Deon Orsborne is doing his part to dispel any myth that Commerce is a one-dimensional football team.
The dual-threat Tiger running back hauled in a 74-yard touchdown pass from Cody Streetman Friday in the second quarter to put Commerce (4-5, 3-2) ahead for good en route to a 21-7 win over Social Circle.
“A lot of people have been saying we can’t do anything but run the ball, so we ran one of my favorite plays,” Orsborne of the touchdown strike.
The Tigers and the Redskins were tied 7-7 with five minutes left in the first half when Orsborne broke open over the middle and Streetman threw a strike. Orsborne caught the ball, sprinted to the end zone and Commerce never looked back in earning a key region win.
“I was just wide open and happened to be there,” Orsborne said.
The quarterback did a good job of putting it out there. I just went and got it.”
Called into duty again for an injured Phillip Edwards, Streetman had another big night. The freshman quarterback finished 3-of-9 with 127 yards through the air. That total included a 42-yard completion to Carl Allen.
An aerial show is now becoming something of a habit for Orsborne and Streetman, who have now connected for a touchdown in excess of 70 yards two weeks in a row.
Orsborne’s secret?
“I don’t know — just play, thank God for my talent and do what I can to help my team,” said Orsborne, who also had a huge night on the ground, running for 101 yards and a score.
The Tigers put the game out of reach with a 35-yard touchdown from Jon Cash in the fourth quarter as Commerce posted 21 unanswered points to rally from a 7-0 deficit. The win moved Commerce to 3-2 in the region and into third place in the standings.
The Tigers seemed plenty excited about the way they’re playing now, trading multiple chest bumps in a festive post-game huddle.
“We finally got two (wins) in a row,” Orsborne said. “We came out here and did what we had to do.”
Eight seconds into the game, a second-straight win was in doubt, though, when Social Circle ran back the opening kickoff 80 yards.
However, the Redskins enjoyed few highlights thereafter as they were held to just 108 total yards by a swarming Commerce defense.
Josh Streetman led the Tiger effort with 10 tackles, while Cameron Billings had two sacks and six stops in his final game in front of the home crowd. Austin Hanley also had eight tackles and a sack in his last game at Tiger Stadium.
Senior Chase Bowen credited Commerce’s defensive success to a great week of preparation.
“We just practiced that offensive scheme that they ran,” he said. “We just practiced it to death. One day we practiced until about 7 o’clock.”
The Tigers will look for another good week of practice now as they head into the regular season finale. Commerce can finish at .500 and clinch a no. 3 seed in the state playoffs with a win next week over Prince Avenue.
“We’re just going to take it one game at a time, come out here in practice, get a good game plan in and try to pick up another victory,” Orsborne said.
RUSHING: Orsborne 23-101-1 TD; Cash 13-80-1 TD
PASSING: C. Streetman 3-of-9, 127 yards, 1TD
DEFENSE: J. Streetman 10 tackles; Billings 6 tackles, 2 sacks; Hanley 8 tackles
