By DAVID MILLER
Special to The Dispatch
With less than a minute until half time of the New Hope-Caledonia football game Friday, Kris Pickle called a seemingly uneventful timeout.
Caledonia, up 14-7, was lined up to punt at its own 40 after two straight incomplete passes. Pickle sensed an opening to get to punter Jansten Glasgow and sent his front for an all-out block. The Trojans got to the football, and Jordan Randle scooped and scored from 20 yards out to tie the game heading into halftime.
It was the first of a string of strong special plays that catapulted the young Trojans to a 27-24 win over the Confederates, who came into the game undefeated.
The Trojans nearly scored another touchdown on an 80-yard kick return by Willie Ousley in the fourth quarter, which set up the deciding touchdown in the game. The Trojans (1-3) finished with 191 return yards, including two kick returns for 125 yards. The Trojans also recovered two muffed kickoffs.
“We work every week on a punt block, something we see each week,” Pickle said. “We just wanted to take a chance right there. That guy had snapped a couple on the ground, so we thought we’d be able to get back there and get to it. We came through clean and made a big block.”
Caledonia coach Andy Crotwell said his team cleaned up some of the punt protection issues in the second half, mainly focusing on players who weren’t sliding correctly to seal routes to the punter. But the kickoff return yards conceded were a surprise.
“Kickoff, what can you say – they blocked well, and we kicked it to a really fast guy,” Crotwell said. “We’d been kicking it deep all year long without problems. No one is more surprised at our coverage then I am. We’ll have to assess where we are, both in coverage and the types of kicks we do.”
The stellar special teams play was particularly vital on a night where yards were hard to come by for the New Hope offense. The Trojans had 199 yards of offense but had 12 penalties for 129 yards
New Hope quarterback Thomas Stevens was efficient, but he relied on short passes and finished with just 105 yards.
“Special teams were tremendous tonight,” said Tae-Kion Reed, New Hope lineman. “We needed that. It gave us a big lift tonight.”
Special teams play aside, Reed’s return to the field after suffering a sprained ankle midway through the first half may have provided the second-greatest lift to the Trojans. While on defense, Reed, who plays defensive end, pinched inside to the B-gap. He was cut and rolled his ankle, which forced him to the sideline to get it re-taped. He returned two drives later, but with a noticeable hitch. He iced it at halftime and played the entire second half.
“All we could think was ‘he’s a beast,'” said Jordan Randle, New Hope cornerback.
Reed was particularly vital on the final two Caledonia drives in which he routinely got in the backfield to force quick throws of Caledonia quarterback Spencer Unruh.
“There really wasn’t anything special I was doing,” Reed said. “I was just beating the guy in front of me and pushing as hard as I can. I knew I had to come back strong after rolling my ankle. I took two pain pills at halftime and got back on the field. My team needed me.”
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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