Around 9:05 p.m. Friday night, while Laney and Thomson battled on the football field off of Laney Walker Boulevard, a series of gun shots were heard outside the stadium, and a dandy game between two proud programs was suspended with 6:28 left in the third quarter.
When the shots were heard, players, officials, coaches and fans immediately hit the ground and lay on their stomachs during the approximately 10-second long volley of bullets popping. When the shooting ended the exodus of people began. The players, band members and cheerleaders were ushered out of harm’s way. The coaches and officials huddled. The lights were turned out shortly afterwards, and the last remaining people wandered out of the stadium right before 10 p.m.
In addition to the shock felt by all who remained long enough to speak about what had happened, many shared their disappointment about such an outstanding football game, the region opener for both teams, needing to be suspended, possibly to resume on the weekend of Oct. 14, when both teams have a bye week.
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Despite entering the game with a 3-0 record, Laney hasn’t beaten #7 Thomson (2-1) since 1987. And even though the Wildcats (3-0) executed their game plan nearly to perfection during the first 30 minutes, the visiting Bulldogs still led 15-14 when play was suspended. Laney possessed the ball on Thomson’s 31-yard line, and the Wildcats were lining up on second down with nine yards to go when play stopped for the night.
Laney’s offense possessed the ball for 22 of the game’s first 30 minutes, and it gained 180 total yards on only three full series and part of another. Keeping Thomson’s explosive offense off the field was paramount for the Wildcats to pull off an upset, and the plan was working better than anybody could have expected.
Laney started the game by forcing Thomson to punt after three plays. The Wildcats then chewed up 9 minutes of game clock with a 12-play, 77-yard drive that senior quarterback Keshaun Sanders punctuated with a one-yard touchdown run.
Sanders followed up with a 2-point conversion completion to Willie Booker from eight yards out to make it 8-0 with 11:45 left in the second quarter.
Junior CJ Holmes rushed six times for 41 yards during the series and picked up two key third down conversions, both on 13-yard runs. The first was on third-and-9 near midfield, and the second placed the Wildcats in the red zone at Thomson’s 7-yard line. Sanders also had a run for 12 yards on second-and-14 during the drive.
The Bulldogs retaliated with a 7-play, 71-yard touchdown drive that featured senior star rusher Jontavis Curry, who accounted for 30 yards, including a one-yard touchdown dive to cap off the drive. Laney’s lead stood at 8-7 with 7:10 left in the second quarter.
But Laney followed with its biggest mistake of the abbreviated contest when Willie Booker was indecisive in fielding the ensuing kickoff, letting the ball lie near the one-yard line before picking it up and getting stuffed at Laney’s 7-yard line. The Wildcats were unable to move the ball, and Thomson capitalized when Storm Hunt fielded Keshaun Sanders’s punt at Laney’s 45-yard line and returned it 45 yards up the left sideline for a touchdown. After Curry ran for a 2-point conversion Thomson led 15-8 with 2:20 left in the second.
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The momentum appeared to be firmly on Thomson’s side, especially because CJ Holmes appeared to be injured. But Sanders answered the call by engineering a beautiful 2-minute drill of a touchdown drive. First, Sanders fired a pass 35 yards in the air over the first line of Thomson’s secondary into the outstretched hands of Willie Booker, who had leaped high into the air to make a wonderful grab and run an additional 13 yards to Thomson’s 15-yard line before being brought down. Sanders then quickly got to the line, took the snap, and rolled left. After seeing no open receivers, Sanders tucked the ball and ran into the end zone before colliding with Thomson linebacker D’Vonta Babbs one yard past the goal line, losing his helmet in the process.
The lost helmet was key because it meant Sanders had to leave the game for the conversion attempt, leaving Laney with no quarterback and no kicker. Booker moved behind center and took the shotgun snap. He failed to reach the end zone, so Thomson took a 15-14 lead into intermission.
Laney received the second half kickoff and failed to pick up a first down on its first possession of the third quarter. After Sanders punted, Thomson assumed possession on Laney’s 45-yard line. But Thomson fumbled on its first play when Noah Story and Curry failed to execute a handoff and Kalon Curry recovered the ball.
With Holmes seemingly out for the remainder of the game, sophomores James Pride and Angus Myrick combined to run the ball four times for 22 yards to Thomson’s 31-yard line before play was stopped.
Chad Cook has covered sports for several years under AugBball. Follow him on Instagram @AugBBall
