Enterprise falls at end to Smiths Station

ENTERPRISE — Smiths Station head coach Mark Rose stood on the field Friday, bleeding from his head and gasping for air as he tried to catch his breath.

But there might not have been a happier man alive. After all, his Panthers had just won on a last-second pass.

Panthers quarterback Michael Nolin heaved a bomb from the Enterprise 44, a ball that wide receiver Travis Banks tipped into the waiting arms of Jay Elias, giving the Panthers a 32-27 victory at Wildcat Stadium.

“We’ve worked the two-minute drills in practice. Mike stepped up and made the throw. Banks tipped it into (Elias’) arms,” said Rose, who suffered a cut during the celebration. “I’m just so proud of these guys. Our guys never gave up.”

The need for a (less than) two-minute drill arose when Enterprise took its first lead with a 7-yard touchdown run from Willie Curry with 43.3 seconds left in the game. D.J. Kober’s extra point gave the Wildcats a 27-26 advantage.

The beginning of Smiths’ last drive was shaky. Nolin misfired on his first two passes, and Enterprise’s T.J. Goode sacked Nolin on third down, creating a fourth-and-14 situation.

Nolin once again dropped back to pass, but found no one open. He scrambled around before taking off for a 20-yard gain to the Enterprise 49 with about seven seconds left.

“Mike’s a playmaker. Last week, he fumbled the ball on the 3 that gave the other team a touchdown, and we got on him about that. He responded (last week) with 150 yards rushing in the second half,” Rose said. “He’s just a winner.”

After a false start backed the Panthers up, Nolin hit Banks with a little out route for 10 more yards. Banks stepped out with 3.3 seconds left in the game.

That set up the final heroics. Nolin rolled out, and one Enterprise defensive back jumped to knock it down too early. That allowed the ball to fall toward Banks, who tipped it to Elias.

Elias made the game-winning grab on his knees.

“It’s one of those games where you can’t look at just one play,” said Wildcats head coach Kevin Collins. “It’s the whole body of work. I know we had at least three red-zone opportunities, and we had one turnover and two field goals.”

Smiths scored first when Lorenzo Betties carried the ball 38 yards to paydirt, but a 69-yard kickoff return from Curry set up a 1-yard run from him five plays later.

The Panthers then exploded on a young, suspect Enterprise defense, getting a 2-yard touchdown run from Betties and a 72-yard scoring run from Nolin.

After Betties’ score, Enterprise’s Zach McCray blocked the extra point, forcing the Panthers to try for two after Nolin’s run, to no success. Smiths led 19-7 with 9:52 left in the first half.

Enterprise rallied with a terrific play from quarterback Rhett Harrelson and Curry. Facing third-and-17 from the Panthers’ 23, Harrelson avoided heavy pressure and threw a lob to
Curry.

Curry leaped for the pass, hauled it in and made several defenders miss for a 23-yard score. Kober’s extra point cut the Panthers advantage to 19-14.

After the Enterprise defense came up with a crucial stop, the Wildcats drove to the Panthers’ 23, but a holding call backed them up. Elias then stepped in front of a Harrelson
pass to end the threat and secure a 19-14 halftime lead.

No one scored in the third quarter, but Enterprise mounted a 12-play drive into the red zone. The Panthers’ defense stiffened, forcing Kober to kick a 29-yard field goal that sliced the lead to 19-17.

Demarcus Jones answered for Smiths, scatting 50 yards for a touchdown on the next drive, seemingly icing the game for the Panthers. At that point, Smiths led 26-17.

Enterprise again mounted a long drive but had to settle for a 27-yard field goal from Kober that set up Enterprise’s go-ahead touchdown.

“We had our shots early,” Collins said. “We’ve got to move forward and (correct) missed opportunities.”

Smiths rolled up 405 yards of offense, 321 on the ground. Jones led the Panthers with 145 yards on 10 carries, while Nolin chipped in 88 yards on nine carries.

Betties had 85 yards on 16 totes.

Curry led Enterprise with 164 yards on 24 carries as Enterprise had 362 yards of offense.
Harrelson had 76 yards on 12 rushes.