CEDARVILLE — Twentyone unanswered points in the fourth quarter Friday night at Glen Wisely Field ended the Greenland Pirates’ playoff hopes.

Trailing 14-13, the Cedarville Pirates rallied to win 35-14, keeping Greenland out of the postseason for the first time since the mid 1990s.

“We needed to win tonight,” said Tracy Sutton, Greenland head coach. “I guess Elkins and us will play for pride next week.”

Adrian Rojas’ second touchdown of the night gave Greenland its first lead since Rojas sped to a 44-yard score at the 4:51 mark of the first quarter. The 4-yard plunge with 5:19 to play in the third period put the Pirates ahead 14-13.

The third lead change of the night came on a 27-yard touchdown run from Blake Morton, puttingCedarville (4-5, 3-3) on top 21-14 with 1:56 left in the third quarter. Greenland moved into opposing territory on the subsequent possession but was done in by a fumble that Cedarville converted into a 13-play, 57-yard touchdown drive that consumed 6:02.

Quarterback Kyle Bailey’s sneak extended the margin to 28-14 with 7:14 to play. Morton added a 43-yard touchdown run late in the game to set the final margin. He accounted for 143 of Cedarvile’s 344 rushing yards.

Cedarville’s Diamond-T and Power I formations gave it a 2-to-1 advantage in time of possession during the first half. It controlled the ball for 16:38 of the first half and ran 36 offensive plays. In contrast, Greenland was limited to 14 first half snaps and 73 yards, 44 of which came on Rojas’ first quarter touchdown run.

For the game, Cedarville ran 72 offensive plays toGreenland’s 43.

An injury-depleted defensive line left Greenland’s linebackers and secondary exposed to Cedarville’s power running game. Sutton said two underclassmen were pressed into action at thedefensive end spots.

In their eagerness to find the ball, the linemen forgot to mind their technique, Sutton said. The front wall’s inability to play with proper leverage left the defense on the field for most of the game.

Sports, Pages 6 on 11/04/2009

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