Houston Academy rebounds against G.W. Long

Houston Academy’s 21-12 win over G.W. Long wasn’t exactly a thing of beauty, but it had senior lineman Marco Pena smiling.

“We got our momentum back,” Pena said. “It felt good. The line blocked for Andrew (Dauphin), and he ran.”

A week after Houston Academy suffered its first loss of the season, Dauphin ran for 149 yards on 28 carries and scored two touchdowns on Senior Night for the Raiders at Northcutt Field.

But the victory didn’t come easily for the No. 8-ranked team in Class 2A.

Houston Academy (7-1) led G.W. Long (4-4) 7-0 at halftime and 15-6 early in the fourth quarter.

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“We just didn’t get anything going offensively and left the defense on the field too long,” G.W. Long coach Scott Horne said. “You can’t keep giving them (HA) shots.”

A 1-yard touchdown run by Dauphin late in the first quarter accounted for the only touchdown of the first half.

A 9-yard completion from J.H. Johnson to Will McCann got the Raiders down to the 6 for a first-and-goal situation, and Dauphin carried the ball three straight times before putting it into the end zone. Will Andre booted through the extra point with 6:06 to play in the opening quarter.

Later in the first half, HA had a successful fake field goal call when Andre lined for a 47-yard attempt, but the ball was snapped to Pena and he ran 12 yards for a first down at the Long 19.

Four plays later, HA had a second-and-goal situation from the 8 when the Rebels’ Graham Dunlap came up with a big interception off the hands of intended receiver Jack Cramer.

After the Rebels couldn’t move the football and punted it away, Dauphin lost the handle on the ball on the first play of the series. It was Dunlap again coming up with a turnover.

It was then Houston Academy’s turn to play takeaway as Wesley Moss intercepted G.W. Long quarterback Dwayne Whigham at the Raiders’ 4.

On the ensuing drive, Houston Academy got a field goal opportunity following a timeout with 35 seconds left in the half as Andre tried a 44-yarder into the wind, but the ball fell short to keep the score 7-0 at halftime.

The turnovers continued on the opening drive of the second half as Houston Academy’s Carter Bess came up with a loose ball at the Raiders’ 43 when the Rebels fumbled.

The Raiders finally got a little cushion on the lead when Dauphin broke loose for a 23-yard touchdown run with 4:10 to play in the fourth quarter. Houston Academy faked the extra point kick, much like the earlier field goal fake, with Pena taking the snap and running in for the 2-point conversion and a 15-0 lead.

G.W. Long responded with its most impressive drive of the night, going 75 yards on 12 plays to score when Whigham took it in on a fourth-and-goal play from the 1.

Whigham, who ran for 55 yards in the game and threw for 116, connected with Taylor Moates early in the drive for a 37-yard completion to move the Rebels into Houston Academy territory.

Following the touchdown, G.W. Long lined to go for 2, but first was whistled for offsides to move the ball back to the 8. Whigham then threw incomplete, and the score stood at 15-6 with 9:57 left.

Whigham, who injured a knee in last week’s game, didn’t start at quarterback. He did, however, come in to replace starter Garrett Davis early in the game.

“We were going to try and play him on just one side of the ball,” Horne said. “As he goes, usually we go.”

After the Rebels cut the lead to 15-6, Houston Academy took a short kickoff and set up at its own 40.

Dauphin broke off a 15-yard run to open the drive, then three plays later Johnson threw to Britt Owen for a 14-yard completion down to the 20.

On the next play, Johnson connected with Cramer, who made a nice grab, for an 18-yard reception to the 2.

On third-and-goal from the 1, Johnson took it in on a quarterback sneak. Andre’s PAT attempt was missed, making it 21-6.

Johnson completed 7-of-15 passes for 107 yards in the game.

The Rebels scored the final points with 1:51 left when Whigham connected with Moates on a 16-yard touchdown toss. On the previous play, Whigham had hit Blake
York on a 21-yard reception for a touchdown, but the play was called back due to a block in the back.

Following Moates’ scoring catch, G.W. Long went for two but HA’s Andrew Tarwater made a good tackle from behind on Whigham to drop him after a short gain.