The Twelve Bridges coaches said afterward they were like “a Prius stuck in 10 feet of mud.”
Their first-half lead was gone. The offense was sputtering and penalties were leading to third-and-30s. The Whitney Wildcats’ sophomore play maker Cameron Taylor II had just scored a 27-yard touchdown to give the win-less road underdogs a 27-24 lead midway through the third quarter.
But after a third-and-4 incompletion, the Raging Rhinos needed to gamble — and it paid off. They gave the ball to their best player, but not in his usual circumstance. Senior running back Braeden Ward, who averaged 194 rushing yards per game during the first two weeks, ran up the middle on a fake punt.
Ward plowed through Whitney’s surprised punt coverage team for a 51-year touchdown with 6:47 left in the third. It gave Twelve Bridges a 31-27 lead that changed the game’s momentum en route to a 52-34 victory.
‘Absolutely freakin’ massive’
They improved to 3-0 on the season while the Wildcats fell to 0-3.
“Massive, absolutely freakin’ massive,” said Rhinos head coach Chris Bean. “…The run with it was pretty darn good, too. Braeden Ward, he’s the real deal.”