Eagles drove 79 yards and scored on 13-yard TD run by Kyle Baylor (eight carries, 90 yards). Parker then fumbled the first snap on Handley's third possession at the Clarke County 20, and Rutherford scored from five yards out with 30 seconds left in the half to make it 28-14 Eagles.
"The only reason we got stopped in the first half was because of fumbled snaps," Parker said. "I knew coming into the second half we could move the ball so easy if we got those down."
Jones said the coaching staff should have prepared the team better for the wet conditions. But with the rain having stopped at halftime, Handley was ready to show what it was capable of doing.
"At halftime, I told them, 'They have not stopped us. We've only stopped ourselves right now,'" Jones said. "Do what we're supposed to do, and we'll be OK."
Down 35-14, Handley was relentless.
A 35-yard screen pass from Parker to Curry made it 35-21 with 4:55 left in the third quarter, and an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end D'Andre James after Parker took the snap and almost immediately threw made it 35-27 with 11:20 left.
After a Clarke County three-and-out, Handley took over on its own 39, and on second down Parker threw toward Curry on the right sideline. Baylor jumped the route, but the ball went through his hands, turning a potential interception return for a touchdown into a Curry score. Curry caught the ball and easily ran in for a 57-yard touchdown. When Parker connected with Mason Smith on the two-point conversion the game was tied at 35-35.
"My stomach dropped when I saw [Baylor] coming over," Parker said.
Clarke County started its next possession at its own 48 after an 11-yard kickoff return, but the Judges made a huge stop of Rutherford on fourth-and-1 from the Judges 43, dropping him for a two-yard loss.
That set the stage for Handley's winning drive, which ended with Curry's touchdown catch.
In gaining 430 yards and rushing for 162 — more rushing yards than its first two games combined — Handley had a lot to like about its offense. Jones said moving Tommy Downey to center in the second half after starting the game at left guard, and plugging in Tommy Ashby at left guard was key.
Not to be overlooked was Handley's defensive performance.
With the Judges reading Clarke County's single-wing much better, the Eagles lost eight yards on the three drives after its last touchdown. On the drive after Curry's touchdown, Handley had sacks on second and third down, then Quinton Newman hit Colby Childs as he threw to force an incompletion on fourth down. Clarke County got the ball back with six seconds left, but an attempted hook-and-lateral from its own 32 finished with the Eagles falling on their own fumble near the line of scrimmage.
"In the second half, we just felt apart, the lines and the backs," Childs said. "We weren't executing like we should."
While Handley rallied for the third straight game, Clarke County lost its second double-digit halftime lead of the season. The Eagles led Dominion 14-3 at halftime but lost 25-14 in Week 1.
"It's a tough loss. Agonizing," Eagles coach Chris Parker said. "[Handley] fought back and did a good job.
"I have to see the film, but we weren't able to execute our offense the way we were supposed to in the second half, and they just shut it down. And throughout the game, they made some big plays with their offense and hit their athletes."
Curry is certainly one of those. His third straight 100-yard receiving game ended a three-game losing streak to Clarke County and gave the Judges their first 3-0 start since 2013.
"This is a big confidence boost," Curry said. "This is huge for our community to beat Clarke."
- By ROBERT NIEDZWIECKI The Winchester Star
- Sep 8, 2018
The Handley football team erased its biggest deficit yet in its heart-stopping, character-revealing season, rallying from a 21-point third-quarter margin and a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun Clarke County 41-35 on Friday night at Wilbur M. Feltner Stadium.
The 3-0 Judges scored 27 unanswered points after falling behind 35-14 with 7:09 left in the third quarter. They took the lead on Kevin Curry's leaping two-yard touchdown catch of Jacob Parker's intentionally high fourth-and-goal throw into the right back corner of the end zone with 2:46 left to break a 35-35 tie.
Handley — which outgained Clarke County (0-2) by a remarkable 235-21 in the second half — held the Eagles to minus-three yards on five plays over the final two possessions to help secure the win in a game that was delayed 80 minutes by lightning and saw rain continue to fall throughout the first quarter and into the second.
In what's becoming a familiar theme, the Judges had no doubt that they could pull off the win. Handley scored the winning points with 14 seconds left against Warren County and 1:06 left against Harrisonburg to overcome seven-point fourth-quarter deficits in its first two games.
"[Down] two touchdowns at halftime, we know that's not anything anymore," said Parker, who completed 13 of 15 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns, all to Curry (six catches for 149 yards). "We've been here before, so we knew we could do it again."
His players' confidence in themselves is part of why Handley coach Dan Jones bypassed kicking a field goal on fourth-and-goal from the 2 with the score tied at 35.
Sophomore kicker Adam Pollak slipped on one missed extra-point attempt and had another blocked in the slick conditions Friday, but he's also someone who nailed a 32-yard field goal last week at Handley.
Jones feels good about Pollak and the rest of the kicking team, but what he truly had faith in was that Parker and Curry would connect after Handley failed to punch the ball in on three running plays from the Clarke County 2-yard line.
