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| Carlisle Bison coach Caleb Shock talks to his team after the Bison beat England 50-38 in the first round of the Class 2A state playoffs on Friday night. (Photos by Mark Buffalo) |
By Mark Buffalo
Staff Writer
CARLISLE — For the first time since 2015, the Carlisle Bison and England Lions met on the football field, and it did not disappoint.
The Bison rallied from a 22-8 halftime deficit to beat the Lions 50-38 in the first round of the Class 2A state playoffs Friday night at Fred C. Hardke Field. With the win, the Bison (8-3) advance to the second round to play Foreman while the Lions end their season at 5-6.
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| Carlisle freshman J.J. Sullivan [22] takes a handoff from quarterback Will Carter. |
“I got some pretty good help and the pretty good help said to quit running this play and start running ‘belly,’” Carlisle coach Caleb Shock said, referring to halftime adjustments. “We started running belly and having a lot of success with it. It was really good to us. After that, we were able to build off our other stuff. The offensive line blocked it up really well. We scored on a run behind Kaleb Boyle. He’s a senior lineman for us. He’s worked really hard. We made a living on that side.”
On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Carlisle freshman J.J. Sullivan ran 67 yards for a touchdown and Dee Allen scored the two-point conversion to make the score 22-16. Sullivan finished with 191 yards rushing on 10 carries.
“He’s pretty good,” Shock said of Sullivan. “I think he’s averaging 20 yards a carry so far for us. I think he’d be the first to tell you that it’s a big credit to his offensive line. Tonight, he had to work a little bit harder for it. I thin everybody saw some of his balance and vision. He’s got a natural knack for running the ball.”
England turned the ball over on downs on its next possession. That set the Bison up to drive 54 yards in seven plays with Allen scoring on an 8-yard run then adding the two-point conversion to give the Bison their first lead at 24-22 with 6:02 left in the third quarter.
England came right back to reclaim the lead at 30-24. Mason Brazeal scored on a 1-yard run with 2:43 left in the third quarter. He then threw to Tamarous Dodson for the two-point conversion.
Carlisle tied it at 30-30 on its next possession. Will Carter scored on a 6-yard run with 1:28 left in the third quarter.
The Lions reclaimed the lead at 38-30 on the first play of the fourth quarter. Darren McClinton scored on a 32-yard run and Dodson aded the two-point conversion.
The Bison tied it was 38-38 following a 65-yard, 7-play drive. Carter scored on a 39-yard run with 7:52 left. Collin Jinks added the two-point conversion.
England turned the ball over on downs at its own 44 with 5:46 left. Carlisle drove 44 yards in six plays with Allen scored on a 2-yard run with 2:42 left. The two-point conversion was no good, leaving the Bison up 44-38.
England did not go away. The Lions, behind the passing of Brazeal, moved the ball to the Carlisle 4. On third-and-goal with 7 seconds left, Brazeal rolled to his left and tried to throw into the end zone. Jinks intercepted the pass and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown on the game’s final play.
“It’s a big, big win,” Shock said. “We push these guys hard. They work hard. We expect a lot out of them. It validates us for those guys having success. I’m glad that they had the success that they had tonight. It springs us into the next round of the playoffs.”
In addition to Sullivan’s 191 yards rushing. Allen had 124 yards on 19 carries. Carter had 61 yards on 9 carries.
Brazeal completed 7 of 11 passes for 132 yards.
Ian Seidenschwarz led the Bison with 10 tackles. Carter had 5 tackles and an interception in the first quarter. Sullivan had 4 tackles. Lynn Mills had 3 tackles.
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