Raiders get late edge on Eagles

Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007

North Point (1-5, 1-4 SMAC) started the game off with a little bit of luck, as junior Josh Luck recovered a Leonardtown fumble after the second play from scrimmage. The Luck fumble recovery led to swift actions on offense as well.

The third play on the ensuing drive led to an Eagles touchdown as quarterback Daniel Dempsey connected with running back Quentin Walker on a 21-yard touchdown pass.

North Point would go on to score its second touchdown in the quarter with only 57 seconds remaining as quarterback Ja’ron Neal scampered for a 67-yard touchdown, pushing the lead to 14-6 after a Raiders score. The Eagles led 14-6 going into halftime.

Leonardtown (2-4, 2-3) came out in the second half, however, and was led by running back Mike Hebb, who rushed for 195 yards on 30 attempts on the night.

Hebb was able to score his lone touchdown of the game, pounding in a two-yard touchdown run that tied the game at 14 with five minutes remaining in the third quarter.

North Point then came back and took the lead in the fourth quarter thanks to a Taylor Griffin 22-yard field goal that put the Eagles in a good position to win with only five minutes remaining in the game.

On the Raiders’ ensuing drive, however, head coach Anthony Pratley continued to use Hebb as he drove Leonardtown down the field almost single-handedly.

During that drive, Hebb was given the ball on six consecutive plays, leading to the go-ahead touchdown.

‘‘He is a phenomenal athlete,” Pratley said of Hebb. ‘‘I couldn’t be happier with him. Mike is a hard runner, he is a cutter, he’s got speed, he is our leading rusher every game. He takes a beating but just keeps on going. He is a wonderful kid.”

Bruce Julian scored on a quarterback sneak that gave Leonardtown the 20-17 lead with only 59 seconds remaining in the game.

‘‘They controlled the line of scrimmage there at the end of the game and drove it down on us,” North Point head coach Ken Lane said. ‘‘They were able to run the ball on us three and four yards a pop; we would get them at third and short and couldn’t stop them. ... It eventually wore us out.”

The Eagles had one last attempt to score on the following drive. However, the drive was cut short after the first play resulted in an interception.

‘‘North Point fought tooth and nail and they gave us every bit of a game,” Pratley said.

‘‘We made mental mistakes and we turned the ball over and that usually comes back to bite you, especially in a close ballgame,” Lane said, speaking of three lost fumbles and two interceptions in the game.

‘‘I think that we are doing a great job every week preparing for the game. We just have to continue to work at it and continue to fight and keep doing the things we are doing,” Lane added.

The Eagles now look to prepare for a matchup with Lackey on Friday. Lackey is on a four-game win streak.

E-mail James A. McCray III at jmccray@somdnews.com.