by Brian Turrel
Piper held off a second half comeback attempt from the Tonganoxie Chieftains for a 23-20 win on Friday in Piper. Divante Herrig-Brittian was the late-game hero for the Pirates, making two game-saving defensive plays in the fourth quarter.
Herrig-Brittian’s first game-changer was a downfield tackle that kept Tonganoxie from a go-ahead touchdown. Tonganoxie receiver Sam Kleidosty broke away for a long run and was headed for the end zone, but Piper’s speedy senior gave chase and brought him down at the Piper 11-yard line.
The tackle proved decisive moments later when the Piper defense forced a fumble and kept Tonganoxie off the board.
Herrig-Brittian sealed the game with an interception after Piper punted the ball back to the Chieftains with just under two minutes remaining. He kept his position in front of Tonganoxie receiver Jesse Young and timed his leap to haul in the pass. From there, Piper ran out the clock from the victory formation.
Tonganoxie was able to challenge in the fourth quarter because of two Piper miscues in the third quarter. Piper held a 23-7 lead at halftime, but an extremely short punt let Tonganoxie start an early third quarter drive from the Piper 20. The Chieftains converted the touchdown but failed the 2-point conversion, trailing 23-13.
On the ensuing drive, Piper fumbled the ball back to Tonganoxie at the Pirates’ 21-yard line. Once again, the Chieftains seized the opportunity, and climbed within 3 points.
Senior reserve quarterback Blake Porter filled in for regular starter Logan Ladish, sidelined with an injury. Porter threw two touchdown passes to Colin Vigil, and scored on a 5-yard touchdown run. Porter was also effective with intermediate passes to Ethan Walker.
Kicker Zane Busick opened the scoring with a field goal when Tonganoxie’s defense forced a stop on the opening drive.
The win gives Piper a 4-1 record, and they remain undefeated at 4-0 in the Pioneer League. They have another conference home game at 7 p.m. next Friday against the 2-3 Paola Panthers.
