There’s no reason for Homestead High School football coach Chad Zolman to turn back now: Keep playing two quarterbacks.
Jake Archbold and Luke Goode proved in the Spartans’ thrilling 29-27 win over Concordia on Friday at Zollner Stadium either can direct scoring drives, either can make the big pass and either can take control of the huddle.
Whoever’s not at the helm will cheer on the other one.
“We’ve been good friends for quite a while now,” Archbold said.
“We’ve been friends since second grade, first grade?” Goode said. “If he plays, I don’t care. If I play, he’ll support me.”
They can be typecast a bit, with Archbold considered the better runner with his 6-foot-1, 200-pound frame, and Goode the more traditional drop-back passer at 6-5, 175 pounds.
The bottom line is they are cool under pressure.
“The moment’s not too big for them,” Zolman said. “They don’t freak out. They just play their position. Coach (Bill) Skelton does a great job of drilling them, and they don’t freak out.”
They combined for a heck of a night against Concordia, with Goode completing 14 of 24 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns and Archbold 10 of 18 for 116 yards and one touchdown. Put those together: 24 of 42 for 320 yards and three scores. Those are some big quarterback numbers.
Goode delivered the game winner with 10.5 seconds left, a 10-yard pass on a crossing pattern to Conrad Keszei.
The game-winner competed a back-and-forth fourth quarter. Homestead, which trailed 20-3 in the second quarter, took its first lead 23-20 on a Cam Rogers run, then Concordia answered with a drive and an Amir Drew touchdown run for a 27-23 lead, then Homestead staged the final drive.
“We just stayed positive,” Archbold said. “Luke is a great encourager, he kept us positive, kept us going. Coach Skelton had us up, had us going. We felt good.”
Archbold and Goode are blessed with a deep, talented receiving crew. Trevin Taylor caught nine passes for 153 yards and Griffin Little caught seven passes for 115 yards.
Taylor doesn’t have a favorite QB.
“Honestly, they put the ball where it needs to go most of the time,” Taylor said. “If they’re going to keep doing that, we’re not going to complain.”
As the celebration ensued on Homestead’s side of the field, the opposite emotion permeated Concordia’s sideline. This game was all too reminiscent of the one in 2016 when the Cadets nearly knocked off Homestead only to have a final field goal attempt fall short.
The Cadets had their own big numbers Friday: Jake Byrd completed 16 of 28 passes for 248 yards and two touchdowns. Kamari Anderson-Drew caught nine of those passes for 159 yards and a touchdown. Amir Drew rushed for 60 yards and a touchdown.
Concordia coach Tim Mannigel acknowledged his team had a lot to be proud of in their battle. He also encouraged them to be disappointed.
It’s all about setting goals.
“We need to really consider ourselves a good team,” Mannigel said. “I want them to be disappointed. I don’t want them to be pat on the back, ‘You guys did a nice job hanging with Homestead, little old Concordia.’ No, we should have won this game. That’s the attitude we need to take.”
CARROLL 38, SNIDER 14
Carroll’s first win over Snider – ever – was about as dominant as a win could be.
Consider: Carroll ran 88 plays to Snider’s 48. Carroll compiled 381 yards to Snider’s 167. Carroll recorded 23 first downs to Snider’s seven.
Carroll’s 38 points were the most Snider has allowed since a 41-32 upset loss to Wayne in 2014.
Saylor from 2 yards. Carroll leads snider 24-7 at half. pic.twitter.com/ZPkZDFFcA3
— SummitCitySports.com (@260sports) August 25, 2018
Carroll quarterback Gaven Vogt completed 18 of 30 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown. Rhett Saylor rushed 23 times for 102 yards and three scores. Camdyn Childers caught six passes for 98 yards and Nathan Harrah caught eight passes for 91 yards and a score. Hunter Mertz had seven tackles and Collin Beeks six.
For all the celebrating on the Chargers’ sideline, coach Doug Dinan – a former Snider assistant – tried to keep it all in perspective. Carroll lost to Bishop Luers 21-20 a week earlier.
“They responded well, and that’s life – how do you respond to adversity?” Dinan said. “How are you going to play the next week? They showed they cared for each other and worked for each other. …Their work ethic and their resolve was great.”
The specialness of beating Snider? Dinan will leave that for others to discuss.
“It’s Week 2 win,” he said. “Yes, it’s a Week 2 win over Snider. But you still have to prepare for Week 3.”
NORTHROP 28, SOUTH SIDE 0
The Bruins proved solid on both sides of the ball and handed South its second straight shutout.
Multi-talented quarterback Bailey Meerzo threw for 165 yards and a score and rushed for 65 and two scores to lead the offense. Jeremiah Green carried 15 times for 93 yards and a score. Davieun Berry caught five passes for 54 yards. Quelan Pettus caught a 40-yard touchdown pass.
Northrop’s defense, a question mark entering the season, held South to 98 total yards.
BISHOP DWENGER 22, NORTH SIDE 8
As Dwenger moves to 2-0, it’s safe to say the Saints have shown solid, but not spectacular play. Their offense gets the job done. Their defense epitomizes stingy.
When will we find out just how good Dwenger is? Back-to-back road games at Homestead and Carroll in Weeks 4 and 5.
For now, it’s efficient. They scored on the ground (T.J. McGarry from six yards, Devon Tippmann from four) and through the air (Patrick O’Keefe to Griffin Eifert for 33 yards) against North Side. They kept North Side off the board until the fourth quarter.
The Legends’ sole score came on a Ronald Collins III pass to Auntrail Franklin from 22 yards.
WAYNE 35, BISHOP LUERS 24
Wayne made up for its failure to score against Bishop Dwenger last week by turning things up on Bishop Luers in a game full of offense.
The Generals broke a 14-14 tie on a Brandan Young to Cameron Chambers touchdown pass in the second quarter and extended their lead to 28-14 on a Chris Thomas run in the third quarter.
KeShaun Fields rushed for 124 yards and a score and Thomas 62 yards and a score. Young completed 9 of 16 passes for 126 yards and two scores, both to Chambers. Cam Webb had eight tackles, Dre Walton six and Tristan Pernell six.
Luers quarterback Norman Knapke completed 18 of 39 passes for 236 yards and three touchdowns – two to Janarion Moore (four catches, 87 yards) and one to Cameron Hedgecock. Jordan Presley rushed 20 times for 69 yards, an indication that Wayne’s defense made him work for every yard. Luers’ Allen Jackson had a game-high 11 tackles.
