Generals Football Opens Season With Victory
The Harding Generals opened up the 2016 season with a dramatic come-from-behind victory over the St. Henry's Tigers, 18-13. It was a back and forth battle that saw several lead changes in both the first and second halves.
Ryan Schmadtke '18 opened up the scoring in the first quarter on a quarterback draw. He raced 50+ yards to the end zone for a 6-0 Generals lead. The Generals defense proved formidable in the first half, but the Tigers were able to score on a long pass in the second quarter to take a 7-6 lead into halftime.
Harding forced a fumble on the initial drive of the second half and also recovered a fumble on a kickoff. The linebacking corps of Luke Haley '17, Schmadtke and William Myers '17 were making plays all day. Defensive ends Andrew Romito '18 and Will Morrison '17 also caused problems for the Tigers as they were in the opponents backfield much of the game. The third quarter saw the Generals score on a Reid Buschmann '17 touchdown catch to regain the lead. A failed two-point conversion left the game score at 12-7 in favor of Harding.
It would stay that way until the 4th quarter when St. Henry found some offensive flow and completed several passes, one of which went for a score and a 13-12 lead at the 2:30 mark of the 4th quarter. It would have been easy at that point to think the game was lost and to pack it in, but the Generals responded to the adversity with a game winning drive, culminating in a 4th down conversion on the goaline with :10 remaining by quarterback Ryan Schmadtke. Also key on the drive was a huge 4th down gain for Will Morrison on a reverse play setting up the Generals deep in Tiger territory. The Schmadtke quarterback sneak put the score at 18-13 and Reid Buschmann sealed the victory with an interception on the last play of the game.
It was a fantastic way to open up the season against a very tough opponent. Harding will have a fairly long layoff before being back in action on Wednesday, Sept. 7 up in Hendersonville against St. Joseph at Pope John Paul II high school at 6:00pm. Go Generals!!
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Ryan Schmadtke '18 opened up the scoring in the first quarter on a quarterback draw. He raced 50+ yards to the end zone for a 6-0 Generals lead. The Generals defense proved formidable in the first half, but the Tigers were able to score on a long pass in the second quarter to take a 7-6 lead into halftime.
Harding forced a fumble on the initial drive of the second half and also recovered a fumble on a kickoff. The linebacking corps of Luke Haley '17, Schmadtke and William Myers '17 were making plays all day. Defensive ends Andrew Romito '18 and Will Morrison '17 also caused problems for the Tigers as they were in the opponents backfield much of the game. The third quarter saw the Generals score on a Reid Buschmann '17 touchdown catch to regain the lead. A failed two-point conversion left the game score at 12-7 in favor of Harding.
It would stay that way until the 4th quarter when St. Henry found some offensive flow and completed several passes, one of which went for a score and a 13-12 lead at the 2:30 mark of the 4th quarter. It would have been easy at that point to think the game was lost and to pack it in, but the Generals responded to the adversity with a game winning drive, culminating in a 4th down conversion on the goaline with :10 remaining by quarterback Ryan Schmadtke. Also key on the drive was a huge 4th down gain for Will Morrison on a reverse play setting up the Generals deep in Tiger territory. The Schmadtke quarterback sneak put the score at 18-13 and Reid Buschmann sealed the victory with an interception on the last play of the game.
It was a fantastic way to open up the season against a very tough opponent. Harding will have a fairly long layoff before being back in action on Wednesday, Sept. 7 up in Hendersonville against St. Joseph at Pope John Paul II high school at 6:00pm. Go Generals!!
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