Tivy is in an unusual position in the 2021 football season — 0-4, with things not looking any easier.
The Antlers lost Friday night to visiting Austin McCallum 23-15 in a non-district game at Antler Stadium. The Knights used a punishing rushing attack, controlled the clock in the second half and got an interception in the final minute to seal the win.
Tivy's offense sputtered to just 189 yards of total offense, while the defense allowed the Knights to dominate time of possession by running 61 offensive plays and rolling up 351 yards of total offense.
Tivy's rushing attack was limited to 27 yards against McCallum. |
The Antlers have lost six consecutive games dating back to last season and next week play host to perennial power and unbeaten Calallen — a team that has knocked Tivy out of the playoffs in years past.
There were moments Friday night when the Antlers looked like they'd uncork their offense. Junior quarterback Jacob Layton hit 6-foot-7 junior wide receiver Jackson Johnston on a 52-yard scoring pass with 4:50 left in the first quarter.
Tivy's Jackson Johnston celebrates in the end-zone after a 52-yard touchdown catch on Friday night against Austin McCallum. |
However, yards were hard to come by. Layton finished the night 11-of-27 passing with two touchdowns, an interception and 162 yards. The Antlers ran the ball just 14 times for 27 yards.
McCallum, which improved to 2-2, wasn't much better offensively in the first half. The Knights scored on a 22-yard field goal by Vincent Carney to cut Tivy's lead to 7-3 with 8:53 left in the first half.
The two teams traded punts before halftime, but McCallum came out determined to run the ball after the break. The Knights handed the Antlers heavy doses of quarterback Jaxon Rosales, who rushed for a pair of second-half touchdowns and threw for another.
Rosales rushed for 145 yards on the night on 24 carries. Rosales's first touchdown came on a 5-yard pass to Nate Davidson. After a missed point-after kick, the Knights led 9-7 with 1:56 left in the game.
Rosales would help McCallum stretch the lead early in the fourth quarter on a 22-yard scoring run. Coupled with running back Thomas Lonsdale, who pounded Tivy's defense for 98 yards, Rosales would cap a bruising drive with a 1-yard keeper. After the extra point, McCallum led 23-7.
On Tivy's next possession, Layton found Johnston on a 48-yard strike the put the ball on the McCallum 22-yard line. Two plays later, Layton found Desnic Houston over the middle for a 22-yard touchdown pass.
An attempted onside kick by the Antlers failed, and the Knights took over with 4:15 left in the game. McCallum drove to the Tivy 41 before punting. However, two plays later, Layton threw an interception and McCallum ran out the clock.
BOX SCORE
McCallum 3 0 6 14 — 23
Tivy 7 0 0 8 — 15
TEAM STATS
McCALLUM
First downs 21
Total plays-yards 64-351
Passing yards 290
Passing 8-12-0
Rushing-yards 52-290
Fumbles-lost 1-1
Penalties 4-45
TIVY
First downs 9
Total plays-yards 41-189
Passing yards 162
Passing 11-27-1
Rushing-yards 14-27
Fumbles-lost 0-0
Penalties 0-0
Scoring summary
First-quarter
T — Johnston 52 pass from Layton (Grocki kick good), 4:50
Second-quarter
M — Carney 22 FG, 8:53
Third-quarter
M — Davidson 5 pass from Rosales (Kick miss), 1:56
Fourth-quarter
M — Rosales 22 run (Kick good), 9:58
M — Rosales 1 run (Kick good), 4:44
T — Houston 22 pass from Layton (Johnston pass from Layton) 4:15
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Tivy — Mayberry 6-9, Middleton 1-(minus-2), Layton 7-20.
McCallum — Faught 2-19, Rosales 25-145, Napier 6-19, Lonsdale 18-98, Jourdan 2-7, Fanning 1-2.
Passing
Tivy — Layton 11-27-1 162.
McCallum — Rosales 8-12-0 61.
Receiving
Tivy — Audrain 1-1, Sieker 2-14, Johnston 3-109, Houston 4-42, Mayberry 1-(minus-4).
McCallum — Davidson 2-28, Fanning 4-28, Faught 1-5, Napier 1-1.
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