‘Canes Fall in Heartbreaker
In what was most definitely the most exciting and heartbreaking game of the season, the Monticello Hurricanes fell to the Northeast Macon Raiders 20-19 Friday night in their last game of the season. It was a nail biter until the very finish, when the Hurricanes scored with one second remaining and decided to go for the two-point conversion, coming up just short of the goal line.
The Canes started the game receiving the ball, and began to drive. A nice run by Matthew Hollis, a third down conversion from Thomas Deraney to Jay Johnson, and several nice runs by Jordan Stone highlighted the drive. Stone capped of the long 14 play drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. The point after was missed, making the score 6-0 midway through the first quarter.
The Raiders took the ball the next possession on another long drive. The Canes eventually held them on a fourth down, turning the ball over on the Raider’s 15-yard line. Northeast’s defense held strong forcing the Hurricanes to quickly punt the ball away. The Raiders then drove the ball down the field and scored on a 20-yard pass and hitting the extra point, putting them up 7-6 in the second quarter.
Jay Johnson started off the next drive with a nice 20-yard run, followed soon by a touchdown from Matthew Hollis to Stone out of the backfield. Bryce Crawford hit the point after making the score 13-7 which held until halftime.
third quarter was a very defensive quarter, with each team recording an interception and each team punting the ball twice. Malik Crawford and Jamaric Bonner were both a major reason in the shutout of the third quarter, each making multiple key tackles.
Northeast scored first in the fourth quarter, missing the extra point and tying the game at 13. They quickly got the ball back and scored once again with just over a minute to play, putting them up 20-13.
The Canes pieced together a beautiful final drive, playing the clock just right and moving the ball quickly down the field. Deraney hit Lawrence in the corner of the end zone with 1.7 seconds remaining to make the score 19-20. The Canes then decided to go for it all, attempting the 2-point conversion. They were stopped just inches from the goal line, putting the final score at 20-19.
“I was very impressed with the players on the final drive,” Coach Huff commented. “They could have easily laid down and quit, but they started out with a good kick return and hit a few passes, resulting in the touchdown.”