Graham Beats Cummings-Again
November 8, 2008 By Denis Vass of Graham High School
Graham accepts challenge to overcome Cummings
November 8, 2008 - 1:01AM By Stephen Schramm / Times-News
According to a handful of Graham players, the Red Devil's halftime consisted of little more than a few challanges fro coaches and a lot of silence.
Trailing by 13 and riding a two-game losing streak, the Red Devils's frustrations had reached a point where sitting on a practice field at Cummings High School and listening to the crickets on an unseasonably warm Friday night was the best way to get refocused. Once the halftime was finished, the team huddled and let loose what has become their battle cry.
"Devils don't quit!" the players shouted.
Minutes later, the team put their mantra into practice, setting up a 24-16 victory against the Cavaliers in the regular-season finale for the Mid-State 2-A Conference rivals.
"Nobody talked (at halftime, we were quiet)," Graham junior running back Brendan Cundiff said. "We came back. ... We fought with our heart the whole time."
After Cummings (4-7 overall, 3-3 Mid-State 2-A) used two Audi Smith touchdowns and a costly Graham mistake to build a 16-3 lead, the Red Devils stared down the possibility of another disappointing loss.
"The big thing is, they made up their minds to play," Graham coach Mike McCauley said. "They could have easily dropped, but there's great character with these kids. They came out and kept fighting."
Once out of halftime, Graham's Caison McVicker fielded the kickoff and was stripped of the football. Seth Caison picked it up and returned it to the Cummings 32.
On the next play, Cundiff found a seam to the left and raced to the end zone
. "Those two plays put them right back in it," said Cummings coach Steve Johnson, whose team had won its last two games. "I looked in their eyes, they were down ... I didn't see that fight and drive from the last two weeks. I knew we were in trouble at that point." Cummings drove to the Red Devils' 17-yard line before Graham forced, and recovered, a Smith fumble. It took the Red Devils (4-7, 3-3) six plays, including a 42-yard run from Cundiff, to score on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Caison to Marquise Richmond.
"It was a roll out to the left and everybody stayed underneath," Caison said. "I saw Marquise had the whole left end of the end zone, so I threw it up and let Marquise do what he does."
After Graham stopped Cummings on fourth down, something the Red Devils did four times Friday night, Graham added to its lead with a 14-yard touchdown run from Mijamin King.
With little more than two minutes left, Caison pinned the Cavaliers deep in their own territory with a 50-yard punt.
But Cummings strung together a solid drive, moving to the Red Devils's 9-yard line in the final seconds.
After a sack left the Cavaliers facing a fourth-and-16 from the 18, their final play resulted an incomplete pass over the head of Steven Crisp in the end zone, setting off a celebration on the Graham sideline.
"We just realized we are a better team," Cundiff said. "We did this for our seniors. We did this for ourselves."
With both teams sporting identical records, neither is a lock for a state-playoff bid. Graham, which took fourth in the league, may sneak in. But Cummings, which finishes fifth, faces much longer odds.
Graham went up 3-0 when Stephen Velasquez barely connected on a 31-yard field goal. Cummings answered when Smith pounded it in from 1 yard out. After Laquan Knox scored the two-point conversion, the Cavaliers led 8-3.
Cundiff fumbled at the Graham 42, giving Cummings a chance to score again in the closing minutes of the half. The Cavaliers didn't waste the opportunity, getting another 1-yard Smith touchdown run, this one with 13 seconds left. Knox again provided the conversion, giving the Cavaliers a 16-3 edge.
"A team like (Cummings), they don't need any help," McCauley said.
|
NATIONAL
NORTH CAROLINA
