By Wes Sparkmon
In the first regional game for Class 4A, Region 4 rivals Page and Spring Hill, Page used a balanced offensive attack to top Spring Hill.
Spring Hill took the ball to open the game. On 3rd down, Spring Hill’s Dontae Smith took the ball 81 yards and gave the Raiders an early lead. Page would respond in kind, driving the ball down with a mix of running and passing before Page’s Michael Roberts would finish off the drive with a 7 yard touchdown run and tie the game. After the Page defense forced a 3 and out, Page would go to the air for their next touchdown as Noah Green would take a Michael Magochy pass 32 yards to give the Patriots the lead.
As the 2nd quarter began, the Raiders would continue to drive on the legs of Dontae Smith, as Smith carried in his 2nd touchdown of the day to tie the game back up for Spring Hill. The two teams traded fumbles before Magochy would connect with Roberts for his second passing touchdown, giving the Patriots the 21-14 lead. An unsportsmanlike conduct on the extra point would back up Page’s kickoff, but a Spring Hill fumble gave the Patriots the ball back immediately. The offense was stymied and the snap on the field goal attempt sailed and gave Spring Hill the ball back. Unable to capitalize, the halftime score remained 21-14 in favor of Page.
Patriots Turn Up Heat in Second Half
Neither team was able to produce any points on their first two drives. On their 3rd drive of the 2nd half, Page moved the ball into field goal range and Brent Cimaglia kicked a 44-yard field goal to expand Page’s lead. On the next drive, Page intercepted Raider quarterback Tylin Oden and, on the first play after the turnover, Michael Roberts refused to be tackled and carried the ball 35 yards for another Patriots touchdown, setting the score at the end of the 3rd quarter at 31-14.
The 4th quarter began with a Spring Hill drive, but after the drive stalled, the Raiders pinned Page deep in their own territory. The Patriot offense would go to the air, completing an 89 yard pass that would set up at Noah Green touchdown run from 4 yards out a few plays later to give Page the 38-14 lead. As the Raiders got the ball back, Spring Hill would stay on the ground with Smith and Oden before finishing off the drive with a Zach Frye 2 yard plunge for the Raiders touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt would fall short, which would set the final score at 38-20.
Page’s defensive game plan from the opening whistle was to attack Spring Hill and not allow University of Louisville commitment Tylin Oden to beat them through the air or on the ground. The focus on Oden allowed other players, such as Dontae Smith, have big evenings on the ground and limiting the number of big plays by the Raiders. The turnover battle was even between the two schools, but the Patriots led points off of turnovers 14-0.
Both Page and Spring Hill move out of regional play next week as the Raiders host Dickson County on Friday the 11th, while the Patriots travel to Chapel Hill to face off in a rematch of last year’s thriller with the Forrest Rockets.
