Farmngton Homecoming Game Goes Awry 28-14

LOSS DROPS CARDINALS TO 1-2 IN 5A WEST

MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER Farmington seniors: tailback Reid Turner (left) and fullback Rhett Rominger celebrate Rominger's 1-yard touchdown plunge. The Cardinals were defeated, 28-14, in their Homecoming game by Greenbrier on Friday, Oct. 5, 2018.
MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER Farmington seniors: tailback Reid Turner (left) and fullback Rhett Rominger celebrate Rominger's 1-yard touchdown plunge. The Cardinals were defeated, 28-14, in their Homecoming game by Greenbrier on Friday, Oct. 5, 2018.

FARMINGTON -- A nasty 42-point swing occurred late in the third period continuing into the fourth with the Cardinals losing fumbles twice and then throwing an interception.

Greenbrier (4-2, 2-1 5A West) also blocked a punt to hand Farmington (3-3, 1-2 5A West) a disappointing 28-14 loss on Homecoming Day. Three consecutive Farmington possessions ended with a turnover in Greenbrier territory. Each time Greenbrier scored going the other way to put up 21 unanswered points, building a 28-7 fourth quarter lead off Cardinal miscues.

"We turned the ball over four times last Friday and you can't expect to beat anyone, much less a good team like Greenbrier, when you do that," said Farmington coach Mike Adams. "Three of those turnovers came inside their 30-yard-line -- if we finished those drives it would have been a completely different game."

The Cardinals were forced to rely on their passing game and Adams seeks better on-the-field execution from each position necessary to run the ball effectively.

"We struggled running the ball consistently all night--lack of execution by our tight end , fullback, and offensive line combined with some poor cuts by our tailbacks were all factors," Adams said.

The game was tied 7-7 at halftime. Greenbrier scored on the game's opening possession driving 73 yards on 8 plays to take a 7-0 lead on Andrew Johnson's 15-yard quarterback keeper followed by Cody Powell's extra-point kick.

Farmington went three and out, then punted. The Panthers' return man dropped the ball, but a whistle was blown immediately. Farmington dropped a runner 4 yards back on first down and Decory Thomas put the smack on Brody Johnson after a 10-yard reception to force a Panther punt. Farmington advanced the ball to the Panther 29 but lost the ball on downs.

A sack by Tony Mayo and pass batted down by the defensive line played into Farmington stopping a Greenbrier drive on downs at the Cardinal 20. Early in the second quarter Trace South hammered Andrew Johnson, who fumbled while in a throwing motion. The Cardinals recovered at their own 39.

Dimariae Donovan ran for 8 yards, then Eric Hill completed back-to-back passes to Drew Sturgeon, the second of which resulted in 29-yard gain to the Panther 8. Rhett Rominger capped the 6-play drive with a 1-yard fullback dive. Sturgeon booted the P.A.T. and the score was knotted at 7-all with 9:14 to go in the first half.

Greenbrier marched into Cardinal territory before Colton Kilgore dropped Seth Howard 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage on a run and Jacob Rogers sacked Andrew Johnson. On fourth-and-7, Sturgeon wisely dropped an interception while going out-of-bounds at the two.

Farmington took over with 5:19 left in the half and 73 yards away from the end zone. The Cardinals kept the ball for the next 5:16 advancing 54 yards but the drive bogged down at the Panther 19 and Sturgeon missed a 36-yard field goal that would have given the Cardinals a lead. Instead the contest remained tied, 7-7, at halftime.

Greenbrier also failed to take the lead by missing a field goal midway through the third quarter. Farmington took over at its own 20 and moved the ball, but then came the first of three straight turnovers on the Panthers' side of the field, which led to 21 points for the visitors.

Friday the Cardinals travel to Vilonia (2-4, 1-2 5A West). Last week the Eagles lost 62-6 to Harrison. Their lone conference win was by a 53-24 score over Huntsville on Sept. 28.

"Vilonia is very similar to Greenbrier in style of play. They have a senior quarterback, who is very accurate, and Draven Smith is an explosive tailback -- he won the 100 (meter) in the conference track meet as a sophomore."

GREENBRIER 28, FARMINGTON 14

Greenbrier^7^0^14^7 -- 28

Farmington^0^7^0^7 -- 14

First Quarter

Greenbrier -- Andrew Johnson 15-yard run (Cody Powell kick), 9:08.

Second Quarter

Farmington -- Rhett Rominger 1-yard run (Drew Sturgeon kick), 9:21.

Third Quarter

Greenbrier -- Ryan Barnard 21-yard pass from Andrew Johnson (Cody Powell kick), 3:54.

Greenbrier -- Seth Howard 13-yard run (Cody Powell kick), 1:12.

Fourth Quarter

Greenbrier -- Clark Hogan 14-yard pass from Andrew Johnson (Cody Powell kick), 7:00.

Farmington -- Dimariae Donovan 1-yard run (Drew Sturgeon kick), 4:48.

TEAM STATISTICS

Greenbrier^Farmington

Total plays^71^62

First downs^23^16

Total offense^404^304

Rushes-yards^35-185^33-92

Rush average^5.3^2.8

Passing yards^219^212

Comp-Att-TD-Int^19-25-2-0^ 15-28-0-2

Third down^5-10^6-14

Fourth down^0-2^1-2

Fumbles Lost^1^1

Penalties-Yards^14-90^4-30

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Farmington, Reid Turner 12-39, Eric Hill 9-27, Dimariae Donovan 4-17, Tony Mayo 4-4, Sean O'Connell 1-4, Rhett Rominger 1-1, Marqwaveon Watson 1-0. Greenbrier, Seth Howard 15-93.

PASSING -- Farmington, Eric Hill 15-27-212-0-2, Seth Swain 0-1-0-0-0. Greenbrier, Andrew Johnson 19-25-219-2-0.

RECEIVING -- Farmington, Drew Sturgeon 9-120, Kolton Reeves 3-64, Marqwaveon Watson 3-28. Greenbrier, Clark Hogan 3-35.

Sports on 10/10/2018