Granby Bears Barely Beat Suffield/Windsor Locks/East Granby Raiders 13-12

The Suffield/Windsor Locks/East Granby Raiders football team was stopped on the goal line with less than two minutes remaining to give the visiting Granby Bears a hard-fought 13-12 victory Saturday night at ’s Beneski Field.

The Raiders got the ball deep in their own territory and quickly moved to the one-yard line in the game’s deciding drive, but were stuffed four times on the goal line. They turned the ball over on downs with only 90 seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter.

“We’ve got to block people down front,” said Raiders Coach Marty Powers. “We’re going to give [the ball] to [Trystan] Cauley.”

Powers took his two remaining timeouts to prevent Granby from running down the clock, but it wouldn’t be enough.

The Raiders (1-2) got the ball back with 12 seconds left, but the Bears (1-1) prevented Cauley, a running back and one of the team’s top performers, from running out of bounds to stop the clock and the Bears held on late for the win.

“Got to hand it to them,” said Powers. “[They] hung right in there.”

Raider quarterback Steve Barry was tossed to the ground and coughed up the football to Granby’s Calib McMullin on the opening drive, but the visitors were unable to capitalize on the turnover.

Cauley made good on the Raiders’ second drive, breaking away on a 34-yard dash all the way to the end zone. The two-point conversion attempt was no good, but the home team took an early 6-0 advantage.

The first quarter featured a plethora of fumbles, as neither team seemed to be able to keep hold of the ball, and closed with a 6-0 Raider lead.

Granby opened the second quarter with a solid drive from the Raider 46-yard line and finished with a floater from quarterback Curt Field to the back of the end zone to get the on the board. The point after was good and the Bears took a 7-6 lead.

On the ensuing drive, Granby safety Steve Blake recovered a Cauley fumble and made the switch to running back, carrying the Bears down into the red zone. But a 15-yard penalty stalled the drive and moved the Bears back to the 20. Kicker Ian Downey came in to attempt a field goal but sent the ball wide left of the uprights.

The Raiders again were unable to get an offensive rhythm and the Bears marched right back down the field. Field connected on three of four passes to McMullin and Blake, bringing Granby to the red zone one again. But the Bears couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity and the Raiders had another shot on offense.

Cauley took the handoff on his own 28-yard line and galloped 72 yards with fewer than 10 seconds remaining in the second quarter, giving the Raiders the 12-7 lead and momentum going into the half.

The home team came out of the halftime huddle flat, failing to convert for a first down on their first two possessions.

The Bears put the ball in the hands of their running backs and muscled their way back to the goal line. A Ben Marlor touchdown run was their second score of the evening. The two-point conversion was no good, but the Bears took a 13-12 lead with the final score of the game.

The fourth quarter featured great defense from both sides and last-minute efforts to put the game away.

“The kids worked hard,” said Powers. “John Radcliffe and Paul Wrabel were strong on the line, we just fumbled too many times.”

The Raiders take the field again on Thursday afternoon against Enfield at Windsor Locks High School. The game is slated to start at 3:30 p.m. The Bears play next on Saturday, Oct. 8 against Ellington/Somers at Ellington High School. The kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.