Northwest Guilford falls to Mt. Tabor 29-27 in drama packed fourth quarter.
from Mike Fanning, with GreensboroSports.com…
If you wanted drama, you got a feature film. In a nail-biter, the previously winless Mount Tabor Spartans weathered a furious Northwest Guilford Vikings comeback and held on for a tough 29-27 victory, decided only in the game’s final seconds.
The game began as a battle of attrition, with Tabor’s long opening drive, capped by a 1-yard Turtle Thacker touchdown and two-point conversion, giving them an early 8-0 lead. It was the first lead Tabor has had all season. The Vikings responded with a 30 yard Matt Holcomb field goal, trailing 8-3 at the end of the first quarter. Tabor responded with another long scoring drive of 81 yards, finished off by a Jayden Smith-Muhfooth touchdown run to grow the lead to 15-3. But momentum swung right back to the Vikings before halftime. With only 12 seconds remaining, quarterback Ferrell Price found Rakem Hammock for a stunning 67-yard touchdown bomb, swinging momentum entirely to the Vikings as they headed into the locker room tailing now by only five at 15-10.
Northwest Guilford carried that momentum into the second half. After receiving the second half kick they promptly drove right down the field and DJ Landis punched in a 5-yard touchdown run and just like that, the Vikings had their first lead at 17-15. But as the third quarter wore on, Mount Tabor’s relentless ground game began to take its toll. With less than a minute remaining in the third, the Spartans found the endzone on a short run, taking the lead back for good at 23-17.
The fourth quarter was a microcosm of the entire game’s drama. Matt Holcomb’s 31-yard field goal pulled the Vikings within three, 23-20, and set the stage for a heart-stopping final act. A penalty on the ensuing kickoff pinned Tabor on their own 4-yard line, but the Spartans mounted a grueling drive, converting on three third downs and one fourth down. With the ball inside the Vikings’ 5-yard line, facing 4th and 2, Tabor had a chance to go back up two scores and maybe put the game away. But the Northwest Guilford defense delivered a monster stop, taking over with 4:00 on the clock and 96 yards to go.
The Vikings, now on offense but without star receiver Rakem Hammock, who was sidelined with an injury, drove down the field. Price made huge throws and receivers Christian Gentrup and Adam Reavis made incredible catches on a series of third and fourth down conversions. The standing room crowd, who turned out for Homecoming, was in a frenzy. But the drive ended abruptly when Price was intercepted at the Tabor 30 with 2:40 left. Just a few plays later, Tabor’s Swiss-Army knife, Jayden Smith-Muhfooth, broke free again for a 43-yard touchdown run that appeared to seal the game, making it 29-20 with 1:11 to play.
But the Vikings refused to quit. Price and the offense drove down the field again, and with 8 seconds left, Price found Reavis on a 44-yard touchdown pass to pull within two. The game would come down to the onside kick, or better yet, who was on the bottom of the pile as players from both teams dived on the squib kick. Slowly as officials peeled players back, and fans holding their breath, the officials signaled that it was Tabor who recovered. The Spartans took one final knee in securing the 29-27 victory.
Ferrell Price looked great at times connecting on four passing plays over 40 yards including 2 touchdown passes. Rakem Hammock was on his way to having another huge game before getting injured late in the third quarter and not returning. Tabor quarterback Kinston Brown started hot and stayed hot, going 11-13 in the first half for 161 yards. He ended up throwing for over 200 yards in the win. Northwest Guilford drops to 1-4 while Tabor picks up their first win of the season improving to 1-4.