I was one of Nick's teachers at Timber ridge. I found this write up I did for one of the games. FLY HIGH #12 Recap of last night's game. Titans Hold Off Judges After a close loss to Clarke County, the TRS Titans rebounded yesterday with a strong first half and held off Handley down the stretch to post a 34 23 win. The Titan defense opened the game by forcing Handley to punt on its first drive. On its first offensive play, quarterback Tyler Smith hit tight end Aaron Aleshire on a 35 yard out to put the Titans in scoring position. A few plays later Smith hit wingback Nick Thornton in the end-zone for the Titans first score. The two point conversion failed. On the following drive, the Titans forced the Judges into a third and long. Defensive tackle Carlos Shephard came up with the big sack on the Handley quarterback and forced a punt, but the Titan offense sputtered and was also forced to punt. On defense, the Titans were very strong in the first half. Shephard, Smith, Thornton, Darion Henry, Cameron Curry, Sy Harris, Matt Paugh, Kyle Houck, Adam Pritchett, Derrick Gillespie, and James Fitzwater all combined to force the Judges into several 3 and outs. Paugh had two fumble recoveries in the game including one for a touchdown. On the following Titan drive, Fitzwater scored on a 9 yard run up the middle for his first touchdown of the game. The Titans wouldnt have to wait long to score again. On its next defensive play, Paugh would recover a fumble in the Handley backfield and rumble 48 yards for his touchdown to make the score 18 0. Tyler Smith would add the 2 point conversion to make the score 20 -0 with 5:41 left in the half. The following Titan drive was a combination of outside running by Tyler Smith and inside power of Henry as the offensive line of Houck, Paugh, Harris, Curry, Jeremiah Scott, and Jackson Propst opened huge holes in the defensive line. With 2:12 left in the half, Henry would score from 27 yards out to make the score 26 0. On the follow drive the Handley offense would show some life scoring on a long run around right end to make the score 26 7. With time running out in the half Smith who lead the Titans in rushing, scrambled his way to the Handley 5 yard line as time expired. The Handley rushing game would turn up the heat on the Titans in the second half and make the game close. The Titans would aid the comeback by turning the ball over twice. Using a combination of outside running and short passes to the tight end, Handley would take advantage of Titan turnovers and missed opportunities to tighten the score to 26 23. With time running down in the game Handley intercepted a deep Smith pass but was pinned inside their own 5 yard line. At that point the Titan defense pinned their ears back. On forth and long, Darion Henry came on an outside blitz and caught the Handley quarterback in the end-zone for a safety making the score 28 23 with 1:15 remaining. The final score of the game would come on the final play as Tyler Smith would hit Fitzwater for a 56 yard touchdown pass as time expired, closing the scoring at 34 23. Noteworthy performances in the game included Andrew Harrison, Alex Dignazio, Keion Jessie, Brian Strawderman, Dashante Osborne, and Carlos Melgar on special teams. The Titans improved their record to 1 1 on the season and will host Sherando September 27 at 4:30pm.