Holmes, Ellsworth solve Harper
IOWA FALLS, Iowa If you by chance were to speak with a member of Harper College's defense, be well-advised not to mention anyone with the last name Holmes.
Not Sherlock, not Priest not even Katie.
But in particular, don't mention the name Dexter Holmes.
That's because the 6-foot-3 redshirt freshman receiver from Pahokee, Fla., solved the Hawk defense with a 15-reception performance good for 249 yards and 4 touchdowns as 13th-ranked Ellsworth downed Harper 49-13 Saturday afternoon at Cadet Field.
The Panthers offense amassed 516 yards of total offense led by Holmes, quarterback Willie Tindal (26-32-319 yards, 5 touchdowns), running back T.J. James (20 carries, 92 yards), and tight end John Rabe (8 receptions, 93 yards).
Ellsworth (5-1 overall, 3-1 in Midwest Football Conference play) used a 21-point second quarter to put enough distance between them and the visiting Hawks as Tindal connected with Holmes for the first time in the contest on a 46-yard strike that made it 14-0 at the 14:41 mark. The play was the ninth straight completion of Tindal's first 10 passes.
ECC delivered the backbreaker two series later when Jamison Disalvo connected with Rabe on fake punt on a fourth-and-9 at the Panthers' own 35 that moved the ball 33 yards to the Harper 32. Ellsworth hit paydirt 8 plays later when Tindal found Holmes in the end zone from 5 yards out on a fourth-and-goal from the 5 that made it 21-0 at the 7:52 mark.
After another three-and-out by Harper, the Panthers extended their advantage to 28-0 with 1:09 left as the Tindal-Holmes connection hooked up on a 47-yard pass play that set up the Ellsworth QB toward his third TD pass four plays later, this time to Dyron Maxwell (20 yards), who proceeded to slam-dunk the ball over the goal post.
That post-touchdown move that got Harper going before the half ended, as Ellsworth was assessed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that set the Hawks up at the Ellsworth 45. After a pair of rushes moved the ball to the 30, Harper was aided by a defensive pass interference call that put the ball at the 15, and a roughing-the-passer penalty (5 yards) moved it to the Panther 3. From there, sophomore QB Stuart Augustine (10-24-71 yards) found Roderick Alton in the end zone for Harper's first points of the day which made the score 28-6 at halftime.
Two more Tindal-Holmes hookups (39 and 21 yards) in the third quarter as well as an 8-yard Travon Montgomery interception of RB Jackson Davenport's option pass with 6:13 in the fourth came before Augustine's second TD pass to Robert Dickey (43 yards) with 4:22 left.
The Hawks (1-4, 0-4) will face another team with an identical 1-4, 0-4 mark, Iowa Central next Saturday at home. Kickoff time is 1 p.m. The Tritons lost 28-14 at home to Grand Rapids on Saturday.