Daniels’ return enables ‘outplayed’ Academy Park to take down Truman

SHARON HILL — For just about the first three quarters of Friday night’s game between Academy Park and Harry S Truman, it looked like a throwback to the 1960s, when the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears would play smash-mouth football for 60 minutes and throwing a pass was the exception.

The fourth quarter between the Knights and Tigers, however, looked more like a 2018 game between the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs.

The Knights led by two points with 53 seconds left in the third quarter when quarterback Barry Brown hit Kabba Kamara with a 36-yard touchdown pass, sparking a flurry of scores that when the dust settled saw Academy Park win its third straight game, this one by 17-14 over Truman.

Academy Park took a 9-0 lead into the fourth quarter. Truman (1-2) answered with a 10-play drive that ended with a Camren Harris one-yard run to close the gap to 9-6. After the Knights went three-and out, the Tigers scored again on a six-play drive that ended with a 20-yard burst by Dajuan Harris, and with a two-point conversion gave the visitors a 14-9 lead with 5:17 left in the fourth.

The cool and collected Knights answered on the ensuing kickoff when senior Brian Daniels took the squib kick and returned it 64 yards for a touchdown. The two-point conversion gave AP the 17-14 lead it did not give back.

Head coach Jason Vosheski said his team was lucky to get the victory, The Knights had dropped passes and could not get their running game going after intermission. Brown had just one carry for minus-1 yard in the second half.

“They outplayed us,” Vosheski said. “They outplayed us at least when they were on defense. It was a defensive game. Both defenses were handling the opponents’ offense until the end, until the fourth quarter when their offense started moving the ball and started getting chunk plays. They had the best player in the field, No. 21 (Dajuan Harris).”

Brown led the Knights with 63 yards rushing on seven carries. The senior was 6 for 10 for 60 yards passing with a touchdown and an interception.

The Tigers were led by a pair of talented running backs. Harris, a junior, carried the ball 12 times for 82 yards and a touchdown. Senior Terrence Rogers rushed 21 times for 88 yards.

Brown said he liked the result, but knows his team can’t play like that and win every week.

“I like the final score, but I don’t like the way we played,” the 6-foot-3, 165-pounder said. “We have a lot of work to do.”