MIDWAY, Ky. - Though the night wasn't without its dramatic moments, Midway finally made enough plays in the second half to earn coach Elbert Kern his first win as the school's sprint football coach.
Freshmen Quintel Thomas and Chase Williams both continued to make big plays with long touchdowns, and the defense made several critical stops late to secure a 19-14 win over Quincy (Ill.) in a Saturday night Midwest Sprint Football matchup.
"It really was a fun ball game," said Kern, whose team also won on its new, on-campus turf field for the first time. "They played tough and it's all credit to them. They deserve this victory tonight. They persevered. They didn't give up in the second half like we've been doing all year."
BIG-PLAY ROOKIES
After rushing for a single-game program record 144 yards in his first game against Bellarmine, Thomas topped the century-mark again with 117 yards Saturday.
This was highlighted by a 40-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, which allowed the Eagles to pull even at 7-7 after the Hawks turned an interception into an opening-drive touchdown.
Another big play, a 39-yard pass from Tanner Clark to Preston Moore then set Midway up to take a 13-7 lead at the half, thanks to a 5-yard touchdown run by Christian Carter. Midway has led or been tied in all four of its games this season, but entered Saturday having been outscored 82-8 in second halves.
The Eagles went a long way towards fixing those issues on their opening possession of the first half, when Clark found a wide-open Williams for a 63-yard touchdown pass to make it 19-7.
Williams finished the night with 107 yards receiving and another 74 in return yards. He is the first Eagle player to have over 100 yards receiving in a game.
It was a great return to action for Williams, who missed the previous two games following a sparkling opener against St. Mary of the Woods, in which he had 201 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns of over 50 yards.
DEFENSE COMES UP CLUTCH
Momentum seemed to leave the Eagles halfway through the fourth quarter. Following a 13-yard CJ Jackson touchdown run, the Hawks forced a fumble on the first play of the ensuing Midway series, setting them up at the Eagle 33-yard line.
But a defense that allowed just two scores on six red zone trips responded. After a six-yard run on first down, Gavin Lay made a one-yard tackle for loss before Mike Anderson broke up a pass to set up 4th-and-5. The ensuing pass by Quincy quarterback Deuce Allaway fell incomplete.
The Eagle offense proceeded to get two big first downs on the ensuing drive, bleeding nearly four minutes off the clock before Quincy retained possession at its own 26 with 2:15 to play.
The Hawks immediately put themselves behind the chains with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. It was one of many mental blunders for Quincy, which accumulated 109 yards in penalties.
After moving the ball enough to set up a 4th-and-11, Allaway threw a quick pass to Jackson, who found a little room, only for Jaylon Beard to tackle him one yard short of the sticks.
Quincy would run just one more play, getting the ball back with three seconds remaining before throwing an incomplete pass.
Luke Guerrero led a balanced defensive attack with nine tackles.
Midway improves to 1-3 while Quincy falls to 1-4.
Things get much tougher for the Eagles, as they travel to Whiting, Ind. to face defending MSFL champion Calumet, which is off to a 4-0 start.
