INDIANAPOLIS – It was a battle to the end between a pair of ranked squads on Friday night as No. 11 Hagerstown fell 19-12 to third-ranked Indianapolis Lutheran in Class 1A Sectional 46 championship contest.
“It’s one of those games where the team that makes the least mistakes is going to win,” Hagerstown Head Coach Scott Snodgrass said. “They played well. Give them credit. They’re good.”
“The kids played hard,” Snodgrass added. “Our seniors, I love them to death. I think they played with everything that they had. Can’t fault the kids for effort. They did everything in their power to get the job done. We were in there until the end.”
The Saints (10-2) scored in the opening period to take a 6-0 lead as quarterback Andre Jones had a 1-yard run at the 5:54 mark.
The two teams traded possessions until late in the first half before the Tigers (10-2) were able to tie the contest.
Quarterback Owen Gollhier had an 11-yard toss to Cameron Purtha to make it 6-6 with 54 seconds remaining.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, the Saints were able to answer with 17 seconds left when Jones found Marcus McFadden for an 8-yard touchdown and it was 12-6 at the intermission.
In the third quarter, Jones put the Saints on top 19-6 after he ran 20-yards for a score with 6:05 on the clock.
Hagerstown came to life early in the final stanza with some offensive magic.
The Tigers ran a reverse that ended with Clay Cochran completing a 50-yard pass to Golliher as the Tigers closed the gap to seven points.
“Clay Cochran throws a pretty good ball,” Snodgrass said. “It was well thrown and was well executed. Owen got open in the middle of the field and made a good play out of it.”
The Tigers had one last drive that stalled before the Saints were able to run out the clock on their final possession.
Golliher completed 13-of-21 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. He added 80 yards rushing to go with his 50-yard reception.
Grant Vinson had four catches for 30 yards, while Jalen Oliver added four grabs for 20 yards. Purtha and Cody Swimm both finished with a pair of catches for 18 yards.
Mason Hicks finished with 76 yards on the ground.
For the Saints, Jones gained 135 yards rushing. He was 8-of-12 passing for 92 yards.
McFadden had 58 yards rushing as he added four receptions for 67 yards.