Harris County goes on road and falls to Worth County

It was a high energy shootout between the Harris County Tigers and the Worth County Rams on Friday, but it was the Rams who’d make it out on top winning 48-28 at Milt Miller Field.

In Worth County’s final nonregion game of the season, the Rams took control early.

Worth County (3-3) came out energized, recovering a fumble on Harris County’s first possession. Worth got one of many huge runs by Chris McDaniel on the first possession, and Lance Eldridge found Malik Dassie for the short touchdown pass. After the successful point after attempt, the Rams held a 7-0 lead with 9:33 left in the first quarter.

Worth County added to that lead on their second drive thanks to a 6-yard run by McDaniel. After the PAT, Worth led 14-0 with 4:04 left in the first.

But the Tigers came alive at the end of the first quarter, putting together several big plays to get into the end zone thanks to a 20-yard run at the end of the drive. It then became a 14-7 game with 1:49 remaining in the first.

Worth committed its first turnover of the night on the ensuing kick return, fumbling it right back to the Tigers. Harris County made the most of the short field and eventually scored off a James Adam touchdown run from 5 yards out. The extra point was good and the two teams found themselves tied at 14 just minutes into the second quarter.

The rest of the half was a heavyweight bout as both teams continued to strike. Worth County took a 21-14 lead after a 7-yard run by Dassie, but Harris would immediately tie it back up on the next drive, which ended with a 6-yard scoring run by T.J. Chiles.

Worth got the final score of the first half on the following possession after a 67-yard scamper into the end zone by McDaniel. The PAT was no good, but the Rams still held a 27-21 advantage. Worth’s Quan Jackson intercepted Harris County’s pass on the next possession, killing any chances the Tigers had of tying or taking the lead.

The Rams would pick up right where they left off in the second half, when Eldridge found Dassie for 65-yard touchdown reception. The successful PAT made it 34-21 with 10:35 left in the third.

The Rams defense got a big stop in the red zone and forced a turnover on downs. The offense took the field and moved into Harris territory after another big run by McDaniel. Eldridge kept it himself a few plays later and scored from a yard out. With the successful PAT, Worth held a 41-21 lead with 9:17 left in the game.

Later in the fourth, Eldridge found David Little for a near 50-yard connection. The play set up an eight-yard score from Montavious Buford a few plays later and the PAT made it 48-21 Rams.

A few costly penalties by the Rams defense helped the Tigers get into the red zone where they eventually scored from a yard out.

This story was originally published October 1, 2016 at 1:11 AM with the headline "Harris County goes on road and falls to Worth County."