The Hagerstown football team took a comeback win over Shenandoah on Friday, Sept. 25, in a nonconference game before a near-sellout crowd.
The Tigers struggled to score and had a hard time containing the Raider running game in the first half.
The first time the Raiders had the ball, they moved it 79 yards in 12 plays to score. With 27.5 seconds remaining in the first half, Shenandoah scored again to take a 14-0 lead.
The Tigers used their renaming seconds wisely. Two completed passes moved the ball to the 31-yard line. With 2.5 seconds left in the first half, Calvin Delgas ran on the field to attempt a school record 41-yard field goal. The ball cleared the crossbar with plenty to spare to help kick start the Tiger offense and cut the halftime deficit to 14-3.
The Tigers looked like a different team when they came out to start the second half.
Tiger quarterback Graham Vinson went to an aerial attack and the Raiders couldn’t stop it. One minute into the third quarter, Vinson connected with Ben Hokey for a 19-yard touchdown pass to cut the Tiger deficit to 14-9.
Six minutes later, Vinson connected with Fletcher Callahan on a 7-yard TD pass and then hit Callahan on a two-point conversion pass to give the Tigers their first lead at 17-14. With 3:07 remaining in the period, Vinson threw a 24-yard pass to Arlin Berger and Delgas kicked the extra point to extend the Tigers’ lead to 24-14.
Extended drives moved the ball to the 1-yard line twice, and Vinson scored on a quarterback sneak at 5:44 in the fourth quarter. Cooper Porter scored from 1 yard out with 4:25 remaining to push the Tiger lead to 38-14 and complete a 38-0 run by the Tigers.
The Tiger defense was just as effective in the second half as the offense. Three times they turned the Raiders over on downs, Keegan Rue blocked a punt and Callahan intercepted a pass.
The Raiders scored with 2:53 to play to make the final score 38-20 before the Tigers ran out the clock.
There were plenty of heroes for the Tigers. Senior Nick Tinkle, who caught six passes for 102 yards and had seven tackles, spoke for the team after the game.
“Calvin’s field goal at the end of the first half gave us a lot of momentum,” Tinkle said. “When we went to the locker room at halftime, we just all came together as a team. We resolved to come out throwing the ball and to take control of the game. We put our foot on the pedal and never let them get back in the game. This is a big win.”
Tiger head coach Scott Snodgrass said his team started slow but finished strong. “The pace of this game was much faster than our last three,” Snodgrass said. “We told the kids at halftime to put the first half behind us and play well in the second half, and they certainly did that. The field goal at the end of the first half got everybody pumped up, and they played well the rest of the night with a lot of players contributing.”
Hagerstown (6-0) 0 3 21 14 38
Shenandoah (1-5) 6 8 0 6 20
Hagerstown stat leaders: Passing: Vinson 20-24 for 273 yards, Rushing: Vinson 6-23, Receiving: Tinkle 6-102, Tackles: Gus Golliher 10, Rue 9, Cale Schmitz 9
Shenandoah stat leaders: Rushing: Cash Cowley 23-119, Tackles: Cowley 12
A version of this article will appear in the September 30 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.
