Generals win shootout

DINWIDDIE With the game in overtime and 97 points already on the scoreboard, Meadowbrook coach Bill Bowles made the decision that would end things.

"Otherwise, we would have been here all night," he said.

His two-point conversion call didn't pay off, and the Generals won the Central District title with a 49-48 victory over the Monarchs.

It was a rare defensive stop in a game where both quarterbacks Meadowbrook's Desmond Coble and Dinwiddie's Adam Morgan gave the overflowing crowd something to yell about on nearly every snap.

The Generals would have gone into the District 5 playoffs with the top seed regardless of the outcome, but Morgan and the other seniors hadn't beaten Meadowbrook during their careers, including an embarrassing blowout last year before a playoff loss.

"We said never again," Morgan said. "This is a great start. We're trying to leave no doubt this year."

Dinwiddie will host Douglas Freeman in the first round of the playoffs. Meadowbrook still advanced to the Division 6 playoffs, and will travel to L.C. Bird next week in the opening round.

Sill, they knew before the game that the only way to guarantee themselves a playoff spot was to win, and Coble came out gunning for the Generals. He picked up 140 yards of rushing and added another 195 yards of passing.

He didn't take to the air much until the second half, when the Monarchs found themselves with a 14-point deficit. Coble fixed that with a 22-yard pass to Chris Carter and a nine-yard scramble for his own touchdown.

But the area's top quarterback had one minute to work with, and the Generals soon found themselves on the 10-yard line with 34 seconds left.

Morgan fired a touchdown pass that would have been the game winner, but offensive pass interference was called away from the ball, forcing the team into a 35-yard field goal. A delay of game penalty was negated by an offside call on the next snap, but the anticipation only built to a blocked kick by Dominique Roane, forcing overtime.

Dinwiddie went first and Morgan connected with Jerrell White for a touchdown strike. White, Terron Adams and Sam Haskins had the bulk of the catches for the Generals.

Meadowbrook followed with a touchdown pass from Coble to Brett Rooney, a seemingly inevitable conclusion on a big night for both offenses. But the two-point play was stopped as Richie Williams broke free to put pressure on Coble, who still managed to deliver a strike to an open receiver, but the pass was bobbled and the game ended.

It was a passionate game, and both teams exchanged words, but no punches, afterward. The Dinwiddie fans stormed the field to celebrate the title.

"We had to get rid of the ghosts from last year," Dinwiddie coach Billy Mills said. "Now we can carry some confidence into the playoffs with us."

M -- Ragin 28 pass from Coble (Ornelas kick)

M -- Taylor 3 run (Ornelas kick)

D -- Morgan 38 run (Jones kick)

M -- Taylor 14 run (Ornelas kick)

D -- Morgan 1 run (Jones kick)

D -- Jackson 16 pass from Morgan (Jones kick)

D -- White 17 pass from Morgan (Jones kick)

M -- Coble 6 run (Ornelas kick)

D -- White 15 pass from Morgan (Jones kick)

D -- Beville 1 run (Jones kick)

M -- Carter 22 pass from Coble (Ornelas kick)

M -- Coble 9 run (Ornelas kick)

D -- White 10 pass from Morgan (Jones kick)

M -- Rooney 10 pass from Coble (conversion failed)

RUSHING

Meadowbrook: Phillips 15-78; Coble 18-140; Ragin 1-minus-3; Taylor 1-3; Worsham 6-64; Carter 1-0 Dinwiddie: Morgan 19-116; Beville 4-14; Jackson 1-5
PASSING

Meadowbrook: Coble 12-20-195-1; Thomas 0-1-0-0 Dinwiddie: Morgan 18-28-256-2
RECEIVING

Meadowbrook: Ragin 3-70; Carter 3-84; Phillips 3-9; Thomas 2-18; Rooner 1-17 Dinwiddie: Haskins 6-93; Adams 6-90; White 4-51; Beville 1-7; Jackson 2-29