Bayles runs Heath football to victory past Liberty Union
HEATH — The Heath football team defeated Liberty Union 28-27 on Friday night at Swank Field in a thriller that saw seven lead changes.
Junior Brayden Bayles' 13-yard quarterback sweep tied the game with 44 seconds to go, and fellow junior Conner Toomey’s extra point gave the Bulldogs the lead. Toomey then went and sealed the deal with his second interception of the night.
“I love these guys,” Heath coach Tim Ward said. “They come to practice to get better every day. They just kept fighting and fighting, and we pulled it out.”
Bayles played with great determination all night, often scrambling and keeping plays alive. He was 12-for-31 passing for 190 yards, but it was his feet that kept frustrating the Lions as he scampered for 131 yards on 14 carries with two rushing touchdowns. Toomey was his main target as he hauled in five catches for 130 yards, including a 25-yard TD reception in the second quarter.
“(Bayles) became a very good leader last year,” Ward said. “He has always had great ability. He has really worked on leading all summer long, and when he got the chance to win the game, he took the team on his back.”
The youthful and undersized Bulldogs battled against the bigger, stronger Liberty Union offense. In the first quarter it looked like the 1-2 punch of senior quarterback Cayden Carroll and senior running back Caden Courts would be too much, pounding the ball and controlling the clock as the Lions jumped out to a 7-0 lead. Toomey’s first interception, however, led to a Daylen McIntyre 1-yard touchdown run as the Bulldogs countered.
Heath gained more momentum in the second quarter with the Bayles-to-Toomey connection, but Liberty Union senior receiver Camden Manson took a reverse 58 yards on a 3rd-and-long for a Lions touchdown to answer. Bayles called his own number on the next possession, and senior Dillon Mulpas added some two-point trickery on the subsequent play to give the Bulldogs a 21-14 halftime lead.
The third quarter was marred by penalties, punts, and cramping that made for a sloppy first nine minutes to start the half. The Lions’ Manson struck again with a big play, this time a 48-yard jet sweep that tied the game.
The fourth quarter started the same way the first quarter did for Liberty Union as the Lions re-established the run with their two senior workhorses. Courts was getting stronger and stronger and his 26-yard run gave Liberty Union another lead, and he finished with 152 yards on 26 carries with Carroll adding 112 yards on 25 rushing attempts.
The Lions were knocking on the Bulldog door late in the fourth to close the game out, but the young Heath defense made its second goal-line stand of the game on a stop by sophomores Connor Corbett and Tannar Patterson to lead to some Bayles magic on the Bulldogs' game-winning drive. Corbett finished with 15 tackles on the evening, rarely coming off the field for a break.
On the game-winning drive, Bayles kept plays alive and converted on three fourth downs, dancing around the Lion defense. He would not be denied on game-tying run.
“I knew my team was fighting the whole game,” Bayles said, “Once we got that defensive stop, I felt I needed to go help win the game for us.”
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Brayden Bayles runs Heath football to victory past Liberty Union
