TABOR COLLEGE: St. Mary averts Bluejays in overtime
Search for answers continues as Tabor drops third straight, 22-15, to Spires
BY RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Bluejay quarterback David Hernandez stared grimly at the Reimer Field scoreboard with 10:00 left in Saturday's game in Hillsboro against the St. Mary Spires.
Trailing 15-7, and again missing his two favorite big-play targets Tyler Marsh and Tyson Ratzlaff, Hernandez still had to try to get it done with his young corps of receivers.
The Bluejay quarterback threw for 245 yards, but the season-high performance for Hernandez wasn't enough to overshadow the number of missed chances Tabor had to put the vulnerable Spires down for the count.
Marsh and Ratzlaff haven't seen action in three weeks and Tabor's been fish-tailing ever since, losing three consecutive games.
Saturday, the Bluejays found a way to do about everything but score, sliding into the ditch again with the Spires dropping a 22-15 stinker on them in overtime.
Once off to its best start in school history at 4-0 and 3-0 in the wacky KCAC, Tabor now finds itself 4-3 overall and 3-3 in its league.
"A very disappointing loss for us," a sullen coach Tim McCarty said. "We had more chances than we needed to win. It's very frustrating. It's not our time though, I guess.
"We felt it was a winnable game (St. Mary) and we gave another one away. We had good field the position the whole game. It's not too often you run 85 plays and still lose the game."
Strangely enough, there was no wall blocking the Bluejays from the end zone.
They couldn't get it in at opportune times, missing 14 passes that could have been caught, a key reason for Hernandez completing 23 percent of his passes.
One of the 10 that were caught accounted for 74 yards, a bullet to Layne Frick to answer the Spires' touchdown 17 seconds later to tie the game at 7-7 with 9:31 to go in the first quarter.
Frick finished with three catches for a game-high 97 yards.
Neither team found its way into the end zone again until the fourth quarter.
Hernandez ran nine yards on a quarterback keeper to the Spire 25 to set up fourth-and-one. But the drive stalled with Hernandez being stopped short of the first down.
The Bluejays squandered another great chance in early the second quarter with Tracy Wehrman recovering a Spire fumble at the 18.
Three incomplete passes from the duo of Hernandez and Brandon Bockman left Keenan Morris attempting to give Tabor the lead with a 35-yard field goal.
Field goals and PATs haven't been the Bluejays' forte as of late and that stayed intact with the Spires blocking the kick.
With 218 of their eventual season-best offensive display of 382 yards coming in the first half, the Bluejays had seven points.
The second half had more tales of blown chances in store for Tabor.
In all four of the Bluejays' third quarter possessions, they were in the Spires' half of the field, getting as close as the St. Mary 12.
Still, another trio of dropped passes left Tabor with zilch to show for it.
Morris again had a chance to put Tabor in front, but his 30-yard field goal attempt didn't have the distance.
"We couldn't kick field goals," said McCarty. "We couldn't get into the end zone and our efficiency in the red zone was not good."
Going two consecutive weeks without a pick, Jason Phelps got back on track doing what he does best, intercepting a Brian Lewton-pass and returning it to the Spire 34.
Three incomplete passes and the Bluejays were unable to capitalize on the turnover.
The Spires capitalized on a questionable personal foul which gave them first-and-10 at the Bluejay 20.
Two plays later, Lewton zipped around the right side for a 6-yard touchdown run.
St. Mary used the swinging gate for two points, pulling ahead 15-7 with 12:30 left in the game.
Part of the young receiving corps, Steve Weltmer made another big catch, hauling in a 46-yard pass from Hernandez, giving Tabor first-and-10 at the Spire 28.
Olando Harris took it in on second down from the 7, cutting the lead to 15-13 at the 6:23 mark.
Hoping to force overtime, Hernandez capped off the six-play 79-yard drive tying the game with the two point conversion.
The Bluejays won the coin toss for their first-ever overtime and made the wisest choice by selecting defense.
Lewton struck again on the Spires' possession, scoring on an 8-yard quarterback keeper. The PAT sailed through the uprights and St. Mary had all but put the icing on the cake for the heartbreaking loss for the Bluejays.
Tabor moved the ball two yards on its final drive on 1-yard runs by Hernandez and Harris and Hernandez had to throw on third-and-eight at the 23.
With the game resting solely on the shoulders of Hernandez after coming up empty on third down, Dane Sauer couldn't haul in the catch the Bluejays needed to keep the drive alive.
"I told the guys before overtime that we were lucky to be there with all the chances we missed," McCarty. "That final play was our worst execution of the game."
The Bluejays travel Saturday to Ottawa to face the Braves, a team that has also stumbled on hard times with injuries.
Game time is 1:30 p.m.
