Jordan, motivated by Massey's injury, scores in final seconds to upend Riverside football
Neither team reached the end zone until the first play of the fourth quarter.
Although Riverside got there first, Jordan was able to add their trip — which came with just 20 seconds remaining — to a first quarter field goal by Matthew Serrano to earn the 10-7 victory over its PAC-6 Conference foe.
Trailing 3-0, Riverside faced fourth-and-1 from inside the Jordan 5. The first play after the end of the third quarter saw C.J. Bell running in a touchdown to give the Pirates a four-point lead.
After stopping the Falcons on the ensuing drive, Riverside’s offense looked to be clicking until a fumbled exchange, recovered by Jordan Vincent, stalled any momentum.
After Jordan and Riverside swapped possession – the Falcons unable to convert on fourth down and the Pirates unable to milk the clock – an Addison Oliver punt gave Jordan the tall task of traveling 80-yards in 2 minutes, 30 seconds with no timeouts.
Sixteen plays, and a fortunate flag, later Jordan celebrated their second win of the season.
Turning point
Down by four with 1:34 remaining in the game, Jordan faced fourth-and-10 from their own 46-yard line. When Ben Miller’s pass sailed over the out-stretched arms of his receiver, Falcons fans thought the game was done.
However, a targeting penalty on Riverside gave Jordan new life and eight plays later Miller connected on his 41st pass attempt of the game to secure the victory.
Three who mattered
Ben Miller, Jordan: In what will most likely be the penultimate game of his freshman year, Miller had the chance to show off his arm. Miller passed 41 times, connecting on 22 and racking up 154 yards along the way to pick up his second win as a quarterback.
Kaligah Murrell, Riverside: With nine of them on the night, Murrell accounted for all but two of the Pirates non-penalty first downs. He also added 134 all-purpose yards. Without Murrell, Riverside only gained 40 yards against Jordan.
Brandon Massey, Jordan: It was senior night and homecoming Friday for Jordan, but Brandon Massey may have been the biggest motivation for the Falcons. Massey suffered a serious neck injury last week against Cardinal Gibbons.
“We had so much riding on it,” Miller said of his game winning 80-yard drive. “I was playing for Brandon, he’s my brother and I wanted to it for him.”
They said it
Falcon coach LaDwaun Harrison: “Before the game the guys told me, ‘Coach, we don’t need to talk, we know what we’re doing this for.’ We continued to fight … and we’re still fighting and we’re trying to get better.”
By the numbers
23: Brandon Massey’s number was stenciled onto both ends of the field for Friday night’s contest. He was given a moment of silence prior to Friday’s contest. The moment of silence was held simultaneously at all three PAC-6 games this week.
26-for-52: The Falcons and Pirates combined to pass 52 times (connecting on half of the attempts) but only managed 184 yards through the air. Between quarterbacks Miller and Bell, the longest pass of the night was just 18 yards — most of which came on Sincere Parker’s effort after the catch was made.
This story was originally published October 24, 2015 at 12:27 AM with the headline "Jordan, motivated by Massey's injury, scores in final seconds to upend Riverside football."