TRURO — Interstate-35 rallied to break open a 2-2 game with four runs in the bottom of the fourth, before adding two insurance tallies in the fifth to take an 8-2 win over Woodward-Granger Friday.
With an 8-2 final score, baseball would most likely have been the game being played, but such was not the case, as I-35 used three goal-line stands and a fortunate flag to post a win over W-G by the unusual score in the Class 1A District 8 football opener for both teams.
The Hawks (1-2, 0-1) began their first possession of the game on their own five-yard line and immediately paid the price, as the I-35 defense made one of their several key plays in the contest to record a safety and grab a 2-0 lead.
The game went into the highly unusual 2-2 tie later in the period when a high snap on a punt was alertly knocked out of the back of the end zone by Roadrunner punter Garrett George, awarding the Hawks two points.
I-35 quarterback Jaylan White found Cole Daniels for a 21-yard touchdown in the second quarter. The two-point conversion failed, leaving the hosts with an 8-2 lead.
W-G moved to the I-35 five-yard line but were turned away by the first of three defensive stands from the hosts, leaving the score unchanged at the break.
Hawk senior Johnnie Morgan returned the kickoff to open the second half all the way back for an apparent W-G touchdown, only to have the play erased by a holding penalty.
W-G moved inside the Roadrunner 10-yard line twice in the second half, including in the final minute of the game, but were turned away on both occasions in suffering the loss.
White finished 8-of-17 for 89 yards and a score through the air and added 93 yards on 21 rushes as the hosts, now 2-1 overall and 1-0 in D8, totaled 138 rushing yards on 33 carries.
The Hawks also ran for 138 yards, with Tanner Vermaas leading the way with 100 yards on 31 carries. Race Brant ran eight times for 32 yards and Brendan Bird five times for six yards.
Bird was 3-for-6 for 21 yards passing, hitting Brant twice for nine yards and Josh Saak once for 12 yards.
Woodward-Granger will host Panorama Sept. 18 in a D8 showdown. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Hawk Stadium.
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Class 1A District 8
INTERSTATE-35 8, WOODWARD-GRANGER 2
at Truro, September 11
Team 1 2 3 4 — Final
W-G 2 0 0 0 — 2
I-35 2 6 0 0 — 8
Scoring by Quarters
First Quarter
I-35 — Safety, runner tackled in end zone.
W-G — Safety, punt snapped out of end zone.
Second Quarter
I-35 — Daniels 21 pass from White (run failed).
