Hawks nip Irish in overtime thriller

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Holley’s Camron Labarge goes high to bat a fourth down pass away from Notre Dame receiver Ryan Moffatt to preserve the Hawks narrow overtime win over the visiting Irish this afternoon.

Holley’s Ryan Andrews boots the game winning field goal. Jeremy Mallett is the holder.

The special team and defensive units took turns coming up with big plays as Holley scored a thrilling 3-0 overtime victory over visiting Notre Dame this afternoon in a Genesee Region League game.

Holley placekicker Ryan Andrews provided the margin of victory as he booted a 29 yard field goal on the opening series of the first overtime period.

The Holley defensive unit then preserved the victory by stopping Notre Dame’s possession as Camron Labarge went high to bat down a fourth down pass in the end zone preserving the Hawks victory.

Labarge, whose long booming punts kept Notre Dame from getting good field position all afternoon, also had a huge pass interception at the Hawks 10 yard line with just 32 seconds to go in the fourth quarter to halt the Irish’s deepest drive of the day.

“Camron came up huge. He’s phenomenal,” said Holley Coach Wil Prince. “Our defense overall was just amazing. Offensively we made too many mistakes and kept shooting ourselves in the foot but defensively we played outstanding and that kept us in it.”

The Hawks big defensive effort also featured two sacks by Andrews and one each by Dalton Moyer, Nicholas Smith, Matt Hahn and Alex Mounts. A sack by Hahn and Andrews stopped a Notre Dame drive at the Holley 27 late in the first half.

The Holley offense drove to the Notre Dame 7 in the third quarter but had a lost fumble wipe out what was the Hawk’s best threat in regulation time.

The victory improves Holley’s record to 2-2 in the league and 3-3 overall and keeps the Hawks alive in the chase for a sectional playoff berth.

“It’s in our hands,” said Price of the Hawks hopes for a playoff spot which will be determined next Saturday as Holley hosts Attica in the regular season finale.

The loss drops Notre Dame to 1-3, 1-5.

Holley running back Colin Papaj follows the block of Dalton Moyer to gain yardage.

Holley’s Dalton Moyer sacks Notre Dame quarterback Brendan Klotzbach on fourth down.