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Williams for the win

Junior's field goal sends Jamestown into semifinals

Jamestown saw its 14-0 lead and momentum disappear over the course of the fourth quarter with Lockport knotting things up with just 3:07 left in the Section VI Class AA football quarterfinals Friday night.

Despite struggling to hold onto the ball and put anything on the board in the second half, Jamestown found itself marching into Lockport territory with the time dwindling down. Allowing the clock to wind down, Jamestown brought the ball to the Lockport 18-yard line and junior Robbie Williams had the chance to put the Red & Green in front with 29 seconds left.

Just like his two PATs, Williams hit a no-doubter through the uprights and No. 4 Jamestown was in front 17-14. With 11 seconds left and about 65 yards to go, No. 5 Lockport needed a miracle and Jamestown snuffed out any hope of that for the win at Strider Field.

"We picked up three or four first downs on that drive," Jamestown head coach Tom Langworthy said about the game-winning march. "Once we got inside the 25 we felt like we were close, I think we got down to the 17 and Robbie Williams is dual-sport soccer player; him and Beckett (Lumia), they've been awesome. ... In the huddle we said before the kick just follow your rules, follow your fundamentals, communicate, do all the stuff we do at practice and apply it to the kick and it was a perfect kick."

Jamestown scored on its opening drive when Alaric Richards punched in a 1-yard run on fourth-and-1, but after that the Red & Green struggled to get back into the end zone with several self-inflicted wounds. While they kept the Lions at bay, the Red & Green fumbled four times in the first half, losing the ball twice.

"We pride ourselves on taking care of the ball," Langworthy said about the fumbles. "We work on ball security a lot, that didn't translate to the game today and it's something we've got to work on. One of the things I feel strongly about is over the course of the year as you watch game film you see what you do well, but you see what you don't do and you drill that in practice. The ball security wasn't good today so we know that's going to be an emphasis next week."

The fourth fumble came just a play after saving a botched snap inside the two-minute warning with the Red & Green marching into Lockport territory. Instead of Jamestown potentially going up by two scores before the half, the Lions were now looking to even things up with about a minute left in the second quarter.

However, Angel Martinez had something to say about that as the senior linebacker read Lockport quarterback Scott Stowe's eyes and picked him off, breaking into the Lions territory.

On the very next play, Jamestown quarterback Drew Bloomquist connected with sophomore Mason Crawford on a 20-yard fade to pylon and the Red & Green were soon up 14-0.

The quick touchdown gave Lockport just under a minute to get an answer, but instead it was just another big moment for the Red & Green. Lockport worked into the red zone and took a shot at the corner in the final 10 seconds, but it was into the hands of Richards instead of a touchdown.

"You've just got to stay strong the whole game," Langworthy said. "We played the first game with Lockport we were losing most of the game, came back and won at the end. We knew this could be a battle and at the same time we had some mistakes today that kept the game close. I thought we were in control early and then kind of missed some opportunities. There were some things we didn't do well, but these games are always tight."

Jamestown did a great job of containing the elusive Stowe in the backfield during the first half, but the Lockport quarterback that put up 28 points on the Red & Green earlier this month would not be kept off the board.

Stowe kept Lockport's opening drive alive in the third quarter, avoiding a turnover on downs on fourth-and-11 he scrambled for a 19-yard run into Jamestown territory. He then picked up a first down scrambling on another broken play which set up his eventual 14-yard pass to Kavon Smith to get on the board.

Stowe's conversion on the ground had Lockport in striking distance down 14-8 early in the third quarter.

"We've been working a lot on coverage and a lot on our pass rush," Langworthy said about the defense. "I thought our coverage was outstanding tonight. Stowe is an outstanding player, he's really tough to defend. Sometimes you cover things down and he scrambles, I think he picked up four or five fourth down conversions. They're tough to defend, they came down here ready to play and it was a heck of a game."

Early in the fourth quarter the Red & Green looked to regain its two-touchdown lead, but ball control issues gave Lockport hope. Working to the Lockport 10-yard line, Jamestown went with an end around to Martinez, but after fighting for a few yards the ball popped loose for another Jamestown fumble.

Benefitting from a deflected pass that was reeled in by Dallas Kasperek, then getting a huge chunk from a defensive pass interference that was amplified by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, Lockport was threatening to score. Surviving another fourth-and-long, Lockport eventually tied the game with a 3-yard run by Stowe and a failed PAT kept the game level.

"In situations like that you just root for them," Langworthy said about motivating his team ahead of that final drive. "You just try to build them up. One of our mantras is just win the next play, if it's a good play and you make a great play you've got a next one. If we have a play that's a negative play, you try to win the next play and do it again. You've just got to stay poised, I think as the head coach, as a coaching staff, they look at us for leadership and in the games we're really just rooting for them and trying to encourage them to do in the game what we do at practice all week."

With all the momentum in favor of Lockport (3-6), Jamestown locked in on its final possession. Starting on its own 37, Jamestown (6-3) worked into field goal range for Williams and the junior kicked the Red & Green into a semifinal matchup next week against No. 1 Lancaster (7-1).

"Lancaster is a great opponent," Langworthy said about advancing to the semifinals. "They're a good team, really good players, well coached, fundamentally sound, we know what we're getting. We know it's going to be a challenge, but we look forward to the challenge. This is a new season, we saw them on Oct. 2 and now we're going to play four or five weeks later and things change quickly. We're going to go out there and compete, no fear of failure and compete and give it everything we've got."

Jamestown 7 7 0 3 -- 17

Lockport 0 0 8 6 -- 14

Jam--Richards 1 run (Williams kick)

Jam--Crawford 20 pass from Bloomquist (Williams kick)

Lock--Smith 14 pass from Stowe (Stowe run)

Lock--Stowe 3 run (pass failed)

Jam--Williams 28 field goal