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Falcons fall to Battlefield, 36-31; playoffs uncertain
In an otherwise crisply played game between the Cedar Run District's top teams, a game featuring two high-octane offenses, it was one Fauquier blunder and two points scored by the Battlefield defense that made the difference.
The unexpected twist that gave Battlefield a 36-31 win Friday in Haymarket happened midway through the fourth quarter. The ball was snapped beyond the reach of Fauquier quarterback Kyle Neumann and twisted its way out of the back of the end zone.
A safety by rule, that put Battlefield (5-0 district, 8-0 overall) ahead for good and kept it on the fast track to the district title, while Fauquier (3-2, 6-2) now hopes to win its final two games and sneak into the Group AAA playoffs.
"Just one mistake killed us on that one play...one mistake, which ruined everything," said Neumann, who noted fault was shared by him and his center. "Very frustrating. It hurts inside."
Fauquier's starting center, Mike Henson, had to leave the game early having not fully recovered from a knee injury suffered three weeks ago, but, all season, errant snaps and mishandled snaps have been sights as common as wide receiver screens and trap runs in Fauquier's shotgun spread offense. Neumann's knack for grabbing those balls off the ground, though, has minimized the damage.
That was not the case Friday.
Fauquier began that fourth quarter drive with 7:16 remaining and the hope that it could conduct a go-ahead score and break the 31-31 tie. But the Falcons were pushed back to their own 6-yard line by a first-down holding penalty and their next snap sailed to Neumann's right, skimming his hands and bouncing into the end zone.
Neumann reached to pick up the ball as he was tackled, but it hit off his hands again and tumbled out of bounds for the safety.
"I was in shock," Bobcats linebacker Corey Turner said. "They were driving the ball on us all game. We were telling our defense we need one more play, one more turnover and once that happened it was a good feeling."
It wasn't the best feeling Turner had all night, though.
After the safety, Fauquier forced a Battlefield punt and began driving with 5:16 left. FHS got to their own 31-yard line, though, before Turner intercepted a Neumann pass over the middle.
"I just read the quarterback's eyes," Turner said. "To my surprise he threw it right to me...It felt good to secure the win for our team."
That led to a win-sealing 31-yard field goal by Ben Burden, but again, intercepting that pass was not the best feeling Turner had Friday...
See the Wednesday print edition of the Fauquier Times-Democrat for the complete story.
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