Freshman “A” Team

Clear Lake
VS
Alvin

10.14.04

The Clear Lake Falcons Freshman “A” Team traveled to Alvin this week for district play. The Falcons Offense came together this week scoring 50 points in their second consecutive win beating Alvin 50 - 28.

As usual, Clear Lake deferred to the second half after winning the coin toss, and Eric Alsop kicked off to Alvin. Drew Decker, Michael Grant, and Cody Worthen converged to stop the return at the Yellow Jacket 37.

An incomplete pass followed by an off tackle run stopped by Trevor Riser, Nick Adams and Alsop brought up a third and 7 for the Yellow Jackets. A complete pass was called back because of an Alvin penalty making it third and 12. The Alvin QB, running out of the “shotgun”, completed a pass to his receiver and was immediately hit by strong safety Tyler David, stopping him well short of a first down forcing Alvin to punt.

The Alvin punt was downed at the Lake 30 yard line where lake set up shop. Fullback Nathan Knight ran the ball on back to back plays picking up 5 yards followed by a 21 yard gain. QB Drew Decker was brought down from behind after faking to Knight up the middle on the first down play. On second and ten, the Falcons ran a newly installed play to perfection. With Right Halfback Cody Worthen going in motion to the left, Left Halfback Michael Grant stepped left, then reversed his direction and intercepted what looked like a pitch to Worthen and took it around left end 44 yards for a Clear Lake TD. Lake was unsuccessful with a 2 point conversion making the score Lake 6 – Alvin 0.

Alsop again doing the kicking, booted the ball down to the Lake 25, but Alvin got a good return to the 40 before being hit hard by Austin Kirby and Worthen. On first down, the Yellow Jackets tried a running play off tackle but Christopher Creech stopped him long enough to get help from Nick Adams, Trevor Riser, and Spencer Hayes. On the second down play, the Alvin Halfback broke around left end and picked up 21 yards with Worthen making a downfield tackle. The same play yielded 5 more with Eric Alsop making the stop, followed by a short gain with Riser, Hayes, and Creech on the stop, bringing up a third and two for the Yellow Jackets. On the third and short, the Alvin offensive line opened up a gapping hole for their Halfback who went 20 yards untouched for an Alvin TD. The extra point was no good tying the score a 6 – 6.

The following kick-off was taken my Michael Grant who found a wall on the left side and was able to take it across midfield to the Alvin 43 yard line. Decker kept on first down, following his Fullback up the middle for 5, followed by a 2 yard gain by Knight. On third down Michael Grant took a Decker pitch down to the Yellow Jacket 19 yard line. On first down Decker rolled out to the left and tried to hit Tyler David on a pass to at the goal line but it fell incomplete. An Alvin penalty put the ball at the 14 yard line giving Lake a second and five. A delayed draw to Grant worked for 13 yards and a first and goal from the 1 yard line where Drew Decker keeping around the left end took it in for the second Clear Lake TD. Another attempt for a two point conversion was unsuccessful, making the score CL 12 – A 6.

An onside kick by CL went out of bounds giving the ball to Alvin on the 45. Back to back runs were stopped by Aaron Martinez, Nick Adams and Jake Runte as the first quarter ended.

On third and 4, Sean Starling made a good tackle on the Alvin Back but not before he had picked up a first down.  Scot Fritz stopped the Alvin first down play after a 4 yard gain, followed by an incomplete pass, then a Martinez stop at the line putting Alvin in a fourth and long situation. A bad snap to the Alvin punter allowed Tyler David and Spencer Hayes to hit the punter as he tried to get off the punt, knocking the ball away allowing Cody Worthen to recover it on the Yellow Jacket 43 yard line.

Back to back runs by Grant netted 23 yards taking the ball down to the 20. Knight was stopped at the line on a first down play, followed by broken up pass play to Tyler David on a slant, bringing up a third and 10. On third down Jake Runte went in as QB as Decker moved to Halfback. Runte pitched to Decker, who rolling right, threw a pass to a wide open Tyler David for a CL TD. Finally a 2 point conversion was successful as Spencer Hayes took a counter into the end zone, giving CL a 19 – 6 lead.

After the CL kickoff by Alsop, Alvin set up at their own 37 yard line.  On first down, defensive linemen Sam Akinyeye and Evan Beasley, along with Linebacker Trevor Riser threw an Alvin Halfback for a two yard loss. On second and long, a pass off a Yellow Jacket receiver fell into the hands of Spencer Hayes for an interception giving CL the ball at the Alvin 43.

Another quality run by Nathan Knight took the ball down to the 32. A short loss on the next play was followed by a counter to Spencer Hayes. With the offensive line doing a great job this week, Hayes was able to take the counter play 25 yards for a TD. Knight took the 2 point conversion in making the score 26 – 6 Falcons.

