Onside kick recovery seals Apache’s 28-24 win over Walters

WALTERS —On a field loaded with talented players, when Apache needed a big play in the final minutes of its District A-2 title showdown with Walters, it came from a 5-8, 140-pound sophomore who didn’t hear the call for the “Hands” team until the third or fourth scream from Apache Head Coach Tanner Koons.

After seeing Walters rally from a 28-0 deficit at halftime, the Blue Devils were getting ready for an onside kick that everyone at Elmer Graham Stadium knew was coming with 51 seconds left in the game. Well, almost everyone knew it was coming except for sophomore Jared Maguire who was standing in a group of Apache players near midfield.

With Koons yelling “hands, hands, hands”, he finally got the right players on the field. The kick was a good one but McGuire was able to grab the bouncing ball near midfield to seal the outcome.

“That’s a kid who hasn’t gotten a lot of reps for us but he’s on that (hands) team and that’s what these boys do. They do their jobs and never complain.”

In the first half the Warriors were near perfect as quarterback Houston Herrin completed his first 12 passes for 231 yards and three touchdowns as he led the No. 9-ranked Warriors to a big lead.

He hit Dom Scott for a 15-yard TD pass with 6:06 left in the first quarter and then the junior QB ran for the two-point PAT.

Walters seemed ready to respond after the ensuing kickoff but it was unable to connect on a 4th-and-goal from the 14 and Apache took over.

Two plays later Scott got behind the Walters secondary and Herrin hit him in stride for a 59-yard scoring strike. That time, though, Walters stopped the PAT.

In the second quarter Herrin scored on a 1-yard-TD run to cap a 65-yard scoring drive and Herrin tacked on the PAT run.

The Apache defense forced a quick Walters punt giving the Warriors the ball at their own 47. This time Herrin found Dakota Roberts open and that 17-yard pass arranged the 28-0 halftime lead.

“We told the guys that Walters was going to come back and that we just had to keep making plays,” Koons said. “They just started getting some things to go their way and they started finding open receivers and they made plays.”

Corbin Good led the Blue Devils downfield on their first possession of the second half and John Fremin tacked on the PAT run for a 28-8 score just two minutes into the third quarter.

The key series came after the ensuing kickoff set Apache up at its own 39 and the Warriors marched downfield, eventually finding a 1st-and-goal at the six. The Warriors tried four times to get the ball into the end zone but the Blue Devils held firm and took over possession and quickly moved downfield to score on another Good TD pass to make it 28-16.

“At that point I kept telling Houston that we aren’t going to get all the momentum back on one play,” Koons said. “Walters just made a few big plays and we had to fight for everything after that.”

On the ensuring kickoff Apache got good field position at its own 40 but Herrin was unable to fit a pass between double coverage on Scott and Good made the interception.

The teams traded turnovers after that and the Blue Devils headed toward the end zone again. They picked picked up three first downs but on a 2nd-and-goal at the Apache 3-yard-line, Good tried to get the TD over the right side but he lost control of the ball and Apache’s Reece Sylvester recovered.

Apache was able to pick up on first down on that series but eventually the Warriors had to punt, giving Walters the ball at its own 30 with 2:48 to go.

Walters was able to move downfield and score when Good hit BJ Palmer for a 14-yard TD pass. Palmer also tacked on the PAT, setting up the critical onside kick that Apache recovered to seal the win.