New Brockton unable to complete comeback against Highland Home

For the fourth time this season, the New Brockton Gamecocks (3-5, 2-3) battled a Top 10 team in Class 2A, Region 3 opponent Highland Home Flying Squadron (7-1, 6-0) and ultimately lost 35-28 in a back-and-forth struggle.

Highland Home jumped out to a 6-0 lead on a 5-yard touchdown run from running back Andrew Gipson with 6:16 remaining in the opening period. New Brockton managed to block the PAT attempt but Highland Home still led 6-0.

New Brockton responded with a 3-yard touchdown run from Kyan Horne with 3:44 remaining in the first quarter. The PAT gave New Brockton a 7-6 lead.

The Flying Squadron answered right back with a 66-yard touchdown toss from quarterback John Hoffman to Gipson with 2:34 remaining. The Flying Squadron converted the two-point try and extended their lead to 14-7.

New Brockton marched on a 14-play, 86-yard drive that spilled over into the second quarter. Gamecock quarterback Kaden Cupp converted a pair of fourth-and-longs with passes to tight end Russell Weeks on the drive.

Horne finished off the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run and the PAT tied the score 14-14.

The tie didn’t last for long, however, as Highland Home’s Gipson returned the ensuing kickoff 74 yards for a touchdown. The PAT gave the Flying Squadron a 21-14 lead with 7:33 remaining in the half.

With 5:52 remaining in the first half, Cupp tossed a 68-yard touchdown pass to receiver De’Shawn McLeod but the PAT was no good meaning that Highland Home still led 21-20.

The Flying Squadron would take that lead into halftime. Highland Home was able to open the second half by getting into New Brockton territory before bogging down. However, the Flying Squadron played a game of field position by booting a 40-yard punt that pinned New Brockton inside its own 5-yard line.

A few plays later, Weeks was force to punt from New Brockton’s 1-yard line and a heavy Highland Home rush forced a short 20-yard punt. Two plays later, Highland Home’s Roosevelt Harris extended the lead with a 7-yard touchdown run. The PAT gave the Flying Squadron a 28-20 lead with 6:16 left in the third quarter.

Neither team was able to get much going offensively for the remainder of the third quarter, but Highland Home added to its lead with a 15-yard touchdown run from Christopher Mansmann with 10:37 left in the game. The PAT gave the Flying Squadron a 35-20 lead.

New Brockton got things going again and drove down the field on a 13-play, 95-yard drive that Cupp capped off with a 1-yard touchdown run with 6:39 left. Cupp converted the two-point try and New Brockton edged to within 35-28.

On a short kickoff, Weeks blasted a Highland Home returner and forced a fumble, which was scooped by his teammate Ethan Stinson.

New Brockton drove down to the Highland Home 20-yard line but bogged down there. Facing a third-and-18, Cupp scrambled and picked up 13 yards leaving a fourth-and-four. Cupp again scrambled but this time came up two yards shy giving Highland Home the ball back with less than three minutes remaining.

The Gamecock defense held strong, however, and forced another punt with less than two minutes remaining.

The Gamecocks took over at the Highland Home 37-yard line and drove back into the red-zone before turning the ball over on downs with six seconds remaining. Highland Home ran the clock out and held on for a 35-28 win.

“At the end of the game, I think we got a little paralyzed in a big moment with no timeouts,” New Brockton coach Zackc Holmes said. “You learn from that and move on. The team is obviously growing and everything we want to do is still in front of us. The biggest positive is we played with outstanding effort.”

While the effort was there, the execution – at times – wasn’t.

“I think we played really hard and played with great effort, which is a good thing,” Zack Holmes said. “That’s something that’s big for our program but our execution level has to get better and we have to do a better job of playing complimentary football.

“The offense kept us in the game in the first half and in the second half I feel like the defense got a lot better but offensively – especially in the third quarter – we weren’t very good.”

New Brockton netted 400 yards of offense, while Highland Home racked 380 yards. While Highland Home rushed for 106 yards, 99 of those yards came on four touchdown runs. In fact, 165 of Highland Home’s 380 yards came on the Flying Squadron’s touchdown plays.

Horne led the Gamecock offense with 150 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries, while Cupp completed 10-of-13 passes for 180 yards and a touchdown. Cup also rushed fro 68 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.

Weeks caught three passes for 40 yards and McLeod caught three passes for 86 yards and a touchdown.

New Brockton defensive end Brandon McCoy was once again a disruptive force with six tackles, five tackles-for-loss and two sacks. Defensive end Josh Cardwell added three tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-loss, 0.5 sack and a forced fumble.