Piper’s three fourth quarter TDs propel it past Flanagan and to regional semis

As heavily as Piper relies on the run, it was a key pass play that shifted momentum for the Bengals in the fourth quarter on Friday night.

Quarterback Maks Stuber connected with Isaiah Monestime on a 37-yard touchdown pass that gave Piper the lead for good in a 24-12 road win against Flanagan in a Region 4-6A quarterfinal.

Running back Jahnard Young tacked on two touchdown runs in the fourth quarter to help Piper advance in the Class 6A playoffs.

Seeded fifth, the Bengals (7-4) travel next Friday to Miami to play Southridge at Sam Burley Stadium on the top-seeded Spartans’ campus.

Third-seeded Flanagan finishes at 8-3.

“I’m very proud of the guys,” Piper coach Quentin Short said. “It was a struggle for about three quarters. I called a fake punt earlier that kind of put us in a bad spot. But we got the look that we wanted all week. I told them, ‘That was on me.’

“We just kept fighting and fighting and fighting, and we finally broke through. I’m just proud of the kids. They stick with the plan. They know that we’re built for 48 minutes. I’m proud of all the players and the coaches.”

The Bengals’ ground-and-pound offense certainly is built for the postseason.

With Young’s physical style of running, the Bengals have a ground game that can churn out yards and eat away at the clock.

Young unofficially grinded out 123 yards on 28 carries, to go with his two touchdowns.

On the first drive of the game, Young carried 10 times, setting up an early field goal.

“He’s an amazing running back,” Stuber said. “I would say, he’s our best player on the team, with how dominating he is on the run. But the O-line also is a big, big part of it. I’ve got to give credit to the boys up front.”

For the first three quarters, the game was a defensive struggle.

Piper took the opening kickoff and went on a 13-play march that ate up almost eight minutes. Dudley Cadet put the Bengals on the board with an 18-yard field goal.

Flanagan took its first snap at the 4:18 mark of the first quarter, and went three-and-out.

In the second quarter, Flanagan’s defense made some key stops, and quarterback Chance Humphrey started finding some success through the air.

The Falcons’ defense came up big stopping Young on a fake punt run at the Bengals’ 29-yard line.

On first down, Humphrey connected with Jamall Cooper on a 12-yard pass play.

Three plays later, Humphrey found Santana Carlos wide open for a 17-yard touchdown pass. But a two-point attempt was stopped, and the Falcons led, 6-3, at halftime.

The score remained that way until the fourth quarter, when the offenses started showing some life.

Piper’s defense came up big after Flanagan drove to the Bengals’ 21. On second down, Humphrey was under heavy pressure and scrambled backwards. Desperate to unload the ball, Humphrey’s errant pass was picked off by defensive lineman, LuChung Manyou, at the Flanagan 47.

The running of Young gave the Bengals a first down at the 37.

Stuber then executed a play-action pass play, and Monestime was wide open for the 37-yard touchdown, giving Piper a 10-6 lead.

“We were running it, running it, running it, and knew they would probably bite on play-action, so we took a shot on first down and hit a big one,” Short said.

Piper’s defense came up with another big turnover on the ensuing drive.

On third-down at Flanagan’s 40, Alex Gammage had an interception, setting up the Bengals at the Falcons’ 33.

Young did the rest, carrying six straight times before powering in from the 1-yard line, giving the Bengals a 17-6 lead with 5:56 remaining.

Down by two scores, Flanagan went for it on fourth down at its own 19, and couldn’t convert.

Young had a 14-yard run to the 5, and the bruising back again found the end zone with a 5-yard touchdown run, icing the game with 3:49 remaining.

Flanagan’s backup quarterback, Jaron Johnson Jr., guided the Falcons on a last-minute scoring drive.

Johnson had a 30-yard completion to Jahmari Johnston, and capped the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Antron Branch.

After recovering the on-side kick, Piper ran out the final 19 seconds to advance in the playoffs.

“I give our credit to the coach staff,” Short said. “After the fourth week, we completely revamped our whole offense, because what we were doing wasn’t working. We were 1-3 and had to make changes. I’m proud of the staff. I’m proud of the kids. They put us in good position to come out here and win another playoff game. That’s two years in a row. At Piper, that hadn’t been done in a while, I don’t believe.”

This story was originally published November 15, 2025 at 12:18 AM.