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Struggling with his throws, Male High School quarterback Tyler Erny ultimately won the game with his feet.

The senior carried 1 yard for a touchdown on a gutsy fourth-and-goal call with 1:46 left in the game, lifting the Bulldogs to a 14-8 victory over host Butler on Friday.

In his first year as Male’s starting quarterback, Erny passed for 358 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s 48-7 rout of Floyd Central in the season opener. Against Butler he was 3 for 11 with two interceptions but rushed for a game-high 106 yards on 18 carries.

“Last week was like shooting fish in a barrel, and this week he made some bad throws and some bad decisions,” coach Chris Wolfe said. “You live and die with a first-year guy, but he’s our best chance to win.

“I told him he would have to win this game with his feet, and that’s what happened.”

Male, No. 10 in Class 6-A in The Courier-Journal’s preseason poll of coaches, improved to 2-0. No. 4 Butler is 0-1.

“Our kids played their butts off,” Bears coach Scott Carmony said. “We’re just not there yet.”

Trey Coleman recovered a fumble on Butler’s opening possession, giving the Bulldogs solid field possession at the Bears’ 38.

The Bulldogs needed seven plays to score, getting a 6-yard touchdown run from Marque Northington for a 6-0 lead at the 7:57 mark of the first quarter. Northington finished with 86 yards on 23 carries.

“Marque is a guy I trust to give it to 30 times,” Wolfe said. “I knew I could hand it to him, and he wouldn’t lose it.”

Male made it 8-0 on a safety midway through the third quarter after a snap went over the head of Butler punter Aaron Miles and through the end zone.

The Bears finally got a break in the fourth quarter when Bryson Williams intercepted an Erny pass. On first down, sophomore William Johnson went up the gut and busted loose for a 60-yard touchdown run. J. D. Morgan’s two-point conversion pass to Cameron Palmer tied the score at 8 with 10:02 left in the game.

After the teams traded punts, Male drove for the winning score. Erny’s 25-yard run made it first-and-goal at the 5 with less than three minutes left. On fourth-and-goal from the 1, Wolfe decided against a field-goal try. Erny faked a handoff to Northington and rolled around left tackle for the score.

“I just believed in my line on that one,” he said. “They did the job. In times of adversity they picked themselves up very well.”

Carmony was impressed with the Male quarterback.

“Him scrambling around all night really hurt us,” Carmony said. “He kept getting them out of trouble.”

Butler had a final possession but managed just one first down before turning the ball over on downs.

Johnson led the Bears with 83 yards on four carries. Morgan completed 7 of 22 passes for 89 yards.

Wolfe said his team’s defense was the deciding factor.

“For the course of the game I thought our defense outplayed their defense,” he said. “Their defense played pretty well, so that’s saying a lot.”

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/2...utler-14-8

[NEWARKCATHOLICFAN]

Playing this poorly but still helping your team to a big win goes a long way in helping a young man become a leader on the field.