By Edwin Sam ’13, Sports Section Editor
In the much anticipated return of junior J.R. Menifee ‘14, high pressure defense and the potent special teams duo of Menifee and Max Guttman ’15 provided the spark to win the highly contested match for Country Day. After a first half handily dominated by the Indians, Pendleton County found their way back into the match only to be edged by CCD in the final minutes, 32-22.
Both teams’ offenses started slowly as Country Day was forced to punt after just one first down in their first drive. Pendleton County also punted the ball after a short three-and-out. After Pendleton’s punt, turnovers continued to plague CCD’s offense. The Indians were stripped by the Pendleton defense, and the Wildcats recovered the ball on the Country Day 10 yard line. Two plays later, they opened the scoring with a running touchdown in the middle of the first quarter.
Throughout the end of the first quarter and early into the second quarter sloppy play by both offenses led the ball to switch hands many times without any additional scoring.
With 7:54 remaining in the second quarter, CCD fumbled the ball, once again handing the ball back to Pendleton County. In the next defensive series, great pressure from the defensive line forced the Wildcats to punt near their own endzone. The speedy and shifty Menifee returned the ensuing punt for a touchdown to tie the score at 7-7.
Just a minute and a half later with 4:00 left in the 2nd, promising freshman Darryn Jordan ’16 broke through the Pendleton defense to score a 50 yard touchdown run (13-7 CCD). When the defense took the field, backfield stops by sophomore Mantero Moreno-Cheek ‘15 and senior Zach Higginbotham ’13 forced another punt from Pendleton County. Guttman nearly returned the punt for a touchdown but was stopped just short at the 11 yard line.
Again turning the ball over, the Indians were intercepted in the endzone with a minute left in the half. Once again proving his playmaking ability, Menifee ended the half with an exhilarating pick-6 to take a 19-7 Indian lead into half time.
On a deep kickoff by Wes Mink ’14, the opening play of the half, Pendleton County’s effective blocking opened up holes for their returner to take it to the house (19-14 CCD). The third quarter quickly turned into a tactical battle that could only be described as a chess match in shoulder pads. After long drives by both Country Day and PCHS, Pendleton was able find gaps in the CCD secondary to score a touchdown pass with 5 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter (22-19 PCHS).
The Indians began the tense fourth quarter with good defense to get the ball back just seconds into the quarter. After a long reception by Carson Aquino and a dynamic run by Menifee into the 5 yard line, Higginbotham was able to punch in a short touchdown run. Extra point attempts one more time bothered CCD as Mink’s extra point was blocked to leave a score of 25-22 Country Day.
Led by Max Guttman and other key members of the CCD secondary, the Indians’ defense created a huge 4th down stop with 5:40 left in the final quarter. After punting the ball back to PCHS, CCD forced a four-and-out turnover on downs with 1:30 remaining. To seal the match, quarterback J.R. Menifee ran for a touchdown with 35.8 seconds to play, ending the game with a final score of 32-22.
After a disappointing end to their first match of the season, Country Day football proved that with a healthy J.R. Menifee and a dangerous defensive line, the program can accomplish more than anyone expected. Heading into week three with an even 1-1 record, the Indians will look to continue the success of their defensive line, linebackers, and special teams while reducing the number of turnovers to exceed the expectations of the entire city.
