Later Raider: BJHS wins region title
Reggie Ragland (No. 19) blocks a Decatur field goal during the fourth quarter of the Patriots' 24-21 overtime victory to claim the Class 6A, Region 8 championship.
Braden Hager must be the Decatur Red Raiders’ worst nightmare.
For the second year in a row, Hager nailed a last second field goal, this time in overtime, to defeat the Red Raiders, 24-21, to clinch the Class 6A, Region 8 title.
Last season, Hager nailed a field goal in the Class 6A semifinals to oust the Raiders from the playoffs.
“That’s an unbelievable win,” said Bob Jones head coach Kevin Rose. “I’m so proud of our guys.”
The Patriots trailed the entire game until 6:16 left in the fourth quarter when Zach Freeman connected with Jeffrey Moss for a 25-yard touchdown, and then Collins Moore scored on an end-around reverse for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 14-14.
After forcing the Raiders to punt, it took the Patriots one minute and 43 seconds to take the lead for the first time on a 20-yard fade route pass from Freeman to Moore.
After Hager nailed the extra point to give the Patriots a 21-14 lead, the Raiders quickly took the ball the length of the field and William Laughlin took the ball in from 1 yard out for the score after setting it up with a 62-yard strike to Benjamin Fossett.
Freeman was intercepted by Desmond Lavelle on the next possession to give the Raiders a chance to win the ball game in regulation, but Rashad Goode picked off a Laughlin pass in the end zone with 1 second remaining to send the game into overtime.
In overtime, the Patriots held strong and forced the Raiders to kick a 27-yard field goal, but William Walraven’s kick sailed right, and Hager nailed the 27-yarder on the Patriots first play of the next possession.
In addition to the overtime stand, the Patriots got big plays from their defense all night long.
The Patriots’ offense did not start off as strong, as Freeman was picked off by Daniel Deffenbaugh on Bob Jones’ opening play.
Although the Raiders failed to score on the next possession, they did put the ball in from 10 yards out on a Joshua Matthews run in the first quarter for the only points of the half.
The Patriots threatened to score late in the second quarter, but Trai Ragland was ruled down on a fourth-and-1 run from the Raiders’ 1-yard line to give the ball back to Decatur.
Decatur marched the ball right down the field to start the third quarter, and Laughlin took the ball in from 1 yard out to increase the Raider lead to 14-0.
Goode picked off a Laughlin pass two possessions later to set up a 25-yard touchdown pass from Freeman to Xavier Gaddy, but Hager’s extra point was blocked by Garret Teague to leave the score 14-6.
The Patriots’ special teams stepped up in the forth quarter when Reggie Ragland blocked Walraven’s 35-yard field goal attempt that could have sealed the victory.
Despite the emotional victory, the Patriots get little time to rest as the defending Class 6A champion Hoover Bucs, the No. 1 ranked team in the state, comes to visit Oct. 29.
“We’re going to celebrate this victory for 24 hours, and then we’re going to get back to work,” Rose said. “We’ve got a huge challenge ahead of us next week.”
Kickoff for the Hoover game is set for 7 p.m.
