(Glendale)- Glendale held off a late charge by South Pasadena in the second half and scored on their first possession
Moises Chavez dives in for the winning score. Photo by Anne Cypress.
in overtime to take a surprising 28-21 victory.
The Nitros (1-2) used two counter-runs on their only plays in overtime to find the end zone and take a 28-21 lead. The Tigers (0-3) then were stymied by the Glendale defense to close out the game.
“We just instituted the counter-play on Monday,” said Glendale head coach Alan Eberhart. “We were running a single pull run for most of the night and it confused South Pasadena in overtime.”
The game seemed to be in hand for the Nitros during the middle of the second quarter as quarterback Moises Chavez (11 of 15 for 179 yards and two touchdowns) found Linden Anderson (five receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown) open in the end zone for 26-yard strike to go up 21-0.
The Tigers would battle back though as quarterback Conor Bednarski (14 of 27 for 140 yards and two touchdowns) was able to get them on the board when he found Matthew Chan from 11-yards out to cut the lead to 14 heading into the second half.
Bednarski runs for a crucial first down. Photo by Anne Cypress.
The second half was entirely different game as South Pasadena was able to stop the Nitros from scoring after Bednarski was charged with a fumble on a backward pass that was recovered by Dillion Fuller.
The next series, Bednarski would lead the Tigers on a 17-play drive that covered 70-yards. The drive was capped on a Matthew Nelson’s touchdown catch on a slant play with South Pasadena facing a fourth and goal at the Nitro 21-yard line.
“We played an awful first half,” said South Pasadena head coach Edward Smith. “The kids showed me something in the second half. The overtime caught us by surprise.”
After the Nitros were unable to get anything started on their next series, South Pasadena would take 7:15 seconds off the clock on 19-plays for 79-yards that would be highlighted by Alejandro Chavez’s three-yard score to tie the game.
Duncan Maxwell recovers a big fumble late in the game. Photo by Anne Cypress.
Glendale would receive a gift late in the game when Bednarski fumbled with 3:43 to play when he attempted to rush into the heart of the Nitro defense and was stripped of the ball.
The Nitros had a chance to win the game in regulation with no time left in the fourth quarter, but Richard Anaya missed a 39-yard field goal wide-left.
“If we lost this game it would have been devastating to our program,” said Everhart. “To be up by that many points and give it away would have been heartbreaking for our team.”
SOUTH PASADENA 0 7 7 7 0 21
GLENDALE 14 7 0 0 7 28
SCORING:
G – Richard Anaya 8 pass from Moises Chavez (Anaya kick)
G – Anthony Platero 5 run (Anaya kick)
G – Linden Anderson 26 pass from Chavez (Anaya kick)
SP – Matthew Chan 11 pass from Conor Bednarski (Matthew Nelson kick)
SP – Nelson 21 pass from Bednarski (Nelson kick)
SP – Alejandro Chavez 3 run (Nelson kick)
G – Chavez 5 run (Anaya kick)
Leave a Reply