Ragland makes right call in Tatnall football win

GREENVILLE – Sam Ragland was literally a coach on the field Saturday.

The Tatnall running back thought his Hornets were perfectly positioned for a screen pass on third-and-2 from the Archmere 18. He suggested it to coach Jody Russell, who agreed.

So Ragland took Carl Marvin’s short pass to the left and galloped 18 yards for the winning touchdown with 39.9 seconds left as Tatnall rallied for a 22-18 home victory over Archmere at Weymouth Field.

“He came over and said, ‘Coach, I’m pretty sure this is open. When we ran the play before, they kind of lost me,’” Russell said of Ragland. “So I said, ‘All right, I know what to do with that.’ We called the screen.”

Ragland had already had an outstanding game with 16 carries for 152 yards and two touchdowns. But the Hornets (2-1) needed one more score to upset the Auks (2-1), who came into the game ranked third statewide in Division II.

“I saw back side was blitzing a lot, and I like the short side,” Ragland said. “So I told coach we should run tailback screen from the opposite side, get lost in the confusion.

“The play worked out. [Offensive tackle] Karl Holler led it, my O-line played great all game, and we scored.”

The first Tatnall score was set up by a turnover. Hornets linebacker Robert Dehney picked off an Archmere pass at his own 10, and two plays later Ragland burst through a seam on the left side and went 87 yards for the touchdown with 1:30 left in the first quarter.

“It was a slow setup,” Ragland said. “I had to be patient, find the hole. I saw daylight, so I had to hit it, get on my horse and go.”

The Auks tied it on an outstanding reception with 13.3 seconds remaining in the first half. Both Archmere’s Dominic Cipriano and Dehney got their hands on a 13-yard pass from Joseph DiGregorio before the Auks’ Antwyne Scott-Coleman snagged it while on his back in the end zone.

Then Archmere took the second-half kickoff and pounded away, grinding 75 yards in 11 plays. Fullback Mitchell Moyer’s only carry of the game was a 2-yard touchdown, and Pat Udovich ran in the two-point conversion for a 15-7 lead.

A 19-yard punt return by Austin Marvel set up the Auks at the Hornets 25 on their next possession. The drive stalled due to a personal-foul penalty, but Tighe Watson booted a 29-yard field goal to push the Archmere lead to 18-7.

Tatnall took just 25 seconds to answer. Hassan Perkins gained 45 yards on a short pass from Marvin, and Ragland ran the final 21 yards on the next play. Then Perkins ran for the two-pointer to pull the Hornets within 18-15 with 49.6 seconds left in the third quarter.

Ragland started the winning drive with a 12-yard punt return to the Archmere 46 with 5:37 to play. Perkins gained just enough on a fourth-and-4 run to keep it going with 2:47 left, and Ragland scored the go-ahead TD five plays later.

Then linebacker Oliver Campbell intercepted an Archmere pass on the first play after the kickoff to set off the Tatnall celebration.

“I didn’t really have a man, so I was just reading the quarterback’s eyes,” Campbell said. “I saw the ball go, and I caught it and just laid on the ground. It was the happiest moment ever.”

The Auks rushed for nine touchdowns in their first two games, but the Hornets held them to 119 yards on 42 carries, a 2.8-yard average.

“They just grinded and grinded and grinded and kept coming back,” Russell said of his team. “Archmere has a devastating run game, and I thought we did a pretty nice job today on that. And then Sam took over when he had to.”

Tatnall was coming off a 47-41 loss at Harford Tech (Md.) last week. The Hornets wanted to prove that last year’s 49-40 win at Archmere — their first over the Auks in six years — was no fluke.

“It was a gut check for us, definitely,” Ragland said. “All week we were preparing, ready to come out, because we surprised them last year. There was no surprise this time.”

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ.

Tatnall quarterback Carl Marvin looks to Sam Ragland in the fourth quarter of Taznall’s matchup against Archmere at Tatnall Saturday.

Tatnall running back Samuel Ragland runs in the 18-yard game-winning touchdown pass from quarterback Carl Marvin against Archmere Saturday. Tatnall defeats Archmere 22-18.

Tatnall wide receiver Cameron Easton makes a catch for a first down in the fourth quarter against Archmere at Tatnall Saturday. Tatnall defeats Archmere 22-18.