Chargers exorcise Demons from District hunt

In Week 6, the Chargers faced an undefeated Perkins-Tryon team with hopes of possessing the top slot in the District standings.

The Chargers started off quickly with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Jackson Jobe to junior wideout Joe Washington to put the Hall on the board.

The Demons and Chargers played to a stalemate for the rest of the first quarter as they battled for field position.

Perkins-Tyron scored early in the second quarter, but the Chargers had a response. Jobe then threw a 3 yard pass to sophomore Gavin Freeman in the end zone. This put the Chargers up 14-7.

The Demons scored another touchdown late in the second quarter when quarterback Austin Mages ran it in from 2 yards out to tie the score 14-14.

Coming out of the locker room, the Chargers knew what they needed to do to put away Perkins-Tryon and secure their 18th straight program win.

Heritage Hall knew that Perkins would be less physical than recent opponents. However, the Demons are well-coached and they were going to know how to line up and defend the Hall.

Early in the third quarter, Jayden Williams rushed for a 12 yard touchdown up the middle bring the score to 21-14 Chargers. Williams kept pounding the ground and closed out the quarter with a 15 yard run off tackle to put the Hall in good field position.

In the final quarter, the Demons took control and scored again to tie the game at 21. Mages passed to Teegan Shepard in the end zone for the 25-yard equalizer.

The Chargers didn't let this stop their momentum the Hall did not give up and battled until the end. The Hall drove down the field and got into field goal range for sophomore kicker Luke Butler, but a delay of game penalty with one minute left moved The Hall back and Coach Bogert elected to go for it on fourth down. Jobe's pass to the corner of the end zone eluded the outstretched arms of Phillip Smitherman and Perkins took over on downs.

Senior leader Phillip Smitherman knew that he had to do something big to help lead and make his team successful. With less than 30 seconds, the free safety closed on an errant throw and returned an interception to the house to put the Chargers back on top 28-21. Smitherman would make two more defensive stops to repel the Demons final attempt to tie it up as time ran out on Perkins.

The top three offensive performers this week for The Hall were Jobe, Smitherman and Williams. Jobe completed 15 of 26 throws for 175 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Smitherman had 8 receptions for 123 yards. Williams ended the night with 13 carries en route to 88 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Seniors dominated on the defensive side of the ball. Connor Keith racked up 13 tackles including one for a loss and Hardy Bowers tallied 8 tackles of his own. In addition to the game-winning pick six, Smitherman recorded 10 tackles on the night. Junior linebacker A.J. Sirls tallied 8 tackles as well.

The Chargers plan to take a road trip next week to face the the Bridge Creek Bobcats in another District showdown. Coach Bogert will try to keep them focused as a big game with Kingfisher looms on the horizon. Go Chargers!!!

Print Friendly Version