ORANGE LEAGUE FOOTBALL : Waldrop Rallies Savanna to Tie With Magnolia

Savanna quarterback Paul Waldrop passed for three touchdowns and a two-point conversion to salvage a 22-22 tie with Magnolia in an Orange League game Thursday night at Glover Stadium.

Magnolia (0-7-1, 0-2-1 in league) led most of the way, but the Sentinels’ inability to contain Waldrop deprived them of their first victory. Waldrop completed nine of 16 passes with one interception for 183 yards, 131 of those in the second half.

Waldrop’s 46-yard touchdown pass to Rani Kahouch and two-point conversion pass to Steve Broswell tied it with 6 minutes 47 seconds left. Neither team was able to threaten afterward.

Magnolia controlled the ball and the game in the first half, taking a 13-0 lead on a 13-play, 74-yard drive, with quarterback Robert Nicols scoring from the two, and a 70-yard touchdown pass from Nicols to Mike Dobrzycki, who made a fingertip grab on the first play of the second quarter.

Savanna (3-4-1, 0-2-1) scored in the second quarter on a 10-yard pass from Waldrop to Daven King, but Magnolia increased its lead to 16-7 at halftime on Richard Hughes’ 29-yard field goal three seconds before intermission.

The Rebels were able to close the deficit to 16-14 shortly after the half when King took a short screen pass from Waldrop and ran for the score on a 55-yard play. Dennis McCown, who led the Sentinel offense with 109 yards in 22 carries, set up the final Magnolia score when he recovered King’s fumble on a punt return on the Rebel 36.