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Unranked and unbeaten Glenelg silenced its naysayers Friday night, Sept. 30 at Hammond when Luke Brister's 42-yard game-winning field goal easily cleared the crossbar, leaving nine seconds on the clock and sending the No. 9 Golden Bears to their first defeat.
Brister, a 5-foot-10, 140-pound junior, doesn't get his uniform too dirty. He's the kicker and punter and that's it. For Glenelg (5-0), the last unbeaten Howard County team, that was plenty Friday night.
Seemingly unfazed by the importance of his kick, Brister didn't doubt he could make one that long.
"I kicked a 38-yarder on JV last year,'' he said. This was his longest varsity field goal, however, and only his second varsity three-pointer.
The kick stunned a huge Hammond home crowd and capped a game that was won in the trenches, as Glenelg's offensive line opened holes repeatedly for Nick Crabill. The junior running back carried a yeoman 25 times for 116 yards and endured a brutal beating by Hammond's defense. Crabill also shone at defensive back with a touchdown-saving tackle late in the first half, several pass knockdowns and several tackles. He said he was playing for his grandfather who died last month.
"Heart is what made the difference in this game,'' said Crabill. "Our team played with tremendous heart and never gave up. Hammond is an unbelievable team that is hard to stop. We just fought through and got the win. Everyone thought we'd be a bust this season, but we're not listening to the criticism. We want to accomplish our goals of an undefeated season and a state championship.''
Hammond made two impressive touchdowns drives, an 80-yarder on its first possession and a 79-yarder to start the second half. Devon Paye was Hammond's counterpart to Glenelg's Crabill. Paye rushed 18 times for 124 yards and two touchdowns. But he made a crucial fumble near midfield late in the third quarter. Glenelg did not turn the ball over.
Glenelg tied it up at 7-all on a 62-yard scoring drive that culminated early in the second quarter on an 18-yard pass from quarterback Mark Darden to Glenn Lucas.
After Hammond went ahead, 14-7, in the third quarter, Glenelg came right back with a 57-yard scoring drive that ended with Darden's one-yard run.
Glenelg drove 62 yards from its 13 to Hammond's 25 late in the fourth quarter. Darden spiked the ball with 15 seconds left to stop the clock and set up Brister's field goal.
Almost as important as the field goal to Glenelg's victory was a touchdown-saving tackle by John Warfield and a subsequent goal line stand by Glenelg's defense in the second quarter. Hammond's Dionte Jones raced 51 yards with a short pass but was tackled at the three-yard line. Akilli Moore then was stopped on a fourth-down pass at the one-yard line after the Bears had been pushed back to the seven-yard line.
A 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty for bad language against Hammond following that pass gave Glenelg some much-needed breathing room.
"Untimely penalties including three offsides that gave them first downs hurt us,'' said Hammond coach Dan Makosky. "Glenelg didn't make mistakes, played a good game and deserved to win. We had won seven in a row in the last seconds and were due to lose a close one.''
Glenelg coach Butch Schaffer was beaming like a father whose wife had just delivered twin sons. He called his team "young and gritty.'' He expressed great respect for Hammond.
"Hammond is a great team and well-coached and we were just fortunate we were able to take advantage of some of their mistakes. I don't think many people believed we could win this football game. But our coaches believed, and most importantly the kids believed.''
Glenelg 17, Hammond 14
G (5-0) 0 7 7 3 — 17
Ha (4-1) 7 0 7 0 — 14
First quarter
Ha: Paye 1 run (Whittaker kick).
