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Trojans run to victory

Josh McCombs gains 247 yards in win by Bandys

Robert C. Reed

Bandys’ Daimyn Niemi scores a touchdown during second quarter action at Bunker Hill High School.

BY PAUL FOGLEMAN

Record Sports Correspondent

Published: October 4, 2008

CLAREMONT - It has hardly been a secret the potency of the Bandys High offensive charge comes from its aerial display.

Friday night, the Trojans showed their attack is also well grounded.

Josh McCombs ran for a career-high 247 yards on 24 carries with three touchdowns, erasing the sting of the absence of three prominent offensive starters and leading visiting Bandys to a 35-12 Catawba Valley Athletic 2A-3A Conference win over Bunker Hill.

Watching from the sidelines were the CVAC's leading passer in quarterback Kyle Houser (266.4 yards per game), second leading receiver in Seth Cranfill (23 catches for 402 yards) and starting right tackle Kyle Talbert.

The Bandys threesome was ejected in last week's win over West Caldwell, forcing them to sit out Friday's game and next Friday's against Patton under North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) rules.

Despite the loss of those players, the Trojans' offense barely missed a beat. Bandys turned to its ground game against a Bunker Hill defense that ranked last in the league in total defense coming in (344 yards per game).

Bandys (3-3, 2-2) pounced on its opportunity from the outset, with 21 of its 30 first-half plays coming on the ground.

"We knew going in that (running the ball) was what our game plan was going to be," said Trojans head coach Randy Lowman. "We thought we could run it if all things were equal, but we knew that (Bunker Hill) knew that.

"The last three weeks, we've shifted the emphasis of our offense some to our running game and it's picked up.

"Plus (new starting quarterback) Dillon (Crites) made enough plays and enough passes that (the Bears) had to at least guard our passing game."

Crites, a junior, effectively managed the Bandys offense, connecting on 5-of-9 throws for 98 yards and two scores.

But it was two explosive runs by McCombs that turned a 14-6 lead at the half into a 28-12 advantage heading into the final quarter.

McCombs' 4-yard scoring run and a 25-yard TD pass from Crites to Daimyn Niemi were answered by a 7-yard TD toss from Bunker Hill quarterback Cameron Beard (20-of-42, 242 yards, two interceptions) to Jeremy Abernathy, giving Bandys its halftime lead.

McCombs then delivered two backbreaking scores with his first two touches after intermission.

After a Bears drive stalled at the Bandys 21 when Crites broke up a pass at the goal line on a fake field goal attempt, McCombs found a hole on the right side and raced nearly untouched for a 79-yard TD.

Bunker Hill (1-5, 1-3) countered with a 13-play, 54-yard drive culminated by a Beard 1-yard sneak for a TD. But eight seconds were all that were needed to answer when McCombs ran up the middle and bolted 52 yards for his second TD in as many carries.

Not bad for a guy who admitted the butterflies were flapping a little harder than usual when he took the field.

"At first I was pretty nervous," said McCombs, who fumbled the handoff exchange on the first play from scrimmage and Bunker Hill recovered at the Bandys 30, "but I had to try and keep the team up.

"Tonight was a night when I had to step up and be a leader, and I knew that if we kept our heads in the game we could still (win)."

Bunker Hill failed to take advantage of its good fortune when a catch by Melvin McCathern was ruled out of the end zone. The Bears inability to capitalize on their chances was a theme for the night.

Seven of Bunker Hill's 10 possessions made it to the Trojans 30 or better, but two TDs were all the Bears came away with.

"We moved the ball, but we just couldn't finish drives," said Bunker Hill head coach Ron Turner. "We couldn't make plays to get it into the end zone enough.

"The kids competed like crazy, but (McCombs' second-half TD runs) were hard to battle through.

" But we still fought hard and we're getting better. We're just not quite over the hump yet."

McCombs accounted for Bandys' final score when he was on the receiving end of a 13-yard TD pass from Crites.