Bartlett Yancey falls to previously winless Morehead

The long wait is over as the Morehead Panthers finally have win No. 1. With 1:43 left in the game, the Panther defense batted down Bartlett Yancey’s two-point conversion attempt and edged the Buccaneers, 21-19 Monday night in Eden.

With the win, Morehead improves to 1-8 on the season and snaps a nine-game losing streak — dating back to the 2007 season. The Panthers also recorded their first Triad 3-A Conference victory and now stand at 1-4.

Bartlett Yancey (2-7, 1-3) scored with 1:43 left in the game as Bradley Taylor raced in from 33 yards out. However, Brandon Thompson’s conversion pass was knocked down at the line of scrimmage — leaving MHS with a slim 21-19 lead.

On the ensuing onside kick, Morehead’s Dante Perkins fell on the rolling football and three Juwaan Winfield kneel-downs later, head coach Jason Smart had his first win as a Morehead coach.

Midway through the fourth quarter, leading 14-13, Morehead put together a nine-play, 71-yard drive that was capped off by Caleb Wade’s 9-yard TD reception. The key play on the drive was a 30-yard sideline catch by Kyre’ Keen from the arm of Winfield. It came on a third-and-13 from the Morehead 26-yard line.

The play gave the Panthers a first down in Bucs’ territory at the BY 44. Following a 4-yard run from Tyson Scales, the home team then benefited from a 15-yard BY personal foul and the 19 total yards put MHS at the visitors’ 25. Five plays later, Winfield found Wade alone in the end zone for the score.

After completing less than 50 percent of his passes in the first half (6 of 13), Winfield was an efficient 4 of 6 for 51 yards after halftime. He hit on his final three attempts — two coming on what would be the game-sealing drive.

Morehead won despite being held to 2 yards per carry (33 attempts for 67 yards). Winfield, who threw for 170 yards on 10 of 19 passing, also added 28 yards on the ground. Scales added 24 yards rushing.

Keen was MHS’s top receiver with 70 yards on two receptions and one touchdown. Caleb Wade’s 9-yard catch was his only reception of the night.

The Panthers dodged a major bullet halfway through the third quarter. With 6:38 left in the third, Thompson’s quarterback sneak from 1-yard out narrowed MHS’s lead to 14-13. However, the point after attempt was no good.

That play would loom large as BY was forced to go for two at the end of the game, instead of kicking the PAT and playing for overtime.

The bullet for MHS came on the kickoff as Keen moved the ball up field, but at the MHS 40 the ball came loose and Jamar Shaw pounced on the loose ball.
With BY in great field position at the Panthers’ 43-yard line, Smart’s defense came up big as they held the Bucs to minus-6 yards on three plays and forced the visitors to punt.

The two teams would trade punts over the next four possessions, before MHS’s TD made it a 23-13 game.

Starting at their own 38, the Bucs took over with nearly four minutes left in the game. After a 9-yard run from Taylor on first down, Thompson — who replaced Tony Wilson at QB after halftime — gained 17 on an option keeper. Thompson then rushed for eight yards to the MHS 28 and two plays later, Taylor raced through the Panther defense for the score.

In the second half, Thompson gained 58 yards on 15 rushes (3.9 per rush). Through the air, he was 1 for 4 for 25 yards.

Thompson did score the team’s lone first-half score with a 36-yard punt return — which came with 8:44 left in the second quarter.

The Panthers’ first-half touchdowns came from Winfield on a 2-yard TD run and a Winfield to Keen 40-yard bomb with 3:07 left in the half.

Morehead, after its second bye week of the season, wraps up the 2008 campaign at Rockingham County (1-8, 0-5). The Cougars lost 34-0 at Southeast Guilford Friday night and play at Northeast Guilford Friday.

Bartlett Yancey returns to action at Western Guilford on Friday.