WEST TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Holding a lead halfway through the fourth quarter, Midway surrendered 14 unanswered points as Saint Mary of the Woods rallied for a 27-20 win in a sloppy battle for the top spot in the Midwest Sprint Football League Black Division Saturday.
Midway got a much-needed jolt with 1:47 left in the third quarter, when
Ayden Bauwens high-pointed a jump ball from
Christian Carter around midfield and raced by two defenders for a 75-yard touchdown to put the Eagles ahead 20-13.
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Carter, the MSFL's leading passer entering the day, threw for 271 yards and a touchdown through the air and ran for another 58 yards while scoring Midway's other touchdown on a 1-yard run in the first quarter
Bauwens and
Quincy Barber, the top-two receivers in the MSFL coming into the week, had 125 and 115 yards respectively through the air. Both players surpassed the previous program record of 319 receiving yards in a season, Bauwens finishing with 415, Barber with 375.
League-leading rusher
Demari Edelen topped the century mark for the second week in a row, gaining 102.
Against a team that had scored at least 49 points in each of its previous three games, the Eagle defense held the Pomeroys to 13 through three-and-a-half quarters, before finally bending late in the period.
After getting the ball on its own 45, the Pomeroys put together an eight-play drive, which ended with a game-tying, 7-yard touchdown pass from Jeremiah Tosky to Corbyn Cleveland.
The Eagles would start the next drive on the Pomeroy 38 but ended up having to punt. They appeared to be in range for kicker
Kadin Fitch, who hit field goals from 25 and 40 yards out in the first half, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty took them out.
Taking over at the Midway 20, the Pomeroys needed just four plays to pull ahead, the dagger coming when Derron Hazzard broke three tackles and barreled ahead for a 58-yard touchdown.
Midway proceeded to get the ball back, but turned it over on downs before Saint Mary of the Woods converted a fourth down to run out the clock.
Defensively,
Byron Wallace (11),
Trenton Leach (11) and Tristan Euell (10) all had double-digit tackles and each recorded a sack. For the second week in a row,
Brady Bond had a blocked kick, this one on a Pomeroy extra-point try in the third quarter.
FLAGS GALORE
Penalty issues that have plagued Midway all season they got even worse on Saturday
Midway recorded 19 penalties for 211 yards, topping the 18 for 159 accumulated by Saint Mary of the Woods.
The Eagles have been flagged for over 100 yards in all four games this season and are now 2-2.Â
A win Saturday would have pulled Midway even with Saint Mary of the Woods for the top seed in the MSFL Black. But the 4-0 Pomeroys,
who beat Midway 52-36 in week one, clinched the tie-breaker and now need just one win or one Eagle loss to clinch a league title.
Following a bye week, the Eagles return to action with a road game at Quincy (Ill.) on Oct. 18.
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