"You believe in the kids, and I just had a good feeling that we would capitalize on it," Jones said. "When you've got Kevin, you've just got to throw it to Kevin. I'll take that matchup against anybody."
Jones continues to be impressed by his players' attitudes.
"I just keep preaching, 'You've got to have fun,'" Jones said. "If you enjoy the game, and you have fun, good things will happen. If you start stressing and worrying about things, you press, and you make mistakes. I looked in their eyes, and they were having fun."
Once the Judges stopped making mistakes, they were able to set themselves on a path for another jubilant post-game scene.
On the first possession of the second half, a fumbled snap under center and a shotgun snap over Parker's head led to Parker having to punt from Handley's 15. Kyle Baylor's 33-yard return to the Judges 27 led to a Peyton Rutherford two-yard touchdown run and that 35-14 Eagle lead with 8:57 left. That touchdown run was the fourth of the game for Rutherford, who had 126 yards on 33 carries.
Basically, the start of the third quarter looked a lot like the second quarter for Handley.
The Judges scored touchdowns on both of their first-quarter possessions on 76- and 10-yard touchdown runs by junior Malachi Imoh, who finished with 153 yards on 16 carries, 36 yards on three catches, and had a 31-yard pass.
But in the second quarter, fumbled snaps on second and third down forced Handley to punt on its first possession after three plays. On its second possession, Imoh lost a fumble at the Clarke County 21 after making a catch, and the Eagles drove 79 yards and scored on 13-yard TD run by Kyle Baylor (eight carries, 90 yards). Parker then fumbled the first snap on Handley's third possession at the Clarke County 20, and Rutherford scored from five yards out with 30 seconds left in the half to make it 28-14 Eagles.
"The only reason we got stopped in the first half was because of fumbled snaps," Parker said. "I knew coming into the second half we could move the ball so easy if we got those down."
Jones said the coaching staff should have prepared the team better for the wet conditions. But with the rain having stopped at halftime, Handley was ready to show what it was capable of doing.
"At halftime, I told them, 'They have not stopped us. We've only stopped ourselves right now,'" Jones said. "Do what we're supposed to do, and we'll be OK."
Down 35-14, Handley was relentless.
A 35-yard screen pass from Parker to Curry made it 35-21 with 4:55 left in the third quarter, and an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end D'Andre James after Parker took the snap and almost immediately threw made it 35-27 with 11:20 left.
After a Clarke County three-and-out, Handley took over on its own 39, and on second down Parker threw toward Curry on the right sideline. Baylor jumped the route, but the ball went through his hands, turning a potential interception return for a touchdown into a Curry score. Curry caught the ball and easily ran in for a 57-yard touchdown. When Parker connected with Mason Smith on the two-point conversion the game was tied at 35-35.
"My stomach dropped when I saw [Baylor] coming over," Parker said.
Clarke County started its next possession at its own 48 after an 11-yard kickoff return, but the Judges made a huge stop of Rutherford on fourth-and-1 from the Judges 43, dropping him for a two-yard loss.
That set the stage for Handley's winning drive, which ended with Curry's touchdown catch.
In gaining 430 yards and rushing for 162 — more rushing yards than its first two games combined — Handley had a lot to like about its offense. Jones said moving Tommy Downey to center in the second half after starting the game at left guard, and plugging in Tommy Ashby at left guard was key.
Not to be overlooked was Handley's defensive performance.
With the Judges reading Clarke County's single-wing much better, the Eagles lost eight yards on the three drives after its last touchdown. On the drive after Curry's touchdown, Handley had sacks on second and third down, then Quinton Newman hit Colby Childs as he threw to force an incompletion on fourth down. Clarke County got the ball back with six seconds left, but an attempted hook-and-lateral from its own 32 finished with the Eagles falling on their own fumble near the line of scrimmage.
"In the second half, we just felt apart, the lines and the backs," Childs said. "We weren't executing like we should."
While Handley rallied for the third straight game, Clarke County lost its second double-digit halftime lead of the season. The Eagles led Dominion 14-3 at halftime but lost 25-14 in Week 1.
"It's a tough loss. Agonizing," Eagles coach Chris Parker said. "[Handley] fought back and did a good job.
"I have to see the film, but we weren't able to execute our offense the way we were supposed to in the second half, and they just shut it down. And throughout the game, they made some big plays with their offense and hit their athletes."
Curry is certainly one of those. His third straight 100-yard receiving game ended a three-game losing streak to Clarke County and gave the Judges their first 3-0 start since 2013.
"This is a big confidence boost," Curry said. "This is huge for our community to beat Clarke."
What I don’t understand about Liberty is, they have a Qb on the bench that took them to a 6-0 start last year, how dumb is that? I’ve seen film on them and the Qb they have now is a playmaker, can’t put them both on the field coach? Nasty loss last night, may wanna think about it
I was so bummed! I thought Clarke had em, but Clarke cannot defend the pass well, and cannot pass themselves. All these kids have seen since little league is the single wing, so no passing development at all. If Baylor or Rutherford get injured, Clarke is in deep doo doo.
