Evergreen 29, Heritage 17
Evergreen’s running game churned out 395 yards on 63 snaps and the Plainsmen finished their season with a 29-17 win over Heritage at McKenzie Stadium on Friday.
Anthony Thomas capped impressive drives at the start of each half for the Plainsmen, and Justin Straup capped a big night with a 53-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Straup ran for 183 yards and Justice Murphy ran for 148 and a clinching touchdown as the Plainsmen (3-6, 1-4) won their first league game of the season.
A fumble return had Heritage (2-7, 1-4) up 14-7 at halftime, but Evergreen regained control with the first drive of the third quarter. The Plainsmen marched 75 yards on 16 plays, converting two fourth downs en route to Thomas’ second touchdown. A two-point conversion by Murphy put Evergreen up 15-14.
Heritage gained a first down at the Evergreen 5, but had to settle for a 26-yard field goal by Bailey Thomason that gave the Timberwolves a 17-15 lead.
But Straup’s 53-yard run moments later put the Plainsmen ahead to stay. After Heritage threw four consecutive incomplete passes on its next possession, Evergreen needed nine running plays for a 49-yard scoring march.
The first half started great for Evergreen and ended better for Heritage.
The Plainsmen recovered an onside kickoff to begin the game and marched 54 yards on 13 plays to the game’s first touchdown. The score came on the second fourth-down conversion of the drive with Thomas sneaking through the defense for a 9-yard score.
Heritage’s first-half touchdowns came quickly. In the middle of the second quarter they moved 77 yards on eight plays. Quarterback Loren Standiford completed four big passes and cashed in on a 1-yard plunge. The go-ahead score was opportunistic. The Timberwolves defense forced Evergreen quarterback Kobey Eaton to fumble, and Jason Forwood scooped it up and sprinted 51 yards to the end zone, scoring with less than one second left in the half to lead 14-7.
EVERGREEN 29, HERITAGE 17
Evergreen 7 0 8 14–29
Heritage 0 14 3 0–17
First quarter
Eve — Anthony Thomas 9 run (Conner Finnegan kick)
Second quarter
Her — Loren Standiford 1 run (Bailey Thomason kick)
Her — Jason Forwood 51 rumble return (Thomason kick)
Third quarter
Eve — Thomas 5 run (Justice Murphy run)
Her — Thomason 26 FG
Fourth quarter
Eve — Justin Straup 53 run (Finnegan kick)
Eve — Murphy 2 run (Finnegan kick)
Individual statistics
RUSHING — Evergreen — Justin Straup 20-184, Justice Murphy 24-148, Anthony Thomas 7-35, Jamaree Jones 8-33, Kobey Eaton 4-(minus 5). Heritage — Jay Allen 7-15, Simon Bos 2-6, Tim Hergert 1-1, Standiford 7-12.
PASSING — Evergreen — Eaton 1-6-0-5. Heritage — Loren Standiford 15-27-1-206.
RECEIVING — Evergreen — Thomas 1-5. Heritage — E’Lon Mack 7-72, Jacoby Spencer 3-40, Tim Hergert 3-49, Jacob Gardiner 1-27, Robby Cuenta 1-18.
