By BRANDON DRAKE
Daily Chief-Union correspondent
HOLMES TOWNSHIP —­ In the blink of an eye, Wynford went from having a victory in its
grasp to facing the prospect of a soul-crushing loss to Colonel Crawford in
a night where neither team seemed to find their offensive footings.

Less than one minute after scoring the go-ahead touchdown, the Royals needed
a goal-line stand in the final seconds of the fourth quarter to preserve a
14-7 win over the Eagles in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference thriller Friday.

Wynford (4-1, 2-0 N10) took the lead with 53 seconds remaining in the fourth
quarter after taking advantage of good field position after the Eagles were
forced to punt with their backs pinned against their own end zone.

Starting at their opponent¹s 40 yard line, backup quarterback Gavin Burris
connected with Nate Imbody on a 13-yard strike for one of his two
completions on the night to push the Royals to the 15-yard line.

Burris followed with a seven-yard run before finding pay dirt from eight yards out
to put the Royals ahead with less than a minute left.

“It started off with the great punt. The punt was key,” Wynford coach Gabe
Helbert said. “The fact that Seth was able to pin them in was huge.  Gavin’s a gamer.                     He actually had a below average week of practice; but he runs the ball effectively                      made a huge play on the naked throw that gave us a first down and then he took it                        two plays in and we were able to score. With Gavin being ready as quarterback                              was a big key.”

Eagles’ coach Ryan Teglovic said Seth Benedict’s punt that put them at the
two yard line was a momentum changer.

“Pinning us deep in; that was a heck of a punt,” Teglovic said. “If it rolls a
couple more feet maybe it’s a little bit more different. So, I mean, it’s a
game of inches obviously, and the inch didn’t go our way.”

In an attempt to run down the clock, Wynford opted for a squib kick on the
ensuing kickoff. But a Colonel Crawford player was able to fall on the ball
right at midfield to make things interesting in the closing seconds.

The Eagles made their way down to the 25 yard line, but after three straight
incomplete passes thrown by Zye Shipman, they were facing a fourth-and-long with
eight seconds left on the play clock.

Shipman connected with receiver Jordan Fenner on the sideline and                                                managed to get out of bounds at the two yard line. Shipman dropped                                              back and fired a ball over the middle of the field to Owin Seevers, who                                                  was standing right in front of the goal line.

But Imbody was able to bring down Seevers one yard shy of the goal line to secure the win.

“It’s a heartbreaking game overall in a lot of ways,” Teglovic said. “I feel
bad for our guys.”

That play came as a huge sigh of relief for Helbert.

“Just please get them stopped,” Helbert recalled about the final play. “It was a
great play by their quarterback to check down and get the first down on
fourth, and they had two seconds left for the final play. Fortunately, they
needed 10 yards and we tackled them at the one, only giving them nine yards.
It was a great play.”

The offensive flurry in the final minute was a far cry from the rest of the
game, as both teams struggled to move the ball and were riddled with
turnovers and missed opportunities. The Eagles mustered just 99 yards of
offense in the first half and finished with 224 total yards of offense while
Wynford totaled 221 yards.

It also resulted with Wynford switching quarterbacks midway through the
third quarter, as starting Dustin Brady was pulled in favor of Burris after
throwing three interceptions. Burris’ running ability was a factor ­
especially in the second half ­ as he finished with 55 yards on six carries
and was 2-2 passing for 13 yards.

Helbert said he made the quarterback switch because he wanted to spread the
Eagles’ defense out more.

“They were really controlling the line of scrimmage, and getting Gavin in
there with the threat to be able to both run and throw was something we had
to do,” Helbert said.

Teglovic was impressed with what Burris was able to do to command the
offense in the second half.

“He played the majority of the second half,” Teglovic said. “He’s a running
quarterback; he’s a running threat and has more speed than (Brady). He cuts
well. He hit the big pass there in the end. He didn¹t throw much. But he
came in and did a heck of a job for a backup doing the job that he did.”

Wynford was not the only team who struggled with turnovers. Colonel Crawford
struggled hanging on to the football with four fumbles ­ three of which
resulted in turnovers. Running back Tristan Cross accounted for two of the
fumbles, and the Royals’ sophomore linebacker Cody Taylor scooped up two of
the fumble recoveries.

Helbert said his defense had a huge role in the victory and will be relied
upon as the season continues.

“We’re going to have to rely on our defense,” Helbert said. “We’re down a
couple guys on the offensive side which affects us. Our kids aren’t excuse
makers. We just have to continue to get better.”

Wynford gets set for another key conference game as it travels to face
Seneca East on Friday. Meanwhile, Colonel Crawford looks to rebound as it
welcomes in state-ranked Mohawk in a conference tilt on the same night.

Score by quarters
Colonel Crawford               0            7            0            0    —       7
Wynford                               0            7            0            7    —     14
Second quarter
W ­— Sparks 10-yard run (Benedict kick), 11:43.
CC ­— Shipman 15-yard pass to Seevers (D. Krassow kick), 0:03.
Fourth quarter
W —­ Burris 8-yard run (Benedict kick), 0:53.
Individual statistics
Passing
Colonel Crawford: Shipman, 14-24, 104 yards, 1 TD; 1 INT.
Wynford: Brady, 4-10, 34 yards, 3 INTs; Burris, 2-2, 17 yards; Benedict,
0-1.
Rushing
Colonel Crawford: Cross, 9-65; Knisely, 14-34; Rowland, 3-19; Shipman, 3-3.
Wynford: Sparks, 14-84, 1 TD; Burris, 6-55, 1 TD; Watson, 9-22; Taylor,
4-13; Brady, 10-(-4).
Receiving
Colonel Crawford: Seevers, 5-48, 1 TD; Feener, 3-42; Walker, 3-20; Cross,
1-0; Knisley, 2-(-6).
Wynford: Sparks, 5-38; Imbody, 1-13.
Team statistics
 CC                   W
Rush-Yards          29-121           43-170
Pass Att-Comp    14-24                6-13
Passing-Yards         103                  51
Passes Int By             3                      1
Offensive Yards      224                 221
Fumbles-Lost          4-3                  1-0
First Downs             13                     11
Punts-Avg            5-25.8              6-23.2
Pen-Yards              4-25                7-40