Lancers turn tables on Bees in second half

It was a downright sneaky move by Amherst coach Cecil Phillips, and it was exactly what his team needed to turn the corner against undefeated Brookville.

The Lancers had been working on a single-wing spin series offensive set in practice the last couple of weeks, but they hadn’t unveiled it in an actual game. They waited until the second half of Friday’s contest on the Bees’ home field to break it out.

The result was a dominant second-half performance by Amherst’s run-based attack in a 31-14 comeback win.

“They hadn’t seen it on tape,” Phillips said. “We kind of wanted to hold it in our pocket until the second half because they have some kids that go both ways, so it would be very difficult for them to make adjustments, because all adjustments would have to be made on the field instead of being able to walk in at halftime and do it.”

Brookville (7-1, 3-1 Seminole) had no reference for the Lancers’ second-half offense, which utilizes a spinning quarterback and fake handoffs to create misdirection. They’d never run it in a game before.

“Give (Phillips) credit. He didn’t run it until the second half so that we wouldn’t have time at halftime to adjust,” Bees coach Jeff Woody said. “That’s a smart move on his behalf. I mean, that’s good coaching. We weren’t able to adjust to it. We couldn’t really figure it out on the fly, and they scored 28 unanswered points.”

It might have been the coaching move the Lancers (5-2, 2-1) needed to turn their season around. They struggled in the first half and appeared headed for their second Seminole District loss of the season, something they hadn’t experienced in a long time.

But they dominated in the final two quarters. They scored 28 unanswered points and controlled the half on defense. They continued to blitz from every angle in their aggressive 3-5-3 package and sacked Brookville quarterback Kendall BeCraft six times after the break.

Amherst recorded nine total sacks. Linebacker Marquis Brown had three of his four sacks in the fourth quarter.

“Some people have been saying that this isn’t the Amherst of old, but we got the Amherst of old back tonight,” Phillips said.

Brookville was swelling with confidence heading into halftime. It led 14-3 thanks to the deft passing BeCraft, who completed 12 of 17 first-half pass attempts for 180 yards and two touchdowns. And its defense held Amherst to only 33 total first-half yards.

But nothing would prepare the Bees for what they saw at the start of the third quarter.

Phillips told his players at halftime that he was going to switch to the single-wing and put senior tailback Devonte Brown at quarterback. He said he could see some of his guys pumping their fists in excitement.

“We just said we had to pick it up. We were playing like some trash,” Devonte Brown said. “We weren’t playing Amherst County football. We came out in the second half and played smash-mouth like we always do and we came out on top.”

Brown lined up at quarterback on the first play of the second half and quickly stole away the Bees’ momentum. He took the snap, spun around to fake a handoff and then took off down the right sideline for a 73-yard touchdown run.

It was no fluke play. During the Lancers’ second drive of the half, Brown and tailback Kirby Anderson took turns knocking off big runs. Brown ran for 10 yards and Anderson had gains of 12 and 13 before running off left tackle for a 15-yard go-ahead touchdown run with 4:06 left in the third.

The Lancers scored touchdowns on four straight second-half drives. Their defense held the Bees to only 39 yards and two first downs in the second half.

Brown ran the single-wing to perfection. He rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries and completed a 65-yard scoring pass to Jaze Spradley in the third quarter.

Amherst’s defense did the rest. BeCraft abused the Lancers’ secondary for two big touchdown throws in the first half — a 34-yard pass to DeShon Foxx in the first quarter and a beautiful 34-yard scoring strike to Guy Morris right before halftime in which BeCraft shrugged off a blitzing backer and threaded the ball between two defensive backs.

But the quarterback didn’t have the same time to throw in the second half. Amherst’s defenders pinned their ears back and knocked BeCraft around.

“We were just hungrier (in the second half),” Marquis Brown said. “We had to turn it up a notch.”