WOW: O'HARA 50 PLEASANT HILL 49

O'HARA REACHES FINAL FOUR IN STATE _____ At one time in the close State 3-A quarterfinal game between the O'Hara Celtics and the Pleasant Hill Roosters, O'Hara led 35-7. But Pleasant Hill chipped away until eventually leading 49-42 with 2:72 remaining in the game. _____ With 0:35 on the clock, the Celtics rallied to make the score 50-49, and their defense held on for the win. _____ So close was the contest that there were a number of parallels. _____ Both Raphael Spencer for O'Hara and Matt Hertzog for Pleasant Hill scored five touchdowns apiece. Louis Golden and Jake Warren scored on pass plays for their respective teams. _____ Justin Starks returned a punt to offset a touchdown catch by Aaron Stubblefield. _____ Raphael Spencer and Cody Todd ran in two-point conversions. _____ The difference ultimately was in the kicked extra points. Sophomore Julian Gidley won that battle succeeding with six while senior Jake Goosey missed one of his six attempts. _____ HOW THE 99 POINTS OCCURRED _____ At the beginning of the game, the Celtics scored on their third play of the game, a 65 yard TD run by Raphael Spencer [7-0]. _____ On the Roosters' sixth play, Raphael Spencer picked up a loose fumble and returned for a 58 yard score [14-0]. _____ In Six plays, the Roosters halved the score to 14-7 on Matt Hertzog's 11 yard run. _____ On the first play after the ensuing kickoff, Raphael Spencer broke free for a 72 yard TD run [21-7]. _____ The Celtics methodically advanced the ball from their own 22 yard line, and in eight plays increased the score to 28-7 on T. J. White's 21 yard pass to Louis Golden. _____ In O'Hara's next possession, Raphael Spencer had runs of 48 yards, 13 yards, and 21 yards, the last of which was for a touchdown [35-7]. _____ The momentum changed drastically from here on. The Roosters scored the next five TD's. ____ First was a 7 yard run by Matt Hertzog [35-14]. _____ Next was a punt run back by Justin Starks which made the half time score 35-21. _____ Cody Todd, on a fourth down play, connected with Jake Warren for a 29 yard touchdown [35-27] but the Roosters failed to cash in on an extra point. _____ Matt Hertzog added a 19 yard TD to tie the score at the end of the third quarter. _____ Putting the Roosters ahead for the first time in the game, Matt Hertzog scored from 16 yards out and the team benefitted by Cody Todd's two-point conversion [42-35]. _____ Eight plays later, Raphael Spencer ran for a 14 yard touchdown tying the score at 42-42. _____ It took the Roosters thirteen plays, but they managed to retake the lead 49-42 while eating up valuable time on the clock. The six point score was a 2 yarder by Matt Hertzog. _____ 2:12 remained in the game. Andre Jordan covered the on-side kick attempt on the 46 yard line. After two short passes to Aaron Stubblefield and and Joe Melchior, T. J. White completed a 19 yard touchdown pass to Aaron Stubblefield with 35 seconds on the clock. _____ With Spencer's two-point conversion, O'Hara moved back into the final lead 50-49. _____ The Roosters got to the 21 yard line with time running out and tried a long field goal, but Jake Goosey's kick was wide to the right.