Prep Football: Stafford escapes against Hornets

BY STEVE FRANZELLO

 Three straight losses to start the season had Stafford looking for a new beginning at Orange on Friday night.

Thanks to a strong effort by their running game and a missed extra point by the Hornets in the fourth quarter, the Indians got it and earned their first Commonwealth District victory in the process, 14–13

Swift running back Da’Shawn Harris provided the points with two scoring runs, one in each half, and the Indians’ defense made the lead stand up, as Stafford  improved to 1–3 overall and 1–1 in the district.

Harris finished with 82 yards on just six carries, and quarterback Billy Bolinsky added 80 on 10 attempts, as Stafford won the battle on the ground, 213–143.

Orange, which had won a 29–22 thriller at Culpeper last week, fell to 1–2, 0–1.

“It’s tough,” said Hornets coach John Kayajanian. “We’ve had some injuries and had to do some different things. But we battled.”

One of those things was alternating his quarterbacks in the first half. Juniors Damian Clark and Isaiah Ferguson shared the signal calling for two quarters.

After scoring the Hornets’ first touchdown on a 4-yard scamper in the second quarter, Ferguson took over in the second half and nearly pulled Orange even with seven  minutes left, when he scored on a 1-yard burst to  make it 14–13.

But placekicker Cory Plamp’s extra point attempt sailed just wide and the Indians’ defense, led by linebacker Patrick Holland, took care of business in the closing minutes.

 Besides the hard running of Ferguson, Orange got a strong effort from Matthew Thurston, who led all rushers with 104 yards on 17 carries.

Stafford 7 0 7 0 — 14

Orange 0 7 0 6 — 13

First Quarter

St-D. Harris 18-yard run (A. Williams kick)

Second Quarter

Or-I. Ferguson 4-yard run (C. Plamp kick)

Third Quarter

St-D. Harris 64-yard run (A. Williams kick)

Fourth Quarter

Or-I. Ferguson 1-yard run (kick failed)

TEAMSTATISTICS

St Or

First downs11 12

Rushing yardage29-213 50-143

Passing yardage56 34

Passes3-5-0 5-10-1

Punts-Avg.3-38.8 6-30.5

Fumbles-lost3-2 2-1

Penalties-yards8-85 10-88

INDIVIDUALSTATISTICS

Rushing:Orange—Matthew Thurston 17-104; Isaiah Ferguson 15-39, 2TD; Mikael Wallace 13-31; Cameron Rickett 1-3; DeAndre Clark 1-(-7); Dominique Ellis 2-(-9); Damian Clark 1-(-18). Stafford—Da’Shawn Harris 6-82, 2TD; Billy Bolinsky 10-80; Traevon Richardson 5-41; Trey Spindle 3-7; Devin Stowell 5-3.

Passing:Orange—Isaiah Ferguson 3-5-1 15; Damian Clark 2-5-0 19. Stafford—Billy Bolinsky 3-5-0 56.

Receiving:Orange—Cameron Rickett 2-22; Mikael Wallace 1-9; Dominique Ellis 1-3; Matthew Thurston 1-0. Stafford—Da’Shawn Harris 3-56.

 Steve Franzello: 540/374-5440

sports@freelancestar.com

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