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By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com
 

          Minutes earlier, Quintan Sewell’s eyes were a little red, and definitely moist.

          People old and young, in a football uniform and not, came up and hugged his neck, and he hugged back. The postgame huddle and prayer came and went, and the hugs resumed.

          And suddenly, he was a very desired selfie subject.

          That happens when you throw the game-winning touchdown pass in the final 20 seconds and help your trying-to-rise program become only the second one in Bibb County to beat Westside.

          So yeah, 15 minutes after he faded back on second and 6 from Westside’s 31, and got rid of the ball before getting decked by oncoming Lamarvin Adkins and the ball landed in the arms of Javarsia Meadows, who had split through the two-deep coverage and gotten open.

          Meadows caught the ball falling down at the goal line for the touchdown, and for the first time since late in the first half, somebody had the lead.

          Elizabeth Rodenroth drilled the PAT, and Howard was up by seven with 20.6 seconds left.

          “What we practiced, the showed us everyuthing we practiced for,” Sewell said. “The last thing that ran through my head was I had to make that throw, had to make the correct read and tht throw.”

          It was a slow play.

          “Man, when I threw it, I thought I overthrew it,” Sewell said. “That ball was in the air forever, I swear.”

          The ball didn’t seem to spend much travel time to Howard head coach Paul Carroll.

          “I kinda looked one time, I said, d said, ‘There it is,’” he said. “I had the confidence in him he was going to catch the ball.”

          But the next one did.

          Westside’s Victor Dixon, one of the top quarterbacks in Central Georgia, got the Seminoles in range, stepping up in the pocket to hit Jehlen Cannady for 28 yards to Howard’s 35, with 1.5 seconds left. After a timeout, Dixon went deep, but not deep enough as he got rushed, and Lorenzo Hargrove picked him off at the six.

          “I actually really couldn’t hardly look,” Carroll said.

          Howard (3-1) survived its mistakes a hair better than Westside (2-2), and came up bigger on defense in the fourth quarter when it sure seemed like the Seminoles were marching toward a score in the third quarter and the win in the fourth.

          Momentum certainly seemed with Westside in the third quarter. A dropped 30-yard pass by Howard on third-and-19 on the Huskies’ first drive appeared to be a slight early omen.

          After stalling, the Seminoles lined up to punt from their 25. Khalil McBride took the snap, looked up, and took off around the left side for 20 yards, and the Seminoles in short order were at the 20.

          A busted play on third down preceded a good pass breakup by Keary Jones in the end zone on fourth down.

          The Seminoles escaped a start on their 16 with an 18-yard gain and looked to be moving, utilizing spirit-killing running back TyShaun Freeman, all 250 pounds of him. But Howard had started tackling him better, and got some help on a hold that all but killed a first-down run. C.J. Grimsley nearly came up interception to break up a third-and-10 play.

          The Seminoles forced a three-and-out and 45-second Howard possession nearing the midway point of the third quarter.

          They converted a fourth-and-8 on a perfect slant pass pattern by Jaylon Barden for an 11-yard gain. Westside had first and 10 at Howard’s 32 with less than five minutes left, but between a first-down penalty and then incompletion under a big rush from Jones and Javon Williams, a fourth-and-15 and then and-10 awaited.

          Considering how many times Dixon made the right pass and Seminole receivers were able to get open in most any route, Westside went for it.

          And DeAndre Shelton came up with the sack, and that returned some momentum to the home team.

          The Huskies returned the punt to midfield, and got an extra 15 on a personal foul penalty. Jeremiah Kelly, who played sparingly because of an ankle injury, got six, and promptly limped off. Jalen Willis-Jackson had taken part of Kelly’s load the past two weeks and he had gone out with an ankle injury earlier and was on the bench icing it down as crunch time grew.

          But there wasn’t enough time to get back to the running game, and Sewell’s fourth completed pass of the night did the trick.

          Howard got the early edge with Sewell hitting Aiden Stewart on their first offensive play for a 42-yard touchdown. They had a chance for a quality body blow when Westside fumbled the ensuing kickoff, but went three and out.

          The Seminoles then marched 82 yards to tie it on an 18-yard touchdown catch by Siemoran Farrar, who broke free from a tackle at the 5.

          Some noteworthy officiating followed a few minutes later.

          On fourth and 6 from Westside’s 16, Sewell kept inside into the pile of humanity. He emerged, staggering out of the grasp of a Seminole on the ground, and raced 16 yards for a touchdown.

          The Huskies PAT team was on the field for its action-packed process – the blockers lineup off the ball, and eventually, kicker Elizabeth Rodenroth races onto the field – when the referee walked to the ball and met with another official for about a minute, called time out, and the ball was moved back to where it was deemed that Sewell’s knee touched the ground.

          Odd, yes, but the Huskies scored five plays later, Jackson from the 6.

          Freeman tied it six plays later, going around the left side, through and just past defenders, for an impressive 31-yard touchdown. More interesting action: PAT holder Monta Troutman took the snap, got up and ran around and threw to the end zone, where Howard was whistled for pass interference. The Seminoles went for two, and Freeman got them to tie it at 14 with 9:12 left in the half.

          Boosted by 29-yard pass play to Barden, Westside  took the lead when Barden caught Dixon’s off-balance throw in the open for a 19-yard score. Six plays later, Sewell passed to Stewart for a 24-yard score with 24.4 seconds left in the half.

          And eventually, program history was made.

          “We finally made history, knocking off Westside,” Sewell said. “After 10 years of losing. I only been for three.

          “We just made history.”