Backup players can be the key to winning when called on in a tough situation.
Friday night at Dwight Bogle Stadium it came down to which team’s backup quarterback would rise to the occasion.
Unanimous decision to Hidden Valley’s Jeremy Rice.
Putting on a display like a seasoned veteran, Rice guided the Titans over Pulaski County as Hidden Valley pulled away in the second half for the 31-7 River Ridge District win.
Pulaski County, which had fallen a week earlier at Bogle after a late Cave Spring touchdown, saw its chances take a hit when its star quarterback, Jesse Draper, went down with a knee injury after a sack in the second quarter. Draper never returned, sending backup Bryant Grubb behind center for what turned into a trial-by-fire indoctrination by the swarming Hidden Valley defense.
“We’re not sure of his injuries,” Pulaski County head coach Steven James said after the game. “Honestly, we’re running out of bodies. Hidden Valley is a very good football team, so losing our quarterback was huge. It has been a tough night for all of us.”
On the Hidden Valley side, the backup quarterback situation was still somewhat blurred after the contest.
A pregame media source reported that expected starter Jake Smiley had been suspended for the game for violation of team rules. Outside the Titan locker room afterward, that report was never confirmed as Hidden Valley head coach Scott Weaver deflected the question on changing quarterbacks in a different direction.
“it was a coach’s decision,” Weaver said of playing Rice. “Jeremy is a senior leader and he earned the chance at quarterback by the way he’s done in practice. We wanted to see what he could do.”
Weaver surely wasn’t disappointed in what he saw from the signal caller.
“He came out and did an outstanding job against a tough football team,” Weaver added. “He threw some great balls tonight.”
Things were still up for grabs when the teams went to the halftime break.
Hidden Valley had opened the scoring on freshman Michael Driscoll’s 33-yard field goal with 22 seconds left in the first quarter.
Pulaski County responded on its next possession with a sustained drive that culminated with Draper scoring from 1-yard out to put the Cougars up 7-3 with 9:59 left in the second quarter.
Later in the second, sophomore Ryan Mitchell intercepted a Pulaski pass that set the Titans up in Cougar territory. The drive stalled, however, leaving the Titans with a 4th-and-18 at the Pulaski 26. After setting up for what would have been a 43-yard field goal attempt, Hidden Valley called time out and sent the offense back on the field.
Rice then provided the game-changer when he hit Mitchell on a perfect strike down the left sideline for a touchdown and 10-7 Titan lead heading to the locker room.
With Draper on crutches to start the second half, Rice and the Hidden Valley defense quickly took control.
The Titan secondary intercepted Grubb, leading to a Mason Dermott 1-yard touchdown run with 6:20 left that increased the Hidden Valley lead to 17-7. Dermott would finish with a game-high 106 rushing yards on 20 carries.
Later in the third quarter, and facing third-and-goal from the Cougar 8, Rice fired a laser to senior Donte Latempa at the right pylon. Latempa made the catch and tightroped his foot inches across the goal line for the TD and a 24-7 Titan lead.
Hidden Valley put the exclamation point on the victory at the 8:22 mark of the fourth when Rice connected on a 23-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell to secure the 31-7 final.
Hidden Valley now faces back-to-back marquee games. The 7-1 Titans travel to undefeated Salem this Friday night for the much-anticipated River Ridge clash. The following Friday, Hidden Valley faces rival Cave Spring in the regular season finale.
“We’re going to take it one week at a time,” Titan senior captain Tariq Harris said Friday night. “Tonight, Coach Weaver gave us some insight on what to expect. I guess it was a morale booster when they had to go to their backup quarterback and our defense responded like it did.”
So, who’ll be behind center in that final two-game stretch?
“We’ve got two very good quarterbacks,” Weaver pointed out. “We’re going to let them battle in practice. Main thing is that we’re going to play Hidden Valley football. We’re still ranked #1 in our division.”
Bill Turner
