Father Ryan comes up big against McCallie

Williamson County FootballBy Zachary Harmuth

Father Ryan went to McCallie on Friday night for a AA Division II showdown and came away with a solid win.

After falling behind 6 – 0 by the end of the first quarter, Father Ryan scored 20 unanswered points, and did not look back from there, on the way to a 34-18 win.

A big play on offense with two minutes left in the second quarter opened the door. Cameron Towns dropped back and found a wiiiide open Andrew Cox for a 59 yard streak down the field for a touchdown that broke a 6-6 tie and gave the Irish the lead, 13-6, that they would increase but never give up for the rest of the game.

Luke Strebel kicked for the first six points, with two second quarter field goals, and then Cox got  the lead.

And a big play on defense in the fourth quarter shut the door for good on McCallie. With about six minutes left in the game, McCallie was driving and trying to pass, and out of no where came JoJuan Williams to intercept the pass and return it 43 yards for a touchdown, which put the nails in the McCallie coffin by increasing the Irish lead from a manageable nine points to 16 points: 28-12, Father Ryan.

McCallie would score again, but it was too little too late. After Alex Trotter ran in a one yard Father Ryan score with four minutes left in the game, to make it 34-18, the game was all but over.

Towns finished with 9 of 16 passing for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns. Andrew Cox caught 7 of those completions for 104 yards.

Along with the interception return, JoeJuan Williams led the team in rushing, going for 67 yards on just 6 carries.

Andrew Rector had an interception of his own, that he returned 42 yards, to set up a score.

With the playoff picture in AA Division II still unclear, all Father Ryan can do is beat the teams put in front of it. They play (5-4, 2-3) Baylor next week in their last game and last division game of the regular season.

Father Ryan goes to 6-3 on the season, and 3-2 in AA Division II; McCallie falls to 3-6 on the season and 2-2 in AA Division II.