By Kary Booher (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
WILLARD – He was told after the junior varsity game Monday night that he’d soon be the starting varsity quarterback – imagine that, a sophomore with only three days to prepare – and by halftime under his first Friday night lights, he easily could have buried his head.
However, Willard High School’s Reece Dawson, pinch-hitting for senior Quinton Batson, wasn’t about to.
Instead, and with help from a beefy offensive line, Dawson engineered an incredible comeback from a 17-0 deficit, throwing for a touchdown and rushing for three after halftime – including two in the fourth quarter – as the Willard Tigers rallied to beat the Bolivar Liberators 28-24 at Tiger Stadium.
His first TD (a 1-yard run) capped a 93-yard drive, the next (a 2-yard run) pulled Willard within 24-21 and the final TD came with 4:20 left – a 13-yard run in which, with all the poise of a polished senior, he meandered through traffic and bulled his way to pay-dirt.
This on a night when Dawson’s fifth pass of the game got picked off and returned for a touchdown, leading in part to a 17-0 hole. It was only a growing pain, as it turned out.
“It was so fun, the best experience ever. There was nothing better than being under the lights on a Friday night,” said Dawson, who had absorbed advice from family, including his older brother, Brady, a football player at Evangel University. “He told me it was going to be a lot faster and I had to be mentally prepared for it. He said, ‘Don’t do too much and take what they give you.’”
His smile may have – maybe – outshined that of his coach. You see, Willard’s Brock Roweton early last season saw his team suffer four early losses by a combined six points.
Now the script may be flipping and doing so despite two big issues — the absence of Batson, who suffered an apparent injury late in last week’s loss at Nixa; and six sophomores, including three in the backfield, in the starting lineup.
Batson will return next week, Roweton said.
“Was it 17-0?” Roweton cracked at one point in his postgame interview.
“Reece is going to be a fine quarterback,” Roweton added. “At halftime, I said, ‘If we can just operate, we’re going to have a chance to win the game.’”
Bolivar’s advantage had hit 17-0 early in the second quarter on Lane Loomer’s 69-yard touchdown run – with the score coming after Seth Smith returned an interception 31 yards for a touchdown and Evan Haney kicked a 37-yard field goal.
Fortunately for Willard, a number of factors after halftime fed its rally.
For one, the Tigers’ gained momentum in their second series of the second half, marching 93 yards. It was kick-started by Ethan Thompson bulldogging his way for a 25-yard run on the first play and, eventually, Dawson connected with Kenny Chambers on 13- and 14-yard pass plays that carried the Tigers to the Bolivar 1 and set up Dawson’s first rushing TD.
“We kind of believed through the game,” said Thompson, who saw far more carries because Nate Swadley was unavailable due to a hamstring issue. “We realized we had to turn it on and start playing, not just as players but as a team.”
Secondly, Willard wasn’t frazzled after Bolivar immediately responded with Deacon Banner’s 69-yard touchdown pass, as Mason Payne studder-stepped past his corner cover man and got free, and then hauled in Banner’s pass in stride.
Quietly, Willard had adjusted its defense to account for Loomer, mainly with defensive end Sam Manis. Loomer had rushed for 133 yards in the first half, but only 20 in the second half.
“I’m the weak-side end, and with their guy on the wing behind the tackle, it meant that they were going to run behind him,” Manis said. “Whenever they ran to me, I made sure to cut him back.”
The night wasn’t without good fortune for Willard, either. Early in the fourth, Bolivar was punting at its own 45 and a chance to pin Willard deep. But a bad snap allowed the Tigers to set up at the Bolivar 17. Dawson scored three plays later.
Eventually, Dawson got one more crack at it. With 6:12 left in the fourth quarter, Willard opened its eventual go-ahead scoring series with Thompson rushing for 18 and six yards on two of the first three plays – both reverses — before Dawson set up his final TD with a 7-yard run off tackle.
Dawson was 7-of-21 passing for 65 yards, including a 16-yard TD strike to tight end Ethan Burson early in the second quarter.
For Bolivar, it was a challenging night with 10 penalties for 70 yards. The Liberators, with 24 seniors but inexperience in some key positions, also were without running back Chase Hampton, who suffered an apparent injury last week.
“I thought Willard did a great job of controlling the ball and controlling the clock,” Bolivar coach Glen Johnson said. “They did a good job of letting their big guys roll and, essentially, let them win the game for them. I don’t think we were in a bad spot. I think our kids played really well. … I think we gave them all they wanted.”
