AC Flora wins wild finish against rival Chapin

For three quarters Friday night, Chapin seemed slow and sluggish compared to a speedy A.C. Flora team.

That is, until the fourth quarter. Down 21-7, the Eagles got an Alex Nelson field goal and two long touchdown passes from Roger Pedroni to move up 25-21 with 2:39 left.

But Matthew Jamison needed just under 2 minutes to save the game for Flora.

With 36 seconds left, Jamison found R.J. Mobley at the goal line from 22 yards out to close out a 28-25 victory over the Eagles at Cecil Woolbright Field.

“I told the guys at halftime, let’s just win the third quarter, and we should be fine, and we did,” A.C. Flora head coach Collin Drafts said. “I felt great even after the field goal, but all credit to them (Chapin), they battled back and battled back. They hit us on a post, on the same play they beat us last year, they made a great play.”

That play came with 2:37 left. Pedroni fired at a wide-open Jaylin Thomas for a 51-yard TD pass that put the Eagles up 25-21.

“I looked at my offense and said hey, you’ve been in this situation in practice a thousand times. This is what you train for,” Drafts said. “and R.J. Mobley and those guys, they just made an unbelievable play.”

Jamison finished the night with 210 yards passing and three touchdown passes and 139 yards rushing on 24 carries.

Mobley had three catches for 105 yards and two TDs.

Chapin’s fourth quarter heroics were long overdue, as the Falcons held the Eagles to three first downs and 47 yards on the ground in the first half.

Jamison needed just a short pass and a long pass to Mobley to get on the scoreboard midway through the first quarter. Jamison connected with Mobley for seven yards, then found the wide receiver again for a 76-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

While Chapin still struggled to find a first down, Flora returner Quincy Riley fielded a punt at his 13-yard line and dashed 87 yards by the 3:03 mark of the first to put the Falcons up 14-0.

The Eagles put a scoring drive together late in the first, and Taison Thomas burst into the end zone from 16 yards out for the Chapin score.

Flora marched down the field 60 yards in the final two minutes of the first half, but Michael McNeil intercepted Jamison in the end zone and ran it out to end the half.

THREE THINGS WE LEARNED

1. Chapin’s rushing offense needs work. The Falcons held the Eagles’ four rushers to 56 yards on 24 carries.

2 .A.C. Flora has speed and a penchance for big plays, but drops and incompletions in wide-open areas in Chapin territory prevented scores.

3. The Falcons found a way to win. Despite losing a two-touchdown lead, Matthew Jamison stayed composed and passed to R.J. Mobley for the game-winner.

HOW THEY SCORED

1st Quarter

F – R. J. Mobley 77 pass from Matthew Jamison (Harper Fordham kick) 5:39

F – Quincy Riley 87 punt return (Fordham kick) 3:03

C – Taison Thomas 16 run (Alex Nelson kick) :49

3rd Quarter

F – Darian Addison 29 pass from Jamison (Fordham kick) 9:08

4th Quarter

C – Alex Nelson 39 field goal 9:37

C – Zavier Short 34 pass from Roger Pedroni (Gio Macaluso pass from Pedroni) 5:00

C – Jaylin Thomas 51 pass from Pedroni (Nelson kick) 2:37

F – Mobley 22 pass from Jamison (Fordham kick) :36

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: F: Matthew Jamison 24-139, Josh Heatley 3-29, Quincy Riley 1-3, Matthew Pack 4-27, Cam Scott 1-3, Darian Addison 1-2. C: Trey Lyles 4-0, Taison Thomas 11-30, Cooper Evans 3-6, Roger Pedroni 6-17.

Passing: F: Matthew Jamison 14-26-1-210. C: Roger Pedroni 14-27-0-160, Bryce Jowers 1-1-0-33.

Receiving: F: Matthew Pack 2-15, R. J. Mobley 3-105,Eric Austin 1-27, Darian Addison 2-31, Cam Scott 2-15, Quincy Riley 1-3, Josh Heatley 1-2. C: Jaylin Thomas 4-77, Zavier Short 2-64, Jason Graves 3-33, Taison Thomas 1-(-1), Cooper Evans 1-16, Bryce Jowers 1-3, Jacob Dickson 1-0.

This story was originally published September 21, 2018 at 11:37 PM.