Turnovers Doom Greenhill Against Falcons
By Michael Finnegan / Special Contributor
Costly turnovers were the difference in Greenhill’s 34-25 loss to SPC rival Fort Worth Country Day on Friday at Brinkmann Field.
Greenhill outgained the Falcons in total offense by a margin of 479 to 370, but two turnovers at key points in the game were too much to overcome for the Hornets.
“They won the turnover battle, so hats off to them,” said Greenhill head coach Tom Williams. “Our team battled all night long and it’s still a long season ahead of us.”
Jake Hershman’s 1-yard run just before the end of the first quarter put Greenhill (3-2) on top 7-0. But Country Day (3-1) answered on its ensuing possession when Brad Chilcoat connected with Joseph Breedlove from 15 yards out to cap a 67-yard drive.
Konnell Woods went to work on the Hornets’ next drive. The junior, who threw for 348 yards and two scores, found Xavier Bryant from 28 yards out to extend Greenhill’s lead to 13-6.
“Konnell was huge for us tonight,” Williams said. “He’s just a junior, so we’re in for many more exciting games with him at the helm.”
Greenhill, ahead 13-6 with under two minutes to go before intermission, was moving the ball before the first big turnover of the game halted the drive.
Kellan Onuscheck intercepted a Woods pass and the Falcons capitalized when Mark MacLean scored on a 47-yard run to tie the score 13-13 as time expired in the first half. MacLean led all rushers with 230 yards on 27 carries.
Country Day went up for good early in the third quarter when Spencer Pergrande, batted a Woods pass before taking it out of the air and returning it 67 yards for a touchdown.
“You have to give it to him,” said Williams. “That was a J.J. Watt-type play and ended up being a major difference in the game.”
Pergrande’s score put the Falcons ahead 20-13, but Greenhill responded when Woods scored on a 10-yard keeper with 6:11 left in the third quarter to cut the lead to 20-19.
That was as close as the Hornets came, as Country Day scored two unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter to take a 34-19 lead.
Greenhill rallied late in the game when Woods found Bryant again, this time from 19 yards out, with 1:12 left to reduce the deficit to 34-25.
Bryant led all receivers with 12 receptions for 202 yards and two touchdowns. Kassidy Woods, the younger brother of Konnell, finished with four catches for 95 yards.
