Site search
sponsored by
News
ENLARGE
Belloir: Catches TD pass, returns punt for score
GLIDE — The defense for the Glide High football team was stout Friday night. Will Hissong had the offense doing just as well.
The only thing missing in the equation was special teams, and Cory Christoffersen’s three kick returns for touchdowns in the second half nearly rallied the Braves before the Wildcats held on for a 38-32 nailbiter.
Hissong’s 27-yard TD run late in the third quarter put Glide (3-1, 1-1 Sunset League) up 26-0, but on the ensuing kickoff, Christoffersen threaded his way through the coverage for an 87-yard return. Hissong ran his third TD of the day early in the fourth quarter, but again Christoffersen ran the kickoff back, this time for an 82-yard score. The 6-foot, 170-pounder then struck fear into the home fans by returning a punt 65 yards with 5:43 to play to make it 32-18.
“I’ve been coaching football for over 30 years and I’ve never seen anyone return three kicks like that,” Reedsport coach Steve Chase said.
Reedsport (3-2, 1-1) failed to recover the ensuing onside kick, and Glide scored in three plays as Ryan Dickenson caught a 21-yard screen from Hissong. But after the Braves got a TD run from Keelan McDuffy with 3:15 to play, they were able to recover an onside kick at the Glide 36.
With all the momentum on Reedsport’s side, Jason Fegles threw a TD pass to Kole Freestone and two-point conversion to Christoffersen to pull within six with under 2 minutes to play.
“We’re up 32-6 at one point and just shut the motor down,” said Glide coach Jeff Freeman, as dejected as you can be after a win. “We gave them three TDs to let them get back in it and lost our composure.”
Glide recovered Reedsport’s fourth onside kick of the game but couldn’t get a first down and punted away from Christoffersen to the Brave 29 with 27 seconds left. Fegles threw to Bryce Young at midfield, but was called for intentional grounding while trying to spike the ball, and the clock ran out before the Braves could get another play off.
“It was pretty nerve-wracking,” said Hissong, who topped 200 yards passing and 100 yards rushing for the second time this season. “We had them all but put away and they came all the way back to make it a game.”
Neither team will win the Sunset League sportsmanship award after racking up a combined 150 yards in penalties, including three personal foul, unsportsmanlike conduct or 15-yard facemask calls on each side.
Hissong took a hit late and out of bounds on Glide’s third play of the game and went to the bench reeling. He returned four plays later with a fourth and long on the Reedsport 16 and threw a 16-yard TD strike to Brandon Belloir.
Belloir and Gabe Forrester sparked an 11-play, 66-yard drive that culminated in a 31-yard TD run by Hissong as the first half buzzer sounded. Forrester caught the two-point conversion pass to make it 14-0, but that proved to be Glide’s only successful conversion of the night.
Christoffersen has eight touchdowns this season — three rushing, two receiving and now three on special teams.
“Our coverage just relaxed on him,” said Hissong, the team’s punter. “We didn’t go full speed and when he switched sides of the field we gave up on him.”
Drew Vickery, Belloir and Dickenson each topped 60 yards receiving for Glide. Vickery also had an interception and Belloir returned a punt 40 yards for a score. Forrester ran for 78 yards and caught three passes for 32 yards.
“It’s a league win, but we aren’t too excited about it,” Freeman said. “We’re going to go back to work on Monday and figure out what went wrong. We still have a lot of work to do.”
• You can reach sports reporter Rob McCallum by e-mail at rmccallum@nrtoday.com, or by phone at 957-4221.
The only thing missing in the equation was special teams, and Cory Christoffersen’s three kick returns for touchdowns in the second half nearly rallied the Braves before the Wildcats held on for a 38-32 nailbiter.
Hissong’s 27-yard TD run late in the third quarter put Glide (3-1, 1-1 Sunset League) up 26-0, but on the ensuing kickoff, Christoffersen threaded his way through the coverage for an 87-yard return. Hissong ran his third TD of the day early in the fourth quarter, but again Christoffersen ran the kickoff back, this time for an 82-yard score. The 6-foot, 170-pounder then struck fear into the home fans by returning a punt 65 yards with 5:43 to play to make it 32-18.
“I’ve been coaching football for over 30 years and I’ve never seen anyone return three kicks like that,” Reedsport coach Steve Chase said.
Reedsport (3-2, 1-1) failed to recover the ensuing onside kick, and Glide scored in three plays as Ryan Dickenson caught a 21-yard screen from Hissong. But after the Braves got a TD run from Keelan McDuffy with 3:15 to play, they were able to recover an onside kick at the Glide 36.
With all the momentum on Reedsport’s side, Jason Fegles threw a TD pass to Kole Freestone and two-point conversion to Christoffersen to pull within six with under 2 minutes to play.
“We’re up 32-6 at one point and just shut the motor down,” said Glide coach Jeff Freeman, as dejected as you can be after a win. “We gave them three TDs to let them get back in it and lost our composure.”
Glide recovered Reedsport’s fourth onside kick of the game but couldn’t get a first down and punted away from Christoffersen to the Brave 29 with 27 seconds left. Fegles threw to Bryce Young at midfield, but was called for intentional grounding while trying to spike the ball, and the clock ran out before the Braves could get another play off.
“It was pretty nerve-wracking,” said Hissong, who topped 200 yards passing and 100 yards rushing for the second time this season. “We had them all but put away and they came all the way back to make it a game.”
Neither team will win the Sunset League sportsmanship award after racking up a combined 150 yards in penalties, including three personal foul, unsportsmanlike conduct or 15-yard facemask calls on each side.
Hissong took a hit late and out of bounds on Glide’s third play of the game and went to the bench reeling. He returned four plays later with a fourth and long on the Reedsport 16 and threw a 16-yard TD strike to Brandon Belloir.
Belloir and Gabe Forrester sparked an 11-play, 66-yard drive that culminated in a 31-yard TD run by Hissong as the first half buzzer sounded. Forrester caught the two-point conversion pass to make it 14-0, but that proved to be Glide’s only successful conversion of the night.
Christoffersen has eight touchdowns this season — three rushing, two receiving and now three on special teams.
“Our coverage just relaxed on him,” said Hissong, the team’s punter. “We didn’t go full speed and when he switched sides of the field we gave up on him.”
Drew Vickery, Belloir and Dickenson each topped 60 yards receiving for Glide. Vickery also had an interception and Belloir returned a punt 40 yards for a score. Forrester ran for 78 yards and caught three passes for 32 yards.
“It’s a league win, but we aren’t too excited about it,” Freeman said. “We’re going to go back to work on Monday and figure out what went wrong. We still have a lot of work to do.”
• You can reach sports reporter Rob McCallum by e-mail at rmccallum@nrtoday.com, or by phone at 957-4221.
