Despite a good first game from quarterback Quentin Hasten, who finished with 205 yards passing and two touchdowns, the varsity football team’s opener against the L.D. Bell Raiders ended with a 20-30 loss. Although head coach Chris Melson was pleased with his team’s effort, he acknowledges the fundamentals which caused the loss.
“It’s fundamentals,” Melson said. “We’ll correct the mistakes and have a great game [this] week.”
Legacy started last Friday with the ball behind their ten-yard-line, yet still managed to get a touchdown on their first drive when quarterback Quentin Hasten pounded it in from the two yard line. The Raiders’ special teams allowed the extra point to be blocked, halting Legacy’s lead at 6-0 early in the first quarter. The defense forced the Raiders to punt. However, the punt was muffed by return man Ian Simon, and was recovered by L.D. Bell.
“Mistakes definitely kill you in the field position game,” Simon said. “Football is a big game of field position, and we kept losing that battle with penalties and turnovers.”
The Raiders took advantage of their field position when quarterback James Mauro connected with wide receiver Denelra Doresett for a five-yard touchdown pass. The Broncos rebounded and drove the ball to the Raider eight-yard line, but failed to capitalize when kicker Matt Shimp, missed a field goal attempt. The Raiders cashed in on the turnover with the help of running back Kenneth Farrow’s 55-yard run to Legacy’s 15-yard line, setting up kicker Cole Benton with a 28-yard-field goal to make the score 10-6. Farrow ended up with 242 yards rushing for the night.
“I feel the defense played extremely hard we just had a couple of mental errors lining up that cost us the game,” Simon said. “We started thinking too much instead of just playing.”
Legacy managed to take the lead 13-10 when Hasten connected with wide receiver Josh Doctson, who redeemed himself for a drop earlier in the drive for a 16-yard touchdown pass. The Raiders had one last possession before half time and managed to get the ball inside the Legacy 20, close enough for Benton to tie the game with a field goal into halftime.
Bell’s first possession in the second half ended in a touchdown when Mauro connected with tight end Chris Barnett for a 10-yard touchdown pass to make the score 20-13. The Raiders would put another seven on the board when a fumble was recovered from a strip sack of Hasten and returned for a touchdown by L.D. Bell. Hasten retaliated with a 60 yard strike to wide receiver Tevin Mitchell, to make the score 20-27, but a Raider field goal made with three minutes left made the point differential too great for Legacy to overcome in the short time. The game ended with a 20-30 loss.
“The first game is always going to be the worst game,” Hasten said. “The best thing you can do is just keep on working hard and hope it is going to be better next game.”
