CLASS 2A

Langston run lifts Hornets

— Kendrick Langston scored on a 49-yard run with 1:09 to play to give Mineral Springs a 22-21 victory over Carlisle in the Class 2A quarterfinals.

Langston carried three consecutive times after the Hornets got the ball on their 39 with 2:07 remaining.

Carlisle had just taken the lead, capping a 10-play drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Chris Hart to Justice Bryant, giving the Bison a 21-16 advantage.

Mineral Springs fumbled the ensuing kickoff but recovered at the 39. Langston ran the ball twice up the middle for 12 yards. On the next play, the Hornets spread the field, leaving the middle open for Langston, who ran for his second score.

Carlisle drove to the Hornets’ 2, but Hart’s pass was intercepted in the end zone by Avanti Evans with 21 seconds remaining.

The Bison struck first after getting a short field on a muffed punt snap. Three plays later, Deron Ricks ran in from 5 yards out, giving Carlisle a 7-0 lead.

Both teams failed to convert on fourth down on successive drives, but on Mineral Springs’ third drive, Langston raced into the Carlisle red zone on a 38-yard run, and Evans scored two plays later, giving the Hornets an 8-7 lead.

The Hornets capitalized on the only turnover of the first half, a fumble by Ricks that was recovered by Eric Stewart near midfield. With 9:07 remaining in the second quarter, Langston found a seam in the middle of the line and burst through for a 34-yard touchdown run, breaking four tackles. The two-point conversion gave Mineral Springs a 16-7 lead.

Carlisle got right back in the game, driving down the field in nine plays, the last of which was a 30-yard touchdown run down the left sideline by Bryant. The drive was highlighted by a 17-yard pass from Hart to Bryant on fourth-and-3. Carlisle pulled to within 16-15 when Hart threw to Austin Reed in the left corner of the end zone for the two-point conversion.

Sports, Pages 33 on 11/24/2012

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