Patriots clinch playoff berth, beat Carver
HOMEWOOD -- The first half of the game wasn’t pretty, much like the first half of the season.
But Homewood High School’s football team got its offense in gear in the second half and powered to a 35-13 win over Carver-Birmingham on Friday night at Waldrop Stadium. In the process, the Patriots extended their streak of consecutive seasons with postseason appearances to eight.
After getting off to a quick start with a touchdown in the first two minutes of the game — a 6-yard run by fourth-string running back Kameron Gaines, set up by a pair of long passes by quarterback Pate Owen — Homewood saw the Rams suddenly take the momentum. Carver quickly evened the score on its first play from scrimmage, a 65-yard bomb on a halfback option pass from LaDarius Camp to Ca’Marion McKinney. Then on the subsequent kickoff, the visitors recovered an onside kick.
But the Rams could not capitalize on that surprise, and likewise came up empty when they recovered a Homewood fumble with five minutes left in the first quarter. That drive ate up eight minutes and included a missed field goal negated by a roughing-the-kicker penalty, but it ended four plays later on a fake field goal attempt, where holder Ross Holloway threw a pass into the end zone that was intercepted.
Late in the first half, Owen and the Patriots offense ran a two-minute drill to perfection. Five straight passes in 74 seconds led to a 9-yard touchdown reception by Len Irvine with 26 seconds before the break.
From that point on Homewood dominated the game, stopping a Rams drive at the 22-yard line and then racing to a score in five plays. Owen finished the drive with a pass to Trae Ausmer, who found a hole in the middle of the Carver secondary and dashed 49 yards for the touchdown.
Then coach Ben Berguson cranked up the ground game, with Gaines running on 10 out of the next 12 plays, capped by a 1-yard scoring dive, his second of the evening.
The Patriots’ defense got on the scoreboard as well, as linebacker Charlie Goode intercepted a Carver pass and ran back 25 yards for a pick-six with 3:10 left in the game. The Rams added a touchdown in the last minute on a 73-yard pass from Matthew Young to Jacolby Houston.
Kicker Katie Crim was perfect on five extra point conversions.
The victory, coupled with Chelsea’s loss to Minor, gives Homewood the third seed in the region going into the playoffs.
“What a wild and crazy season it’s been,” Berguson said afterward. “Two weeks ago, we were sitting there with a 1-5 record. But these guys just came to work every day and followed through, and here we are.”
Berguson was especially proud of his offensive line, which had struggled earlier in the season. The Patriots gained just 107 yards on the ground, but most of it came in the second half and enabled them to wear the Rams defense down while running time off the clock. Gaines ran 17 times for 77 yards, mostly after halftime.
“This is the first time this season we’ve really run the ball effectively,” Berguson said.
Owen had 13 completions on 16 pass attempts, two for scores, gaining 241 yards. Ausmer led the receiving corps with five catches for 76 yards, and Cameron Green’s two receptions were good for 65 yards.
Homewood (3-5, 3-2 in region) plays its last home game next week against Jackson-Olin.
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