Broadway’s tricks stump Draft

BROADWAY— “It doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get back up,” said Stuarts Draft coach Rod Bowers.

The old cliché was truer than ever in the second half against Broadway, but after being knocked around in the first, the Cougars ended up on the losing end, 17-14 on Friday night in non-district action.

The Gobblers gave the home faithful all they could handle in the first half, scoring all 17 points while executing three trick plays.

With the score 3-0 in the first quarter and time winding down, Broadway was stuck back in a 4th-and-12 from the Cougar 29.

Quarterback Adam Caplinger tossed the ball to Joel Phillips who flipped another lateral to Kristian Moore.

Moore lofted the ball into the end zone to Nathan Hooven for the first touchdown of the game on Moore’s first pass attempt of the season.

“Not bad for his first throw was it?” Broadway coach Bradley Lutz said.

Another possible 3rd-and-out brought up a Cougar must stop and a trip to the trick play chapter of the Gobbler playbook.

On a play reminiscent of Adam Sandler in the “Longest Yard”, Caplinger walked toward the sideline with his hands in the air with an appearance of total confusion.

Once the quarterback’s hands went up, the ball was snapped to Phillips. Phillips ran off tackle to the left side for a first down and another punch that Stuarts Draft would attempt to get up from.

Three plays later, the Gobblers were in the end zone again with a two score advantage.

“If ifs and buts were candy and nuts all I would have is a bunch of candy and nuts,” Bowers added about what would have happen had the trick plays gone the other way.

The Cougars started punching back in the fourth quarter.

David Mahanes intercepted Caplinger, setting the Cougars up with momentum deep in Gobbler territory.

DJ Hines ran back-to-back 15-yard runs and added a two-point conversion and the Cougars were down three points midway through the quarter.

The Cougars got one more chance, but a tackle in the backfield of Darius Woodson on 4th-and-long ended the hopes of Draft with three minutes to play.