Andrew Raines was mad at himself.
The Westminster senior had coughed up another fumble in the second half of his team's matchup with Thomas Johnson on Friday night, and he had given the Patriots prime field position a few minutes after they had tied the Owls.
But early in the fourth quarter, he got his shot to make up for it. Thomas Johnson running back Nicolas Bishop mishandled a pitch on a sweep around the right side, bobbling the ball before it fell out of his hands. Raines got the perfect bounce, scooped it up and dashed into the end zone from 22 yards out. Raines' third touchdown on a cool, crisp night proved to be the deciding score in Westminster's 28-21 victory at Ruby Field.
"That's the best feeling in the world, just hearing all the fans screaming," Raines said. "It's just the best feeling in the world."
Raines, who played running back on offense and linebacker on defense, provided a major impact in a game that came down to just a few plays. He rushed for 66 yards and two scores on the ground and also caught four passes for 24 yards against an opportunistic Thomas Johnson defense that was stingy for most of the night. Raines was patient in waiting for holes to open along the offensive line and was shifty enough in the open field to make some Patriots miss.
"He's the best player on the team," senior Sam Detrow said. "We expect nothing less from him."
Both Westminster (3-4) and Thomas Johnson (3-4) had trouble hanging onto the football, and both teams got scoring plays on special teams. The Patriots intercepted Owls quarterback Chris Long three times and forced three fumbles. Westminster intercepted Thomas Johnson quarterback Eric Cox twice and forced two fumbles. Along the way, the Owls defense had to contend with shutting down Bishop, who ran for 170 yards and two touchdowns.
After a 16-yard touchdown run by Raines gave Westminster a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter, Bishop broke off a 77-yard touchdown run on a third down to tie the game. Later in the second half, the bruising runner broke off a 35-yard score to put the Patriots up 14-7.
But the Westminster defense stiffened and was able to create some opportunities. The Owls forced the Patriots to punt deep in their own territory late in the second quarter and sophomore Zane Lewis returned it up the left side 40 yards to tie the game at 14-14 entering halftime.
Just past the halfway point of the third quarter, Detrow intercepted Cox and gave Westminster great field position for a short drive that ended with a 5-yard run by Raines to put the Owls up 21-14. But Patriots sophomore DeShawn Green, who had two interceptions, returned the ensuing kickoff 81 yards for a game-tying touchdown.
The Westminster defense, though, was able to shut down Bishop down the stretch and fluster Cox. Detrow had two sacks late in the fourth quarter. And it all helped set the stage for Raines' heroics down the stretch.
"Andrew, I can't say enough about the kid," Westminster coach Matt Study said. "He's a competitor. We talk about being gritty. Andrew's all grit. So that's just what it is."
Westminster's matchup against Thomas Johnson was just the latest difficult battle for an Owls team that's facing a difficult schedule this fall. But after coming out on the wrong end of things earlier on this season, they were able to get a tough, hard-fought victory. And moving forward, Westminster knows this type of performance could be a big boost.
"Every one of these games that we're going to be playing is going to be a dogfight pretty much," Raines said. "They're all quality opponents. We just have to come out every game."
Thomas Johnson 7 7 7 0 — 21
Westminster 7 7 7 7 — 28
SCORING SUMMARY
W-Andrew Raines 16 run (Ian Gould kick)
TJ-Nicolas Bishop 77 run (Edward Plasket kick)
TJ-Bishop 35 run (Plasket kick)
W-Zane Lewis 40 punt return (Gould kick)
W-Raines 5 run (Gould kick)
TJ-DeShawn Green 81 kickoff return (Plasket kick)
W-Raines 22 fumble return (Gould kick)
UNOFFICIAL STATISTICS
Rushing
TJ-Bishop 29-170, Larry Goines 3-5, Eric Cox 8-(-42); W-Raines 14-66, Chris Lang 11-29, Garrett Vandervalk 5-14, Lewis 5-7
Passing
TJ-Cox 8-23-2 52; W-Lang 15-28-3 133.
Receiving
TJ-Braxton Foreman 4-30, Melique Jeffrey 2-22, Adonis Phillips 1-(-2); W-Kenton Vanderwoude 2-51, Brady Metcalf 3-24, Raines 4-24, Lewis 3-16, Chase Birdow 3-13.
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