AUGUSTA — For three quarters Friday night, the Edward Little defensive unit kept All-Everything quarterback Luke Duncklee and the Cony Ram offense bottled up. Unfortunately for the Red Eddies, the fourth quarter was a far different story.
The agile senior signal caller rushed for three fourth-quarter touchdowns as the Rams exploded for a 23-14 come-from-behind victory in a Pine Tree Conference football game.
The Red Eddies (1-3) kept Duncklee in check to the tune of 33 yards on the ground heading into the final quarter. He toted the ball 14 of his team’s carries to that point, with the Red Eddies ahead 14-0 and in complete control.
In the final 12 minutes he logged 14 more touches for 82 yards. No other Ram back touched the ball in that time unless Duncklee threw it to him. For the game, he hit on 19-of-38 passes for 196 yards, 93 of them coming in the pivotal fourth quarter.
On the first play of the quarter, Duncklee scrambled out of the pocket as he was flushed to the right side of the field. He then hurled the ball to tight end Corey Lapierre for a 32-yard pick-up on third and 10. One play later, the quarterback squirted free on the left side and raced to the corner for an 18-yard touchdown scramble.
“We put 10 men in the box,” said Edward Little coach Dave Sterling on his team’s defensive success through the first three quarters. “We have to credit (Duncklee). He’s a great athlete.”
Things got worse quickly for the Red Eddies. On the ensuing first play from scrimmage, quarterback Josh Delong’s toss to tailback Teven Colon (13 carries for 150 yards) was bobbled and pounced on by Ram defensive lineman Levi Mason at the EL 48.
Following three incomplete passes, Duncklee connected with wideout Chase Shostak for a 22-yard gain. Shostak somehow was able to corral the pass despite solid coverage and a deflection by EL defensive back Alphonso Belnavis.
Duncklee called his own number on the next play, again scrambling away from trouble en route to a 12-yard score to knot the game at 14-14.
“(Those) were just busted pass plays,” said Duncklee of the two scoring runs. “I just read them and got up the middle.”
Disaster struck again as Colon attempted to make a play on the kick-off only to have the pop loose and the Rams recovered on their own 47. A 39-yard toss downfield to Colin McKee from Duncklee would set up a 19-yard go-ahead field goal with 7:42 left to play.
Another Colon fumble on the subsequent offensive series put the Rams in position to add insurance to their lead. After taking over at the Red Eddie 33, Duncklee busted loose for an 8-yard gain and two plays later found more room around the left side for a 26-yard score.
“The kids showed incredible resiliency,” said Cony coach Rob Vachon whose team evened its record to 2-2 with the win. “Our kids capitalized on some turnovers and we did what he had to do to get it done.”
“We played hard the whole first half,” said Duncklee who looked to be totally gassed heading into the final quarter. “Our goal is to finish each game. We didn’t give up at any point.”
Edward Little got on the scoreboard in the second quarter when Colon broke open a dive up the middle and turned a short gain into a 78-yard touchdown. On the first play of the second half, Colon swept around the left side and broke loose from three potential Ram tacklers before racing down the sideline for a 47-yard score. With Duncklee appearing tired and worn out heading into those last 12 minutes, there weren’t too many fans who saw the turnaround coming.
For Edward Little, it’s own resiliency will be tested as Sterling and his staff will try to move forward after the tough loss.
“Tomorrow will be a different day,” stressed Sterling. “That’s what we have to reinforce.”
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