Football: Raiders spoil freshman Chargers’ comeback bid

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Midland Dow failed to recover an onside kick with just over a minute to go Thursday, ending the freshman Chargers’ hope for a comeback bid as visiting Flushing prevailed 34-27 at Midland Community Stadium.

The Chargers trailed by 22 points heading into the fourth before rallying for two late touchdowns. Tyler Freeman scored from nine yards out with 7:54 to go, and Eric Greff added a 16-yard touchdown with just over a minute left on the clock to pull Dow within nine. Andrew Kaczmarek then punched in the 2-point conversion on Greff’s touchdown to put Dow within a score for the first time since late in the second quarter.

It looked like the Chargers had even recovered the onside kick, but the officials ruled the Raiders had it as Flushing ran out the clock to preserve the win.

“All of a sudden you think you have a chance and then the chance gets snatched away from you,” said head coach Jason Watkins of the onside kick. The play appeared so much in Dow’s favor that even the public address announcer declared Dow had recovered the ball before the referee ruled Flushing had the ball.

“Hats off to their kid for being at the bottom of the pile at the right spot, I guess.”

Though Watkins said he was disappointed his team was unable to complete the comeback, he was pleased by their resilience in battling back. He called his team’s performance one of the most complete this season, as only a few big plays from Flushing kept the Chargers from picking up their second win of the season.

“I didn’t know how the team was going to respond in the fourth quarter, and then we stepped up and made a game out of it again,” Watkins said. “I’m proud of the way we started, I’m proud of the way we finished, we’ve just got a little work to do in the middle.”

Dow found itself victim of the big play in the opening half, with Flushing getting on the board first on a 36-yard reverse by Troy O’Hara.

But Dow answered the bell two minutes later when a 30-yard reception by Matthew Bausch set up a 22-yard Matthew Hus touchdown run. The extra point was no good, though, as Flushing held on to a 7-6 lead.

After a Raiders’ three and out, the Chargers got the ball back and proceeded to put together their longest drive of the day. Dow picked up three fourth down conversions, including one on a fake punt, as Hus scored on the drive to give the Chargers the lead.

Flushing scored just over a minute later, though, this time on a 44-yard reverse to take a lead they would never again relinquish. The Raiders also added a 70-yard fumble return for a touchdown and two third quarter scoring runs to build the 22-point lead that ignited Dow’s comeback attempt.

“After the game we talked about continuing to take steps forward, and we did that tonight,” Watkins said. “We played probably our best two halves of football we’ve played on the same day all season long, and that’s a step forward.”

The Chargers record now stands at 1-5. They return to action next Wednesday when they travel to Arthur Hill to face the Lumberjacks. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m.

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Photos by Jason Wolverton