Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011

Turnovers hurt Leesville in Garner victory

Braxton Berrios walked off the field slowly. Berrios, the quarterback for Leesville Road, bowed his head when he reached the sideline.

The scoreboard at Garner High School indicated it was still early in the fourth quarter, but Berrios knew his mistake, a fumble, likely ended the Pride's last chance for a comeback - including their hopes of preserving their undefeated season.

The Pride trailed by two touchdowns when Berrios led the offense deep into Trojans' territory. Berrios took the snap and ran up the middle. In his attempt to gain extra yards, Berrios was stripped and Garner made the recovery.

From there, the Trojans went on to defeat the Pride 42-21 Friday night in the third round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4AA playoffs.

Leesville Road coach Chad Smothers said, "We just shot ourselves with turnovers."

It was the four turnovers that made this loss difficult for the Pride (12-1). Before this one, the most turnovers the Pride had in a game was two.

Just three weeks ago, Braxton Berrios, who started the season as a receiver, had to replace his brother at quarterback after Austin Berrios, a senior, suffered a season-ending knee surgery.

Austin Berrios tried to console his brother after the final whistle.

"He wanted to come out and play flawless," Smothers said of Braxton Berrios. "We just put the ball on the turf and we had opportunities."

Leesville Road averaged 57 points a game this season. The Pride scored so many points by taking an early lead and letting running back D.J. Hunt gain yards on the ground.

Only this time, Leesville Road allowed Garner (14-0) to take away the ball, and the momentum, after the Pride scored on their opening drive.

Hunt, who had been a sure-handed runner all season, fumbled the ball twice in the first quarter, to let Garner take a 21-7 lead.

"Those turnovers were all big," Garner coach Nelson Smith said. "You can't stop Braxton, but I thought we did a good job of limiting his big plays when we had to."

Even when the Pride didn't put the ball on the ground, they committed penalties that stalled drives.

In the second quarter, Berrios found receiver Malcolm Hitchcock for what would have been a 20-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-eight. But an illegal substitution penalty whipped the play away.

Berrios scored two touchdowns in the second half, but the Pride couldn't cut the Trojans' lead to single digits after his fumble.