Griswold/Wheeler rallied from an early two-touchdown deficit and escaped with a 28-27 victory over Bacon Academy/Lyman Memorial on Saturday in Colchester.
The upset-minded Bobcats (0-5) stunned the Wolverines with sensational long touchdown plays while building a 21-7 lead in the first half.
Griswold/Wheeler, however, answered with 21 straight points before thwarting the Bobcats' potential game-winning drive with a fourth-down stop in the final minute of this ECC Division III contest.
“Both sides played very well,” Griswold/Wheeler coach Gregg Wilcox said. “It’s always a battle here no matter when. It’s been that way for years.”
Griswold/Wheeler junior Nick Watters scored all four of the Wolverines’ touchdowns, including a key 21-yard reception on a perfect toss from junior quarterback Kolby Mills that gave Griswold the lead late in the third quarter.
Watters also had touchdown receptions of 55 and 66 yards and a short touchdown run in the first quarter.
“Watters had a great day,” Wilcox said. “He picked up for some of the slack we had. Just a great job by Nick.”
Mills also had a big day for Griswold. He completed 9 of 17 passes for 235 yards and tossed three touchdowns.
After Watters scored on a 3-yard run to give the Wolverines a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter, the Bobcats scored three quick touchdowns.
Bacon junior Riddick Burroughs swung a short pass to Lucian Dean, who got a terrific block and raced untouched along the sidelines for an 83-yard score. On their next possession, Burroughs found senior Daniel Zurita for a 75 yard touchdown.
The Bobcats' defense came up with a big fourth-down stop on the Wolverines’ ensuing drive, and the offense hit Griswold with another big touchdown play when junior Jason Colon caught a Burroughs and went 69 yards to give the Bobcats a 21-7 lead with 6:28 left in the first half.
“We had to execute our game plan,” Wilcox said. “We had the right stuff going on, we just stubbed our toe a few times.”
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Griswold regained the momentum with two long touchdown passes from Mills to Waters right before the halftime break, and the Wolverines trailed, 21-20.
Mills’ strike to Watters on a fourth-and-9 play late in the third quarter gave Griswold the lead. Watters ran for the two-point conversion for a 28-20 advantage.
Bacon closed the gap when Burroughs found Colon again for a 20-yard TD pass play, but the extra-point kick was too low, and the Wolverines held on to a 28-27 lead.
The Bobcats regained possession with just 5:58 remaining and drove all the way to the Griswold 31. On fourth and 6 with under a minute left, Burroughs completed a short pass to Josh Millington, but Wolverines senior Brenden Hopkins made a great open-field tackle and stopped the Bobcats from picking up the first down.
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“We played a good game, and that involves several aspects,” Wilcox said. “It was mental stuff, being disciplined and doing your job. We’ve got a lot of young kids, and they got better today. That’s what I was most happy about.”
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Griswold/Wheeler overcomes early deficit to edge Bacon Academy
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