Warriors slip past Pioneers

By Ben Brooks -- sports@nvdaily.com

STEPHENS CITY -- All Sherando High School kicker Justin Haines wanted was one more chance. His teammates got it for him, and the junior made the most of it in Friday night's regular-season football finale.

Haines' 35-yard field goal as time expired gave the playoff-bound Warriors a 9-6 Northwestern District victory over Frederick County rival Millbrook at Arrowhead Stadium.

Earlier, Haines missed a 22-yard field goal attempt and a potential go-ahead extra point that was pushed back to 30 yards because of a holding penalty.

"You just have to keep your head up and forget them," said Haines, who also had a game-winning field goal in Sherando's season opener at Park View. "You never know when you're going to get another chance."

That chance seemed unlikely, at least in regulation. After tying the game 6-6 on Ryan Kanatus' 33-yard touchdown run with 2:02 left to play, the Warriors (8-2, 3-1) stopped Millbrook on three plays and forced a punt.

Taking over on his own 36 with just 1:04 left to play, Sherando senior quarterback Corey Rice (14-of-22 for 128 yards) marched his team smartly down the field in eight plays. Four of Rice's five pass completions went to junior receiver Dominique Porter, including a 21-yarder that put Sherando at Millbrook's 25-yard line with 34 seconds left.

From there, two short sideline completions to Porter got the ball down to the 12. Following a procedure penalty and an incompletion, the Warriors set up for Haines' kick.

"He was running great routes and making great catches," Rice said of Porter. "We were just clicking."

While it didn't necessarily show up on the scoreboard, Sherando's offense in the second half looked like a well-oiled machine compared to the first two quarters. After being held to a paltry 22 yards of offense and one first down in the first half, the Warriors rebounded to finish with 255 total yards for the game. A big reason why was the play of Kanatus, a reserve running back who was inserted after halftime. Sherando coach Bill Hall played a hunch that Kanatus' hard-running style, combined with the Warriors' change to quick snap counts, might jump-start the offense.

Kanatus finished with 108 yards and the touchdown on 21 carries, all in the second half.

"Coach came to me at halftime and told me that we needed a little more power running," said Kanatus, normally a cornerback. "I just tried to step up."

"He's just a little different type of back," Hall said. "We were looking for a spark, and he's a hard runner. We're very fortunate to be deep at running back."

Kanatus' ability to bounce off tacklers for extra yardage was evident on his scoring run. After getting through the line, he broke a tackle and beat a defender with a dive to the corner of the end zone.

"I could see people in my rearview mirror," Kanatus joked.

For Millbrook, the loss was disheartening. The Pioneers (5-5, 1-3) dominated play in the first half (182-22 advantage in total yards), and had a Sherando offense that showed no signs of big-play capability backed up twice in the second half before surrendering two scores in the game's final two minutes.

"It's extremely disappointing because the kids played so hard," Pioneers coach Reed Prosser said. "But it just didn't turn out in our favor. I knew when we only scored 6 points in the first half after really controlling things that it might come back to bite us. We moved the ball well. We just bogged down a couple of times. It would have been nice to have been up two scores."

Millbrook broke a scoreless deadlock late in the second quarter, capitalizing on the first of two Bryon Tavers fumble recoveries. Rylan Banks capped an eight-play, 40-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run with 37 seconds left before halftime. Phil Root, however, blocked the extra point, leaving the score at 6-0.

Despite the difficult loss, Millbrook (5-5) will live to play another day. The Pioneers still earned a Region II Division 3 playoff berth but must travel next week.

Meanwhile, Friday's victory assured Sherando of the second seed in Division 4 and a first-round bye next week. The Warriors could also earn a share of the district title with a James Wood win at Handley today.

"It gives the guys a mental break," Hall said of the bye. "The playoffs are so intense. Plus, it's one less game you have to win. I don't think too many people picked us to get this far. I think that says a lot about our guys and what they've done to get here."