ANDERSON – A quick start and a powerful run game by the TL Hanna Yellow Jackets football team put them over the Catawba Ridge Copperheads in the second round of the 5A Division II playoffs.
The Jackets beat Catawba Ridge 57-34 at Jim Fraser Field on the campus of TL Hanna High School on a cold Friday night.
“We teach our guys to play the full 48 minutes and that’s what they did,” said Catawba Ridge head coach Zac Lendyak. “I am proud of them. We just didn’t make enough plays. These seniors laid a good foundation moving forward.”
Senior CJ Couch was 18-of-40 for 216 yards and three touchdowns. His leading target was senior Brady Ambrose, who caught seven passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. Senior Braylen Burgis also caught six passes for 67 yards and a touchdown.
The Jackets took the opening kick and returned it to the Copperheads 24-yard line. Three plays later the Jackets scored on a 9-yard run capping a one-minute drive.
Catawba Ridge did have a good return, but was only able to pick up one first down before turning the ball over on downs.
TL Hanna kept the ball on the ground and was able to run it effectively gaining big yards in the process. The Yellow Jackets capped off their second drive with a 3-yard run to make it 14-0 with 5:49 left in the first quarter.
The Copperheads struggled to move the ball on offense during the opening quarter as Couch’s receivers struggled to make catches.
A blocked punt on a defensive stop by Catawba Ridge gave the Copperheads the ball at the 25-yard line for the Jackets. The field position was key as they were able to score on the drive. Couch hit Burgis for a first down pickup and then Brady Ambrose on an 8-yard touchdown pass with 24 seconds left in the first quarter.
TL Hanna bounced right back and took their first drive in the second quarter and made it count as they would put together a drive capped off with a 1-yard touchdown run with 8:39 left in the first half.
The Copperheads weren’t able to duplicate their scoring drive on their first possession in the second quarter. After a big sack forced Catawba Ridge back to their own 20, the Jackets then blocked a punt and returned it two yards for a touchdown to make it 28-7 with 6:27 left in the half.
Catawba Ridge got the ball back and was able to put together a decent drive, but TL Hanna consistently pressured Couch bringing blitzes from just about every direction.
The Copperheads turned the ball over on downs at the Jackets 32-yard line. TL Hanna then hit in a 41-yard touchdown pass ending a four-play drive to extend their lead with 2:58 left in the first half.
Catawba Ridge’s Josh Dobson returned the ensuing kickoff 85-yards for a touchdown. The Copperheads then got a turnover on the kickoff to the Jackets and started the drive at the TL Hanna 34.
Couch hit Burgis on a big gain to put them within the red zone. A play later Preston Cooper caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Couch to make it a two-score game for Catawba Ridge.
The Copperheads got the ball to open the second half, but was forced to punt after three plays.
TL Hanna took their first drive of the second half and ate up a lot of clock running nine plays and scoring on a 3-yard run with about 4:35 left in the third quarter. The Jackets then picked off Couch at the Copperheads 25-yard line and returned it for a touchdown just eight second later.
Catawba Ridge was able to put together a scoring drive on a wide play. Couch got the Copperheads to the 33-yard line and hit Darius Sutton, who made it to the one-yard line before fumbling in the end zone where Burgis recovered the ball for a touchdown with 1:52 left in the third quarter.
During their first drive in the fourth quarter, Catawba Ridge was able to move the ball well with the help of several Jackets penalties. Couch hit Ambrose for a big 35-yard gain to get within the 10-yard line of the Jackets. Two plays later, Couch found Burgis for a 7-yard touchdown. A 2-point conversion put the score at 50-34 with nine minutes left in the game.
On their final series of the game, TL Hanna made the most of the possession going 12-plays for 73-yards and scoring again with 1:18 left in the game.
Catawba Ridge finished the season at 8-4.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
