London scores 21 second half points to overcome Bishop Hartley and advance to Region 11 semifinals
By: Adam Schlosser, Joe Collins
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The London Red Raiders hosted the Bishop Hartley Hawks in a highly anticipated four-five seed playoff matchup. Bishop Hartley entered the match looking for their fourth straight Divisional Semis appearance, while London was looking to improve upon last season’s playoff run that saw them eliminated in the first round.
The game started off with a bang for the Hawks, as Treyvhon Saunders made an 85 yard touchdown run off a catch on the second play of the game to make the score 7-0. The rest of the half saw Bishop Hartley anchor down on defense and snuff London’s run game. Both teams exchanged field goals in the second quarter and end the half 10-3.
The second half saw London have a momentum shift. The Red Raiders running game adjusted to the Hawks run defense early in the third and saw Antwaun Bruns take over the match. Burns would dominate on the run and give London their touchdown of the game, evening up the score at 10. The second London drive of the quarter saw running back Ayden Cooper take a majority of the snaps, but it would be Burns again who would cross the plain on the one yard line to give London a 17-10 lead. However, Bishop Hartley would respond in the fourth quarter with two huge catches by Treyvhon Saunders to get the Hawks in the red zone. Nyal Johnson would cap off the drive with a 10 yard TD run to even up the score at 17.
London would use the next eight minutes of the fourth to their advantage. Antwaun Burns continued his impressive performance leading the Red Raiders to the one yard line on short runs. With 30 seconds left in the game, Burns ran it in the end zone to secure London a 24-17 win.
The London Red Raiders advance in the playoffs and will face off against undefeated Granville in the Regional semis. Bishop Hartley ends their season with an 8-3 record.