Late drive comes up short as first win eludes Indees
Tue, 10/10/2023 - 11:17am
TimesEditor_Andrew
By:
Andrew Dannehy — Times Editor
Independence/Gilmanton's Nathan Pyka reached the ball forward for extra yardage before beign knocked out of bounds during their game against Augusta on Friday. (Times photograph by Andrew Dannehy)
Independence/Gilmanton’s Xavier Santillan got around the edge thanks to a block made by Sam Marsolek during their game against Augusta on Friday. (Times photograph by Andrew Dannehy)
The Independence/Gilmanton football team was 19 yards away from its first win of the season, but what
began as a promising drive stalled and Augusta went home with a win last week.
The Indees had a 16-12 lead with possession in the second half, but an interception returned for a touchdown
put the Beavers ahead. I/G had a couple of promising drives in the fourth quarter, including one in the closing
minutes, but both came up empty and the Beavers won by two.
The game was a matchup between winless teams as Augusta has also struggled this season. The Indees last
chance for a win comes at Blair-Taylor this week. The Wildcats clinched a playoff appearance for the sixth-
straight season with a 46-32 win over Eleva-Strum last week. B-T is tied for second in the DC with a 4-2
conference record.
Augusta 18 I/G 16
A drive that began at the I/G 38-yard line moved to the Augusta 19 with about two minutes left, but the
Indees couldn’t finish to get the win.
The drive got off to a promising start as Nathan Pyka ran for 10-yards and August was penalized 15 more yards
for a horse collar tackle, moving I/G into Augusta territory.
After the team lost a yard on a second-and-10 run, Chase Back connected with Carlos Montalvo for a 19-yard
gain. That put I/G at the Augusta 19 with about two minutes remaining, The drive started to fall apart on the
next play as a holding penalty pushed the Indees back 10 yards.
After incomplete passes on the next two plays, the Indees picked up seven yards on a screen to Pyka. On
fourth down, Back completed a pass to Grady Meier, but he was tackled five yards short of the yardage
needed for a first down.
That gave the ball back to Augusta with 49 seconds left. The Beavers closed out the win with two kneel downs.
Augusta took a 12-8 lead into halftime and received the opening kickoff of the second half. However, a big
defensive play helped the Indees take the lead.
On a third-and-five play, I/G’s Brandon Sylla stepped in front of a pass by Noah Schroeder for an interception.
Sylla was able to find space in the open field and returned the ball down to the six-yard line of Augusta.
The Indees faced a third-and-goal at the four when Back faked a handoff inside then kept the ball, carrying
around the left side and reaching the ball across the goal line for a touchdown. Pyka ran in the two-point
conversion to put I/G ahead 16-12 with 7:14 left in the third.
I/G had a chance to take control of the game when Schroeder fumbled on the second play of Augusta’s next
possession.
The Indees took possession at the 44, but the drive lasted just one play. Back faked to his right before coming
back to his left, he was looking to hit Sylla on a pass, but Augusta’s Josh Zamora read the play. Zamora got in
front of Sylla for an interception and he sprinted down the field for the go-ahead touchdown. The two-point
try was stopped, but August had a two-point lead late in the third quarter.
I/G moved the ball on its next drive. Pyka carried twice for 12 yards and a first down near midfield before
Santillan ran for 18 yards to move into Augusta territory. Two more runs put I/G at the Augusta 24. A holding
penalty forced a long-distance situation and Back was sacked on third-and-16, forcing a punt.
Augusta pounded the ball down the field, eating about seven minutes off the clock. They ran six times, moving
into I/G territory. The Indee defense stepped up from there as a holding penalty moved Augusta back before
Back stuffed Joe Shonk on a third-and-six play. After a delay of game pushed Augusta back to a fourth-and-10,
the Indees got a stop.
That set up I/G’s last drive of the game with 4:16 remaining. They moved down the field, but came up short.
I/G —
Rushing (att./yds.) — Pyka 19/58 Santillan 2/23 Marsolek 2/17 Back 3/-11
Receiving (rec./yds.) — Sylla 2/54 Montalvo 1/20 Meier 2/17 Pyka 2/8
Passing (comp./att./yds.) — Back 7/13/99
Tackles — Sylla 2 Klimek 5 Gierok 1.5 Halverson 2 Marsolek 7.5 Gaier 1 Santillan 3 Mei-er 2 Flores 4 Montalvo
3.5 Back 3.5 Pyka 5
