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Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009

Bryan Station tops Lafayette after delay

Defenders score two late Tds after official mishap

Better late than never.

That was how Bryan Station felt Friday night after it rallied to beat Lafayette 14-7, ending an eight-year losing streak to the Generals.

Bryan Station tailback Tevin McCaden, the state's leading rusher, was kept in check most of the game, but he shook free for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

McCaden finished with 129 yards on 27 carries.

Kickoff was two hours late on the wet, cold night, apparently because no officials were assigned to call the game at Tates Creek.

A crew was put together from among officials who live in the Lexington area, but the men in the striped shirts didn't arrive until 9 p.m. The game finally started at 9:30.

It took a long time for Bryan Station to get its game in gear, too. The Defenders didn't have a first down in the first half and didn't score until midway through the fourth quarter.

But it was better late than never for Bryan Station and McCaden.

Lafayette, which had taken a 7-0 lead on a 59-yard pass from Brett Durbin to Nathan Green, had to punt twice from deep in its own territory in the final quarter, and the Defenders cashed in both times.

The first time, Bryan Station drove 50 yards in 12 plays, with McCaden scoring from the 9 on 4th-and-6.

A few minutes later, the Defenders got possession at the Lafayette 33. On the next snap, McCaden burst 33 yards for a touchdown with 4:47 left.

Lafayette didn't go down quietly.

After they failed on a 4th-and-5 at the Bryan Station 40, the Generals forced a fumble to get one last chance.

Quarterback Brett Durbin hooked up with Green on three completions to move Lafayette to the Defenders' 32, but a fourth-down pass was broken up in the closing seconds.

The first half was a whole lot of nothing — a scoreless tie. The teams looked as if they had been thrown out of sync by the long delay.

Lafayette squandered good field position and a couple of great scoring chances. The Generals drove to the Bryan Station 17 but were stopped short on 4th-and-2.

Bryan Station took possession but fumbled on the next snap.

Lafayette took over at the 14 but couldn't cash in. A penalty pushed the Generals back, and they wound up trying a 37-yard field goal that was blocked.

Bryan Station's defense, led by Kris Bolton, limited Lafayette star Eric Shaw Jr. to 39 yards rushing, 13 receiving and 47 on kick returns.

Durbin completed 11 of 26 passes for 138 yards and a TD.

McCaden pushed his season rushing totals to 1,801 yards and 22 TDs.

Lafayette's marching band made the smartest move of the night. It turned its halftime show into a pre-game performance, and it was packed and gone 45 minutes before kickoff.

Bryan Station 0 0 0 14—14

Lafayette 0 0 7 0— 7

L—Nathan Green 59 pass from Brett Durbin (Matt Green kick). BS—Tevin McCaden 9 run (Jose Marin kick). McCaden 33 run (Marin kick).

Records—Bryan Station 6-2; Lafayette 5-4.