Game Slips Through Farmington's Hands

FARMINGTON -- The regular season final slipped through Farmington's hands as Harrison pulled away to hand the Cardinals (3-7, 2-5 5A West) a 40-18 defeat at Allen Holland Field Friday.

A Cardinal defender just missed a sack by over-running Harrison quarterback Noah Ditmanson on second and 10 from the Farmington 22. Ditmanson continued the play and threw to Cameron Jones for a 24-yard touchdown. Micah Ford's extra-point kick gave the Goblins a 21-6 lead at the 8:39 mark of the second quarter.

Four dropped touchdown passes left the Cardinals without much-needed scoring plays. Those missed opportunities were compounded by a rash of dead ball personal foul penalties called against Farmington. Harrison's fourth scoring drive of the first half was aided by such a 15-yard gift from the officials, moving the football inside Cardinal territory to the 47 after Jake Oskey tackled Harrison's Josh Williams for a loss. Two plays later, Caleb Huskey's 32-yard reception set up the Goblins at Farmington's three. Harrison's other quarterback Taner Edwards scored on a 5-yard run to cap the drive, pushing the Goblin lead to 27-6.

Trenton McChristian returned the ensuing kickoff to the 18. A penalty and negative play sent Farmington back to the 12. From there, Farmington quarterback Trey Waggle hit McChristian in stride at the Cardinal 45 and the senior wide receiver outran the Goblin defense to complete an 88-yard touchdown pass play. Farmington's 2-point pass failed, but the Cardinals were within, 27-12, with 3:19 to go before halftime.

Harrison's next possession ended with Skyler Montez returning an interception 10 yards to the Cardinal 30, but the Cardinals were flagged for dead ball unsportsmanlike conduct after the play. Still, they had a chance. Waggle scrambled for 17 yards, then the second of two completions went to fullback Blake Putnam for 17 more yards and a first down at the Goblin 41. A fumbled handoff was recovered on the next play, but forced coach Mike Adams to burn a time-out. On third-and-11, Farmington got the match-up they wanted only to watch as Waggle's on-target throw was dropped at the goal line.

Fourth down was converted when Xavier Staten stepped out-of-bounds after making a catch at the Goblin 28, stopping the clock with 46 seconds left. Waggle found Staten again to set up a first-and-goal at Harrison's five yard line with 17 seconds remaining, but the drive ended when Harrison's Daniel McCormick intercepted a pass in the end zone and ran the ball out to the 17, allowing the Goblins to retain a 27-12 halftime lead.

The Cardinals had more chances. In the third quarter. Farmington's Josh Ball came away with an interception when Kelton Price hit the quarterback. The Cardinals drove 68 yards in 8 plays, scoring on an 11-yard run by Caleb Williams. The conversion failed, but Farmington was within two scores, at 27-18, midway through the period. Later, a Cardinal defensive back appeared to have a bead on the ball, which he attempted to bat down, but missed and gave up a 70-yard touchdown pass by Ditmanson to McCormick. Harrison's conversion failed, leaving Farmington with a 33-18 deficit.

On the ensuing Farmington possession, McCormick returned an interception 47 yards for a touchdown and Harrison extended their lead to 40-18. Harrison did not score in the fourth quarter, but more flags thrown in their favor helped them maintain their margin of victory. Runs by Reid Turner and Caleb Williams netted a Farmington first down, then Waggle completed passes to tight end Jacob Gray and freshman Drew Sturgeon. A pass interference penalty advanced the ball to the Goblin 24. Farmington overcame yet another unsportsmanlike penalty on Waggle's pass to Staten. Farmington had a first down at Harrison's 11 and nearly scored but a receiver stretching out for a pass at the left pylon couldn't come up with a catch and the Cardinals were again flagged for a dead ball unsportsmanlike penalty which, combined with a sack, killed the drive.

Farmington had one last possession after a Harrison punt with one minute to play in the fourth. Oskey came out at quarterback and pitched to Staten on a reverse. Staten gained 17 yards, then Oskey ran for 11 yards and completed a sideline throw to Staten at the Goblin 22. Oskey's last two passes were both dropped in the end zone. Either would have given Farmington a score. Farmington started well. Waggle ran for 53 yards, then capped the drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Gray as the Cardinals opened up an early first quarter lead, of 6-0. Harrison answered with Ditmanson running for a 9-yard touchdown and throwing a 24-yard scoring pass to Jones to move in front, 14-6, after one period of play.