Friday football: Maury 17, Grassfield 14

CHESAPEAKE

After more than 36 minutes of mistakes and missed opportunities, Maury and Grassfield packed a whole lot of action into the final minutes of Friday’s non-district showdown between top-10 opponents.

In the end, the 10th-ranked Commodores (3-1) turned the final mistake into one last score that provided an emotional 17-14 victory.

Fourth-ranked Grassfield (2-1) seemingly had the game in hand with 1:06 to play after recovering a Maury fumble at the Grizzlies’ 11. Grassfield quarterback Tyler Clark took a knee on the first play, as the timeout-less Commodores painfully watched.

But on the next play, a Maury defender swiped at the ball as it was snapped, setting it free for a Maury recovery at the Grassfield 8-yard-line with 19 seconds remaining and sending the Grizzlies’ sideline into a frenzy.

“I didn’t see it and the officials said they didn’t see it,” Grassfield coach Marty Asprey said. “My hat’s off to Maury. They never gave up, and we basically gave it to them.”

After taking possession, Keenan Lambert threw out of bounds on Maury’s first play. But he then hit Raheem Walker as he slashed through the end zone for an 8-yard winner.

Grassfield’s Jamal Hill took the kickoff and tossed to Terrell Johnson on the opposite side of the field, but time ran out as Johnson was tackled.

“We preached about this being a playoff game mentality,” Maury coach John Quinerly said. “I told them that this would be a long bus ride home to Norfolk with it being silent.

“But they understood that it’s never over. You’ve got to keep on fighting. This one looked like it was over, but we never gave up on this game.”

Lambert’s touchdown toss was only his fifth pass of the game, as he and Darryl Waters shared quarterbacking duties throughout.

“Actually we do it pretty good and do what’s best for the team,” Lambert said. “If he’s having a good game, I let him play. If I’m having a good game, he lets me play.

“And it causes a little bit of confusion for the other team.”

Grassfield turned the ball over five times – three lost fumbles and two interceptions – but Maury only managed to turn one of them into a score. But it turned out to be the winner.

Notable stats M—Tyon Ore 13-40 rushing; Ryan Lee 8-32 rushing and a 41-yard field goal; Walker 4-29 TD receiving. G—Bruce Smith 9-36 rushing; Nick Warack 3-51 TD rushing.