Eagles Stun Central With Epic Come-From-Behind Win

For 40 minutes Saturday afternoon, the Sussex Central football team was dominating the defending D1 State Champion Smyrna Eagles.

Only problem for the Golden Knights was, Smyrna wasn’t ready to let their perfect season go, and 8 minutes was more than enough to change all that. The Eagles scored all of their 22 points in the games final 8 minutes, including the go-ahead touchdown pass from Nolan Henderson to Stephen Whaley with just :25 seconds left as they earned a epic 22-14 win over Central. The win improves Smyrna to 7-0, while the loss drops the Golden Knights 4-3.

The teams would be in a defensive battle early on. After a scoreless first quarter, the Golden Knights would get on the board after quarterback Brady Bowden faked a hand off, bounced to the outside and took one in from a few yards out. Central’s defense looked locked in throughout the first half, picking off 1st-Team All-State quarterback Henderson twice on their way to being the first team to shutout the Eagles in the first half. That trend continued throughout the third quarter as the Golden Knights would use every bit of the play clock, trying to shorten the game as much as possible. Headed into the 4th, the Golden Knights held onto a 6 point lead before finally breaking another big play. Drew Morris would break a 72 yard touchdown run off the right side to open up the 4th quarter as the Golden Knights looked to be well on their way to the upset, up 14-0.

But with their backs firmly against the wall, Smyrna showed why they are the defending champs. Henderson would lead his team down the field before finally finding Will Knight on a short pitch and he would take it in for the score. The 2pt conversion was good to trim the deficit down to just 14-8. After a quick 3 and out for the Golden Knights, the Eagles would go right back to work. They drove down to the goal line with under 3 minutes to play, before Henderson called his own number, bouncing a run to the outside for a a score. The Eagles however don’t carry a kick, and would be forced to go for 2. The Golden Knights defense would lock down and get the stop, to keep the game tied.

But Smyrna didn’t come this far to not finish the deal.

The Eagles would force another quick 3 and out to get the ball back. Henderson would again drive his team down the field before facing a 4th and 15 from the 33 with under 30 seconds to play. Henderson would roll out to his right, look back across his body and find a wide open Whaley for a beautiful touchdown strike for the go-ahead score. Knight would add the 2 point conversion as the Eagles would close the game for the big win.

Smyrna returns to work on Friday when they host Caesar Rodney, while Sussex Central travels to Polytech on Friday.