Lyman Ward vs. South Montgomery Academy

Lyman Ward Rangers rally in fourth quarter for first victory

Thomas Yates

Published Saturday, October 10, 2009

The Lyman Ward Rangers broke into the win column on a wet Ranger Field Friday night beating South Montgomery Academy 21-19 on homecoming night.

The Rangers received the opening kickoff and scored on a 10-play, 64-yard drive with Robert Stegall going in from the Raider 1-yard line with 8:21 to play in the first quarter. Dekel Sherman’s extra point was good and the Rangers led 7-0.

Lyman Ward’s John Koob sacked the quarterback for a loss and a block in the back penalty forced the Raiders to punt on third down on their first drive.

The Rangers got the ball back on their own 47-yard line. Twelve plays later on a third-down play from the 6, Stegall found Dewayne Pritchett in the end zone for the score. The extra point was no good and the Rangers ended the first quarter up 13-0.

The second quarter opened with an exchange of punts until the 4:49 mark when South Montgomery running back Jared Edge went in from 18 yards out, cutting the Ranger lead to 13-7 by halftime.

The Raiders got the opening kickoff of the third quarter and returned it 60 yards to the Lyman Ward 20. It only took four plays for Edge to find the end zone again, this time from 6 yards out. Lyman Ward blocked the extra point and the score was tied at 13-13 with 9:56 to go in the third quarter.

The Rangers were unable to move the ball and punted it back to the Raiders. With 3:11 to go in the quarter, the Raiders found pay dirt again with Edge going in again from the Lyman Ward 15, putting the Raiders up for the first time. The extra point was no good, making the score 19-13 at the end of three quarters.

The fourth quarter brought the rain and new life to the Rangers, who blocked a Raider punt and recovered the ball on the 24-yard line. Six plays later, Koob went in from the right side to even the score at 19 apiece.

Coach Sheldon Ward decided to go for two and Pritchett powered his way for the go ahead score. That two-point lead proved to be the deciding factor in the game.

The Rangers managed to hold on for the final 7:30 in the game to give Lyman Ward its first win of the season on homecoming.

It was a night that saw the Rangers retire the No. 52 jersey in honor of Kevin Jenrette, who played at Lyman Ward and was killed in Afghanistan on June 4 of this year. See Tuesday’s paper for more on the special event.