By Gray Haynes –
As the calendar flipped to October, Friday night at Baucum-Farrar Stadium, on the campus of North Webster High School, felt more like a Fall evening for football. A few rain showers fell during pregame warm-ups, but the rain held off for the game and the temperatures stayed calm.
Cedar Creek took the opening kickoff and marched down the field with the triple option. That triple option finally bit them in Knight territory when the quarterback fumbled. As he stuck the ball into the arms of the fullback and pulled it out, he never seemed to regain control. The Knights’ defense pounced on it at the 22 yard line, and the offense jogged onto the field. After losing about four yards on first down, J’Quarion Easter took the handoff on second down and raced through the middle of the defense for an 81 yard touchdown. The offensive line made Easter a hole to get through the first wave of defenders and Easter did the rest outrunning the defense toward the South end zone. The Knights’ left-footed kicker, Jake Pipes, added the PAT to make the score 7-0 with a little over 6 minutes left in the first quarter.
After the two teams traded punts for the rest of the first quarter, the Knights mounted a drive that seemed to be stalling out on the Cedar Creek 30 yard line. The home team faced a 4th down and 7. Quarterback, Justin Stewart, found receiver, Braylon Washington, for a 30 yard touchdown up the right sideline into good coverage. Washington made a tremendous catch going into the North end zone toward the cannons that fired signaling a touchdown for the Knights. As the smoke from the cannons cleared, Blake Pipes snapped to Deaken Whitlock for the hold, and Jake Pipes kicked his second PAT of the night. This made the score 14-0 in favor of the Knights with a little over 10 minutes left in the half. For the remainder of the half, neither team’s offense could get anything going against the opponent’s defense. At the half, the score remained 14-0 in favor of North Webster.
The turning point in the game seemed to be early in the third quarter. The Knights held the Cougars on a 3rd and 12 with the punt on its way from deep in Cedar Creek’s own territory. However, a yellow flag fell onto the field giving Cedar Creek a first down. Instead of Cedar Creek punting, they ripped off a 13 yard run by the fullback followed by a 12 yard gain by the fullback. Then came a 42 yard run by the fullback taking the Cougars inside the Knights’ 5 yard line. Two plays later, Cedar Creek found the endzone for the first time of the night on a 3 yard run. The PAT was good to make the score 14-7. The Knights were unable to get anything going on offense and surrendered the ball on an interception near midfield. Cedar Creek stayed the course with their triple option attack. The Knights’ defense grudgingly allowed the Cougars to make their way down the field. After three plays from the two yard line, the visitors finally found paydirt on the first play of the 4th quarter. The PAT knotted the score at 14 with the final period remaining.
The ensuing drive, for the Knights, started at about the 30 yard line. On a third and 12 play, the Knights answered Cedar Creek’s score. Stewart found Ja’Kayden Jackson for a 71 yard catch and run into the South endzone. Pipes added his third PAT of the night to put the Knights back in the lead at 21-14. With about ten minutes left in the game, this one turned into another nail biter for the Knights.
Cedar Creek stayed with their option attack and began a six and a half minute 67 yard drive for the touchdown. That touchdown made the score 21-20 in favor of the Knights. Cedar Creek had to decide whether to go for the PAT and the tie or the two point conversion and the win. With 3:29 left in the game, they elected to go for the win. Out of the I formation, they handed the ball to the tailback over the right side. When the whistle blew, the official from the home side had his arms up signaling the PAT was good. The official on the visitor’s side had his arms down signaling the attempt was no good. After conferring, the Cougars were awarded the two-point conversion. That made the score 22-21 with Cedar Creek having their first lead of the night. The Knights took the short kick off near midfield. They picked up 14 on a pass, then ran for 2 and picked up another yard on a pass. On third and 7, the ball came out of the quarterback’s hand and Cedar Creek recovered, but the referee declared it an incomplete pass. Then, on 4th and 7, the pass protection broke down, and Cedar Creek recorded the sack and secured the win. The Knights fought hard in this game, but came up a little bit short. The Knights will host the Bossier Bearkats on Thursday night next week.
