Patterson leads Frazier past Mapletown
MAPLETOWN – On Homecoming Night at Mapletown High School, fireworks preceded kickoff after the festivities.
During the game, it was the Frazier offense that brought the fireworks, thanks to a five-touchdown performance from junior quarterback Hunter Patterson on the way to a 39-14 thumping of the host Maples.
“Hunter really played a nice game,” said Frazier head coach Mike Steeber. “He was poised and definitely showing he’s getting experience back there.”
Patterson was 10-for-15 for 206 yards, with 200 yards and all five touchdowns coming in the first half.
“I give Frazier credit,” said Mapletown head coach George Messich. “We thought we could lock up and go man-to-man, but their receivers did a really good job against our defensive backs, and their quarterback put the ball right where he had to.”
Unable to stop the Commodores passing attack, the Maples faded early after two first half turnovers.
“Our offense stopped itself, at least in the first quarter, by making mental mistakes and dropping the ball,” said Messich.
Those mental mistakes plagued Mapletown (2-2, 2-2) from the beginning, after fumbling the football on the game’s opening possession on a failed option pitch in Frazier territory. Senior Nate Zurich made the recovery for Frazier.
Frazier (4-0, 4-0) opened the scoring with 2:21 left in the first quarter on a 53-yard strike to senior Timothy Carson. During their next possession, the Commodores appeared ready to punt for the second time, but an on-field audible changed the play and sparked the first of a barrage of touchdowns in the middle of the second quarter.
On that fourth down, junior punter Caleb Cox received the snap in punt formation, rolled to his right and lofted a 22-yard completion to Carson to extend the drive. On the next play, Patterson and Nick Smalich cashed in on a 34-yard touchdown with 8:59 left.
“We treat every punt as a play,” said Steeber. “Cox is a talented kid. With the ball in his hand, we can make a play when, really, we’d just give the ball back to the other team.”
Another Mapletown turnover on the next play from scrimmage set up Patterson’s third touchdown pass. He hit Zurich with a 30-yard completion to take a 21-0 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, Mapletown’s Dylan Rush took a 75-yard return down the right sideline and into the end zone for the Maples’ first TD, making it 21-7 with 8:15 remaining in the half.
“Dylan Rush made one of the nicest runs I’ve seen in my coaching career,” said Messich. “He broke so many tackles and made moves. For a freshman, he’s blessed with a lot of God-given talent.”
Frazier tacked on two more passing touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 33-7 halftime lead. In the final 6:05 of the half, Patterson again found Zurich and Carson for scores that spanned four and 11 yards, respectively.
Matthew Rush led Mapletown to a scoring drive with a grinding 13-play, 59-yard drive that ended with his two-yard plunge after another bad snap.
In the fourth quarter, Smalich capped the scoring with a 25-yard scamper to make it 39-14.
“Down the stretch, (Mapletown) will win a lot more games. They’re a quality football team,” said Steeber. “It helped getting up early and maintaining that confidence.”