Rome High School Varsity Football vs Pebblebrook High
ROME, GA— Trailing Pebblebrook by four points with three minutes left to play, Rome High showed no nerves at all, as the offense manufactured a 67-yard drive to score the game-winning touchdown and rally to down the Falcons 30-28 on Friday night at Historic Barron Stadium.
After Pebblebrook scored to take the lead with 3:20 left to go in the game, Rome coaches reminded the players that they had practiced this very scenario.
“We do a drill every week on Wednesdays, and it always has that scenario with two minutes left in a game, two timeouts and down by eight. I just told them we’ve got 1:45, three timeouts and we’re down four so let’s go,” Rome High coach John Reid said after the game.
The players listened to the words and delivered on the field. Quarterback Reece Fountain connected on six passes during the drive, hitting Martel Hight for two first downs. He also connected with DK Daniel for a short gain, Darnel Collins for a first down and receiver Jaedon Harmon for a short gain before the biggest pass of the night.
Facing third and three from the Pebblebrook 22 with less than 30 seconds remaining, Fountain rolled to his left and heaved the ball toward the end zone where wide receiver Will Bray fought off a defensive back and caught the ball falling into the end zone, setting off a huge celebration in Barron Stadium as the Wolves retook the lead 30-28.
Rome’s defense held the Falcons in check over the final 28 seconds with Treyvon Adams and Stephiylan Green sacking Pebblebrook quarterback Qamar Grant on fourth down to effectively end the game.
It took Rome’s offense a bit to get going in the game, as the Falcons struck first when linebacker John Floyd pounced on a loose ball and returned the fumble for a touchdown, staking Pebblebrook to a 7-0 lead with 6:47 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Wolves answered with a long drive of their own with a bit of trickery setting up their opening score.
On second and four from the Falcons’ 42-yard line, Fountain handed the ball off to Harmon who rolled to his right before throwing a strike to DK Daniel. The 27-yard pass play set Rome up inside Pebblebrook’s red zone and a few plays later Harmon scored on a four-yard run tying the game at 7 with 8:53 left before halftime.
Neither team could get on the board before halftime, but the Wolves found another scoring drive early in the third quarter. Diego Cordon ended a short drive by drilling a 25-yard field goal, handing the Wolves a 10-7 lead with 8:39 left in the third quarter.
Rome’s defense forced a three and out and the offense took advantage of a short field to add another score.
Fountain hit Bray with a couple of passes before Rome dialed up another fun play. Fountain handed the ball off to Harmon who rolled out to the right and then passed the ball back to Fountain who caught it and ran it to the five-yard line. Two plays later, Harmon scored on a one-yard run, upping Rome’s lead to 17-7 with 5:27 remaining in the third quarter.
The Wolves’ defense continued to stymie the Falcon’s offense, and linebacker Alto Moore even came up with an interception halting another Pebblebrook drive.
“Our defense played well, but we weren’t able to take advantage of some things offensively and that kind of let them back in the game. That’s a good football team,” Reid said. “I think us getting this win is good because it’s going to give us some confidence. We have a lot of young players on that offensive line."
Rome carried the 17-7 lead into the fourth quarter, setting the stage for a wild finish, as the two teams would combine to score five touchdowns over the final quarter of play.
Pebblebrook struck first as Grant hit wideout TJ Holmes for a 71-yard touchdown pass, cutting Rome’s lead to 17-14.
Rome answered when Fountain connected with DK Daniel in the flat with a short pass. Daniel made two Falcon defenders miss and then sped 58 yards for a touchdown, upping Rome’s lead to 24-14 with 10:20 left to play.
Pebblebrook scored another touchdown, this time on a three-yard run from running back Janerious Jackson to cut the lead to 24-21.
Rome’s offense couldn’t get anything going and when the Falcons got the ball back it took only three plays before they hit a 40-yard touchdown pass grabbing the lead 27-24 with 3:02 left to play in the game.
Harmon finished with two touchdowns for the Wolves and 99 yards on the ground. Fountain finished throwing for two touchdowns, including the game winner.
The win moves Rome’s record to 3-1 on the season. The Wolves now take a week off before opening Region 6-6A play at home at Barron Stadium against Allatoona on Friday, Sept. 23.
When asked how Rome will utilize its bye week, Reid smiled and gave a quick one-word answer. “Ice.”
“The bye week is coming at a good time because we need to rest and ice and take some ibuprofen,” he said. “It’s a great time for us to get a bye. We can take some time off and get some people healed and get everything ready going into a region game.”
Go Wolves!!!
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