By Rich Whittington
(Pasadena) -The Maranatha Minutemen came back from 7-6 halftime deficit, and held off two late game offenses to beat the visiting Heritage Christian Warriors, 20-19, Friday evening, in front of a small but mighty, Covid approved, crowd.
The Minutemen actually scored the game’s first points – a 14 -yard TD run by RB Elijah Lee Ferrell-Finney. Ferrell-Finney added another score later in the game, and finished the evening with 94 rushing yards, on 18 carries.
Also getting into the scoring column was QB Tobey Schmidt, who scored the games “go ahead” TD 7:20 remaining in
the 4th Quarter of play. Maranatha’s remaining points came off the foot of PK Beckham Pellant, who converted two PAT attempts, including the kick that turned out to be the difference in the game.
Heritage Christian proved to be quite a challenge for Maranatha. QB Isaac Phe, who completed 15 of 27 pass attempts, for 205 yards and three touchdowns, led the Warriors.
Phe’s scoring connections were to three different receivers. The first was to RB Darin Davis (8 yards), the second to WR Andrew Casper (12 yards), and the final score to WR Angel Fernandez (52 yards).
The contest also featured more than a fair amount of defensive highlights. Ferrell-Finney made his presence known, sacking the HC Quarterback for a 6- yard loss. Ferrell-Finney also defended three potential scoring passes from his DB
position.
Also shining on “D” for the Minutemen was DB Isaiah Johnson, who intercepted a pass and recorded a sack of the Heritage Christian quarterback. Also shining on defense for Maranatha were Derek Ganter and Cardell Mayfield, who each recorded a quarterback sack.
Heritage Christian also shined on defense, recording a pair of interceptions of Maranatha QB Tobey Schmidt. LB Juan Sanchez and CB Angel Fernandez logged these picks respectfully.
Maranatha’s next game is scheduled for 4/1/21, when the Minutemen will host the Village Christian Crusaders. Heritage Christian’s next contest is also scheduled for 4/1, when the Warriors will host the Whittier Christian Heralds. Kickoff for Maranatha’s game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., while the start time for the Heritage Christian game is 2:30 p.m.
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