‘Competitively psychotic’ Jamestown rallies past Lockport on Saturday
Jamestown’s Angel Martinez (18) finds running room on a jet sweep as Lockport’s Jayden Tarver attempts to make the tackle during Saturday’s Class AA football game at Max D. Lederer Stadium in Lockport. P-J photo by Tim Frank
Jamestown’s Drew Bloomquist crosses the goal line for one of his two rushing touchdowns during Saturday’s Class AA football game at Max D. Lederer Stadium in Lockport. P-J photo by Tim Frank
Jamestown’s Alaric Richards scores one of his three fourth-quarter touchdowns during Saturday’s Class AA football game at Max D. Lederer Stadium in Lockport. P-J photo by Tim Frank
Jamestown’s Angel Martinez (18) finds running room on a jet sweep as Lockport’s Jayden Tarver attempts to make the tackle during Saturday’s Class AA football game at Max D. Lederer Stadium in Lockport. P-J photo by Tim Frank
Jamestown’s Drew Bloomquist crosses the goal line for one of his two rushing touchdowns during Saturday’s Class AA football game at Max D. Lederer Stadium in Lockport. P-J photo by Tim Frank
Jamestown’s Alaric Richards scores one of his three fourth-quarter touchdowns during Saturday’s Class AA football game at Max D. Lederer Stadium in Lockport. P-J photo by Tim Frank
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LOCKPORT -- Tom Langworthy admits that he can be stubborn.
Maybe even very stubborn.
Give the Jamestown head football coach a successful offensive play and he's apt to call it again, again and again, even if it means receiving some good-natured ribbing from his staff.
Any "grief" Langworthy may have received Saturday afternoon at Max D. Lederer Stadium, however, was well worth it.
Sophomore running Alaric Richards rushed for 162 yards, including fourth-quarter touchdown runs of 23, 19 and 20 yards, to send the Red & Green to a 35-28 come-from-behind victory over Lockport in Class AA action.
Richards' late-game heroics and junior Drew Bloomquist's two early rushing TDs in his first start at quarterback offset a brilliant performance from Lockport signal-caller Scott Stowe to allow the Red & Green to improve to 3-3 overall and 2-3 in the division.
"It probably didn't look good at times," Langworthy said, "but we fought like heck and we got the win. To me, that says a lot."
Trailing 12-7 at halftime and 20-13 after three quarters, Jamestown outscored the Lions (2-4, 1-4) 22-8 in a wild final period.
How wild?
Well, Richards, who was limited to 21 yards on the ground through three quarters, erupted for 141 in the final period, finding the end zone three times in a span of just over four minutes, the last burst coming with 6:18 remaining. Robert Williams booted his third successful point-after try to give Jamestown a seven-point lead.
"I love running the ball," Langworthy said. " ... I'm just a big believer in not outsmarting yourself. If something is working, go back to it and make them stop it. Coach (Nick) Sirianni told me a long time ago, 'Don't assume the defense knows how to stop your play. Keep running it until they stop it.' ... That's kind of in my DNA."
Richards' 20-yard TD run accounted for the last points of the penalty-plagued game, but Lockport, which was flagged a whopping 22 times, still had opportunities to find the end zone down the stretch. In their final two possessions, in fact, the Lions advanced inside the Red & Green 40-yard line both times, but Jamestown's defense held up, capped by sophomore Navon Goodridge knocking down Stowe's Hail Mary fourth-down pass near Jamestown's end zone on the game's final play.
"In the middle of (last) week, I asked our guys to be competitively psychotic," Langworthy said. "I wanted them to be blood-thirsty to win. I wanted them to be so unique and just yearn for it, not hope for it. I think we're getting there. I'm super proud of the fight they had."
The Lions scored touchdowns in each quarter -- Stowe threw TD passes of 19 and 66 yards to Hudson Campbell and 48 yards to Trevon McCutcheon, and Kavon Smith found paydirt from a yard out -- but their nearly two-dozen penalties proved costly. And thanks to a big assist from his offensive line, Richards made huge runs out of the same formation in the fourth quarter to allow the Red & Green to escape with the victory.
"We just started to find some answers," Langworthy said.
Their season-long test will continue at 7 Friday night when they entertain Erie (Pennsylvania) High in a nonleague game at Strider Field on homecoming weekend.
"I'm fired up," Langworthy said as he ended his postgame interview Saturday. "(The players) are in the gym hooting and hollering right now. I'm going to go join them."
NOTES: Stowe finished with 15 completions in 20 attempts for 282 yards and the three TDs. ... Eric Abbott, Angel Martinez and Braiden Kennedy recovered fumbles, and Amari McGaughy registered a huge sack with under a minute to go to lead Jamestown's defense. ... Richards, who now has nine rushing touchdowns on the season, also had a successful two-point conversion run.
Jamestown 7 0 6 22 -- 35
Lockport 6 6 8 8 -- 28
Loc--Campbell 19 pass from Stowe (kick failed)
Jam--Bloomquist 8 run (Williams kick)
Loc--McCutcheon 48 pass from Stowe (pass failed)
Jam--Bloomquist 3 run (run failed)
Loc--Smith 1 run (McCutcheon pass from Stowe)
Jam--Richards 23 run (Williams kick)
Loc--Campbell 66 pass from Stowe (Stowe run)
Jam--Richards 19 run (Richards run)
Jam--Richards 20 run (Williams kick)