RIDLEY TWP. — For two years, Springfield High football coach Chris Britton asked only for patience from Mike Turner. By the third, he would request touchdowns.
As the Cougars were outlasting Ridley, 29-22, Friday night, it was never so plain that the plan was working.
After spending his first two varsity seasons contributing in the secondary, Turner continued a remarkable senior season as a running back, blasting for 263 yards and three touchdowns as the Cougars (6-1, 5-1 Central League) ran their winning streak to four.
The Green Raiders (1-5, 1-5) enjoyed their own strong running night from Alante Smith, who accumulated 126 yards and a touchdown, yet felt a losing streak hit three.
“Honestly, I did feel great tonight,” Turner said. “But I can’t say enough about our offensive line. They’re dogs. They are great players, every single one of them. Without them, I couldn’t do what I do. Tonight, they gave me the holes. Without them, I would not have had such a game.”
Behind linemen Ryan Johnston, Gus Bryan, Dean Brown, Ryan Benjamin, Lucas Aaron and Mike Miller, among others, the Cougars rushed for 391 yards, most of which were needed in a game that was tied with 1:06 left. That’s when Mike Romano charged in for a 10-yard touchdown run and Sean Williams added his third PAT to make the difference.
With the Raiders down to their final possession, Romano provided a first-down sack from his linebacker position before Brian Delaney collected his second interception of the game with 21 seconds left to clear Phil Marion Field.
“I felt great at that point,” Delaney said. “Our defense was holding up the whole game, and our defensive line was getting pressure, so I wasn’t worried at all. I knew our defensive line would get to the quarterback. I just had to do my job, and the defensive line did their job, pressuring every single play and getting there. That made my job a lot easier.”
The Green Raiders made it clear early that nothing would come simple to the Cougars, as Smith raced 22 yards for a touchdown to cap the first possession of the second quarter. Turner answered with an 11-yard TD trot, but Ridley took the lead with 1:55 left in the half when Ryan Carroll hit Khameen Powell with a 21-yard scoring aerial on fourth-and-3.
With 21 seconds left in the third, Turner scored on a three-yard run and the Cougars were ready to allow Williams to force a tie. Yet when a Ridley offside penalty halved the distance to the goal line, Britton went for the lead, Romano running for the two-point conversion.
When Turner sprinted 64 yards through the middle and Williams added the placement, Springfield was ahead, 22-14, with 9:45 to play. Ridley, though, proved it was in it to stay when Smith’s 53-yard run provided possession at the Springfield 3-yard line, and Powell took the left-side route into the end zone. A two-point Powell conversion run forced the late tie.
Springfield punctured a Ridley possession with 2:59 showing on the clock before Romano’s game-winning score.
“We made too many mistakes,” Green Raiders coach Dave Wood said. “Same thing as the last game, same as the game before. Defensively, we are just not making enough stops.
“We still have to execute,” he added, after venting about two late calls. “That is still our problem. We have to make plays. The kids have to make more plays, and we have to do a better job as coaches to make sure our kids are in situations to make plays.”
The Green Raiders made some plays. But the Cougars made more, and after the years-long vigil, Turner made plenty.
“He was a corner last year, and this year we asked him to go to safety,” Britton said. “Then we asked him to go to running back because we had some things going on in the offseason, and he did it, no questions asked. He doesn’t complain about anything and just does everything as hard as he can.
“He’s having a great year. That’s the kind of kid he is. He does whatever is asked and he does it to the best of his ability. And, as you can see, that’s pretty good.”
