Prep Football: Indians stage comeback to beat Eldorado

It was the little things that proved to be big Friday night against Eldorado and Johnston City.

The Eagles failed to convert on their two-point conversion attempt in overtime, the only conversion they didn't make, while Johnston City made their only conversion on the night in OT as they escaped with a 31-30 Black Diamond Conference win at Boz Adams Field.

With the win, Johnston City improves to 6-1 on the season, while Eldorado falls to 5-2.

After the Indians milked the clock for nearly the entire fourth quarter, a drive that lasted 10:30 for Johnston City, tied the ball game at 24-all when Dakota Edwards scored on the QB keeper from one-yard out.

On their attempt to win the game in regulation, Nicolai Gualdoni missed the point after kick wide left.

In OT, Eldorado needed just two cracks at the endzone before Braxton Roberts scored from four yards out, but the Eagles and Roberts failed to convert on the 2-point attempt.

On what appeared to be a busted play, Edwards took the handoff and scored from 10-yards out and Gualdoni found redemption by splitting the uprights for the victory.

It was a win that Johnston City head coach Dan Mings never doubted, but wasn't sure how it was going to happen.

"It was a complete fight, they dominated us in the first half with the big fullback (Roberts) and they had a great plan for us," Mings said. "It was one of those things, where I felt like we were going to win the game from the very beginning, I just didn't know how. We scored one more touchdown than they did, but they converted on their extra points."

Eldorado head coach Brandon Hampton found it hard to stomach the loss afterwards, knowing that a one stop on a third down or fourth down situation, could have been the difference.

"They converted on their conversion and we didn't," he said. "We had a chance to put them away a little bit in the second half with the first possession, up four and we end up not scoring. They got it and we got into some big third down and fourth down situations against them and just couldn't get a stop we needed on defense."

Eldorado took advantage of a bad snap on fourth down for Johnston City on their first possession, starting at the JC 25-yard line and seven plays later, Roberts scored from three yards out to give the Eagles an 8-0 lead.

JC stormed right back on a 7-play drive when Edwards scored from 1-yard out to make it an 8-6 contest.

Eldorado built a 10-point lead when Nathan Burnett scored on an 84-yard quarterback keeper down the Johnston City sideline for the 16-6 lead with 3:58 to play.

Right before halftime, the Indians rode the back of Edwards again, who scored from three-yards out to cut the deficit to four, 16-12 with 35.2 to play before halftime.

The difference maker in the game may have come with a little less than 7 minutes to play in the third quarter when unsportsman-like penalties were assessed to both Eldorado and Johnston City, thus the Eagles losing Logan Kanady for the remainder of the game after being thrown out.

On the same drive for the Indians, Edwards found pay dirt from 47 yards out with 6:40 and gave JC its first lead of the night.

Eldorado answered right back, starting on their own 35 ad using a 14-play drive that ended with Roberts bulldozing his way in from three yards out with 11:12 let to play and Burnett completing the two-point conversion to give the Eagles a 24-18 lead.

Johnston City then used the 18-play drive that started at 11:09 and ended with 41.7 left as Edwards tied the game.

"That drive was huge, they ate up the clock and kept it away from our offense," Hampton said. "We just couldn't come up with that stop that our football team needed. We ran out of steam. We lost Kanady, we already had Drew (Woolcott) out. Our kids are hurting right now, this was a tough game for us, but the reality is this, if anyone would have said August 1, we can push the fast forward button and going into Week 8, we were 5-2, I would have took it all day long. Anybody who said they wouldn't is crazy.

"We have done a lot of great things, unfortunately tonight we were on the short end and it sucks."

Eldorado will travel to Chester next Friday night at 7 p.m., while Johnston City travels to Fairfield.

Michael Dann covers prep and college sports for the Harrisburg Daily Register. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.