Hubbard vs Lakeview

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Hubbard vs Lakeview Sept 19, 2008

Hubbard Vs. Lakeview

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By Doug Chapin

The Eagles came up with some big defensive plays at the end.

CORTLAND — Timing was everything for Hubbard High as the Eagles came up with several big plays defensively in a 23-21 All-American Conference White Division victory Friday night over Lakeview.

“I am really impressed with the way our kids performed, especially in the second half,” Hubbard coach Brian Hoffman said. “We knew that Lakeview was a good football team and we knew it was going to take four quarters to beat them. I just like the way our team responded in critical situations.”

Hubbard (4-1, 2-0 AAC White) ended up on the short end of the statistics (238 total yards to 301 for the Bulldogs), but the Eagles came up with big efforts when they needed to.

“We had timely efforts on the part of Cory Farcas, Bobby Thompson, Cody Kilar. Our secondary stepped up and played very well, Kurtis Drummond, Sam Bellino,” Hoffman said. “They [Lakeview] handed it to us a little bit [28-13] last year and we’ve waited 365 days to get back to this contest. To come out tonight and respond the way that we did is impressive. We’ve got strong senior leadership and we hope that continues.”

At the start of the game, Lakeview (3-2, 0-1 AAC White) was making the big plays. Seth Gambone recovered a fumble on Hubbard’s first possession and star running back Ben Moody raced 65 yards around left end for a touchdown less than two minutes into the game.

However, the Hubbard defense bottled up Moody the rest of the way, and he finished with 69 net yards on eight carries.

Kilar recovered a Lakeview fumble late in the first quarter, setting up the Eagles on a short field. Hubbard took eight plays to travel 37 yards and knotted the game on a 1-yard scoring run by workhorse back Andre Givens (30 carries, 93 yards).

Bellino then recovered a Bulldog fumble and, after Hubbard punted, he downed the ball at the 1-yard line. On the next play, Farcas came through clean and sacked Lakeview quarterback Justin Clark in the end zone, putting Hubbard ahead 9-7.

“In a big game like this, little things are going to matter, every play matters,” Lakeview coach Tom Pavlansky said. “I’m real proud of the kids and their effort. Congratulations to Coach Hoffman and his crew, they played hard. We just came up a little short.”

Hubbard put together a nine-play, 72-yard scoring drive in the third quarter and extended its lead to 16-7 on a 6-yard scoring run by Givens.

Clark completed 3-of-5 pass attempts for 22 yards in the first three quarters, then connected on 12-of-17 passes for 132 yards in the final quarter.

Starting at his own 32 with 7:35 remaining in the game, Clark completed five passes in a row — mixed in with two runs and a Hubbard penalty — as the Bulldogs pulled to within 16-14. The touchdown came with 5:10 on the clock on a pass from Clark to his brother, Jarred Clark, from 5 yards out.

Lakeview executed an onside kick and Jarred Clark recovered. The Bulldogs reached the Hubbard 30, but Joel Davis’ 45-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Farcas. The Eagles took over but were forced to punt, and Lakeview had the ball again at its own 30.

After a first down, Clark was intercepted by Thompson who found the sideline and raced 57 yards for the clinching touchdown with 1:47 left in the game. Mike Lopuchovsky’s conversion kick made the lead nine points, 23-14.

“They [Lakeview] really started to move the ball, especially when they got into their hurry-up situation, but our kids, they kept bending a little bit, and then we came up with the big play by Bobby Thompson,” Hoffman said. “That really kind of broke their back. I’m just really proud of our kids tonight.”

Lakeview drove 62 yards for its final touchdown, a 6-yard pass from Justin Clark to Matt Beaman. But it came with just 15 seconds remaining and, after the Bulldogs recovered another onside kick, Clark was sacked by Robert Lias to end the game.