By Brad Greer

The North Delta Green Wave has lived and died by big plays throughout the 2011 football season. Friday night however the Wave could not find one more to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Led by quarterback Ryan MacGregor’s 112-yard rushing performance, the River Oaks Mustangs   escaped Batesville with a 29-27 victory over North Delta to advance to the MAIS AA North State Championship game Friday night as they host Marshall Academy.

After Aaron Rogers scored on a 12-yard touchdown run which gave River Oaks a 29-20 lead with 3:33 remaining in the game, it looked as if the Mustangs had things sewed up. But Tyler Pirtle and the Green Wave had other things in mind.

Pirtle took the second play from scrimmage and zig-zagged his way 65 yards for his third rushing touchdown of the night to pull North Delta within two, 29-27, with 3:10 left to play after William Dean booted the extra point. Pirtle ended the night with 309 yards on 24 carries

With two time outs remaining, North Delta head coach Dan Werner decided to go for an onside kick. The plan backfired however as River Oaks recovered the kick on the Green Wave 44 yard-line and proceeded to run out the clock.

“We had given them great field position on nearly every kickoff return so we just rolled the dice and see if we could recover the onside kick,” said Werner.

River Oaks (9-3) took a 21-14 lead as MacGregor hit Alex Biedenharn with a 76-yard touchdown strike with 7:51 remaining in the fourth quarter.

North Delta then responded with a five-play, 68-yard drive that was capped off by Pirtle’s 24-yard pass to Dean that closed the Mustang lead to 21-20 after Dean missed the PAT.

North Delta dominated the statistical category in the first half by holding a 224-95 advantage in total yardage yet the game was deadlocked at 14 at intermission.

Pirtle’s four-yard touchdown with 38 seconds left in the half gave North Delta a 14-6 lead. But on the ensuing kickoff, Davis Harris picked up the squib kick and returned it to the Green Wave 11-yard line. Biedenharn scored on the very next play with Harris converting the two-point conversion to tie the game at 14 with 20 seconds in the first half.

“The kickoff return late in the first was inexcusable on our part,” said Werner. “We give a cheap touchdown there and another one in the fourth quarter on a bomb when our best cover guys fell down on the play. Those were no doubt the two biggest plays of the game,” said Werner.

North Delta (10-2) quickly struck first in the game as Pirtle scored on a 55-yard run on the games’ third play from scrimmage. Dean booted the PAT to cap the three-play, 63-yard drive to give the home team a 7-0 lead.

After Blake Snyder recovered a Biedenharn fumble on the North Delta 35, the Green Wave drove to the River Oaks 35 where they turned the ball over on downs.

MacGregor got the Mustangs on the board with a seven-yard run with 2:31  left in the first half to make the score 7-6 after the PAT failed.

North Delta increased their lead to 14-6 on their next possession as Pirtle scored from four yards out to end a five-play, 54-yard drive.

“We made some adjustments in the second half but then their quarterback (Pirtle) made that long run in the fourth to get them back in the game. That kid is one heck of a ball player, “said River Oaks head coach Robert Hannah.

“My hat goes off to North Delta. They have got a great coaching staff and they never quit. But Ryan did a amazing job for us at quarterback tonight. That was the most running he has done since coming back from his injury and he wanted this game bad,” said Hannah.

North Delta rushed the ball 37 times for 354 yards while registering 68 yards passing for 422 total yards. River Oaks garnered 355 yards of total offense.

Taylor Morris, the Green Waves leading rusher was held to 29 yards on the night. Biedenharn, the Mustangs leading ball-carrier had 62 yards on 14 carries.

Bailey Guckert had three carries for 14 yards and caught one pass for four yards. Dean hauled in two catches for 38 yards while Will Magee and Colby Pirtle each recorded one reception.

“Even though we came up on the short end of the stick tonight, I am happy with the state of our program and where it is headed,” said Werner. “We have got a good group of kids coming back next year, but that does not soften the pain for those seniors in the next room over there because they are hurting right now and I feel bad for them because they worked their tails off to get where they are at,“ said Werner.