Another short kick to the sidelines gave Alvin the ball at the 46. A first down run yielded 7 with David and Alsop making the stop. An incomplete pass on second down was followed by a pitch to the left going around the end for a first down. On first down, Spencer Hayes almost got his second pick of the game knocking down a Yellow Jacket pass. A good run by the Alvin Halfback, breaking several tackles, worked his way to the 26, followed by the same play again for an additional 7 with Worthen making the stop. Alvin going with the same play except to the other side yielded 8 more before Jake Runte and Tyler David made the stop. Staying with the same play, just alternating direction, gained more yardage with Sean Starling and Austin Kirby making the stop. Then on a first down play, a dive up the middle found a hole in the CL defensive yielding an Alvin TD with a good 2 point conversion making the core CL 26 - A 14.

The Alvin kickoff sailed into the end zone for a touchback. With time for only one more play CL went to the “Dippsy Doodle”. With Runte at QB and Decker at Halfback, Runte ran the option pitching to Decker, who then pitched to Grant who took it down the side line for about 8 yards as time ran out in the first half. Score CL 26 – Alvin 14.

The second half kickoff again sailed into the end zone for a touchback. The first play was a 7 yard gain by Fullback Nathan Knight. On second down Decker handed to Knight up the middle on a quick dive. Knight took the ball all the way down to the Alvin 5 yard line giving him a 68 yard run, the longest run from scrimmage this year.

It also must be noted that both of Nathan’s long runs happened as his mother had gone to the concession stand, making her miss the great runs.  Nathan, what do you suggest she do next game? looks like she might be gaining some weight over the next two weeks J !

The next play saw Drew Decker take it in for a TD after a broken play giving Decker his second score of the game. The 2 point conversion failed making the score 32 – 14 CL.

On the kickoff, Decker knocked the Alvin runner out of bounds at the 25. Trying to catch the Falcons sleeping, Alvin ran a reverse on the first play. Unfortunately for Alvin, Safety Tyler David, playing excellent position football, stayed home and was waiting for the runner and took him down behind the line of scrimmage for a loss. A complete pass with Grant Making the stop produced an Alvin first down. A 5 yard running play followed by a completed pass with Sean Starling making the stop produced another first down. A 1st down dive play was good for 10 with Runte and Worthen on the downfield stop. Another long running play picked up 20 with Grant pushing the runner out of bounds. With the Lake defense trying to contain the run, Alvin’s QB dumped a pass over the middle to open receiver who took it in for the score. The 2 point conversion was good making the score CL 34 Alvin 22.

Michael Grant took the following kickoff from the 15 to the 37. In at QB, Jake Runte kept on the option and carried the ball for an 8 yard gain. A give to Spencer Hayes was good for 18 to the Alvin 35. A counter to Hayes from Runte going the other way, was good for 9 more. A give to Knight up the middle for a couple followed by an option pitch to Grant was enough for a first down. Knight gained 4 up the middle on first down. Then with penalties on both sides, the ball ended up at the 12 yard line. Runte making a good read on the option pitched out to Worthen who took it down to the 1, followed by Knight crashing up the middle for another CL TD. Knight took the conversion in as well making the score to 42 – 28 CL.

The kickoff by Alsop was returned to the 47 of Alvin. Back to back running plays picked up an Alvin 1^st down in spite of hard hits by Hayes, Riser, and David. The next play from scrimmage for Alvin saw the Yellow Jacket QB launch a long pass to a wide open receiver streaking down the right side line, who caught it and took it in for an Alvin TD. An unsuccessful 2 point conversion try made the score 42 – 28 CL.

The Alvin kickoff went OB at the Lake 40.  Decker back in at QB worked hard to pick up 4 yards breaking a couple of tackles. No gain on second down, followed by a pitch to Worthen on the “Blast Option” got 5, bringing up a fourth and 1. A give to Knight up the middle got the first down. A counter to Grant on first down picked up 5. Then back to back plays were stopped for no gain creating a fourth and about 11. Going for it on fourth and 11 from the 46 yard line of Alvin, Decker hit Tyler David down the right sideline for a 43 yard completion taking the ball down to the 3. A give to Grant got two, followed by another TD by Fullback Nathan Knight, and a 2 point conversion run by Worthen took the score to 50 – 28 Lake.

Austin Kirby made a good open field tackle at the 27 after the kickoff by Alsop. With time running down in the fourth quarter, Alvin completed a screen pass that picked up 20. A first down pass fell incomplete with Tyler David on the coverage. On second and 10, Spencer Hayes blitzing from his Safety position nailed the Yellow Jacket QB for a 7 yard loss. With 3^rd and long Alvin completed another screen pass, but Hunter Hicks, Sam Akinyeye, and Trevor Riser were there to bring the Alvin receiver down well short of a first down. On fourth down, running out of the “shotgun”  the Alvin QB completed a pass in the right flats to his receiver but he slipped down short of the first down turning the ball over to Lake.

After an option pitch to Worthen for a pick up of 14, Decker went to a knee to run out the clock. Final score Clear Lake 50 Alvin 28.

This was a great game for the offensive line. They continued to create holes allowing Fullback Nathan Knight to create havoc up the middle for the Alvin defense, which in turn open up the outside. The Lake passing game also came together as Decker and Tyler David hooked up twice, for a touchdown and a critical fourth down play good for a 43 yard reception.

By Tom Worthen
QB Club Staff