Dec. 12, 2004, 12:28AM

Clear Lake runs out of time, comes up short

Smithson Valley denies Falcons another comeback

By SARAH HORNADAY
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

SAN ANTONIO - After two overtime victories to advance to the Class 5A Division II semifinals, Clear Lake once again took the last shot Saturday at the Alamodome.

This time, the Falcons weren't celebrating.

Clear Lake's season ended with an 18-10 loss to Smithson Valley but only after senior quarterback Scott Oswald moved the Falcons into position to tie the game but threw incomplete in the end zone as time expired.

"It's not the way I wanted it to end," Oswald said. "I wanted to end in the state championship game. I never thought we'd run out of time. We always hang in there."

Clear Lake advanced to Saturday's game after edging Katy 35-34 in double overtime last week and holding off Memorial 37-29 in three overtimes the week before.

Behind 18-3, the Falcons (13-2) pulled within eight points when Geno Blow scored on a six-yard run with 1:52 remaining to cap an 80-yard drive that took six minutes, 28 seconds. Clear Lake then recovered the onside kick at the Rangers' 44.

The Falcons ran six plays and got as close as the Smithson Valley 13 before losing seven yards and then watching as Oswald overthrew Daniel McCalib in the end zone.

"They should be so proud," Clear Lake coach Troy Aduddell said. "We made history. The seniors are a great legend for Clear Lake. We're going to continue to do the things they started at Lake."

The Falcons finished with a school-best 13 victories and advanced past the second round of the playoffs for the first time.

The Rangers (13-2) return to the finals for the third time in four seasons. They lost to Denton Ryan in the 2001 Class 4A Division I final and Southlake Carroll in the 2002 Class 5A Division II final. On Saturday at Texas Stadium in Irving, Smithson Valley gets a rematch with Southlake Carroll, which beat Lufkin 37-30.

Although Clear Lake played a nearly flawless game -- no penalties and no turnovers -- in its upset of 2003 Division II champion Katy, Saturday's semifinal game was a different story. The Falcons lost three fumbles and were penalized five times for 35 yards. They also gave up a safety on a bad snap to the punter. The mistakes resulted in 11 Smithson Valley points.

"Kids are going to be kids," Aduddell said. "You can't play a team like Smithson Valley and commit four turnovers and expect to win."

Despite the turnovers, Clear Lake kept it close, recovering two fumbles by the Rangers and getting an interception from Ryan Nisbet.

Unfortunately for the Falcons, they failed to get any points.

In the second quarter, Oswald suffered a stinger and left the game for one play. On that play, Ray Corona returned a Clear Lake fumble 66 yards for a touchdown and a 10-3 lead.

Oswald came back for the Falcons' final series of the half but again was shaken up as time expired. Smithson Valley's Mykel Kovar sacked Oswald, who rushed for 45 yards and passed for 42 in the first half, from his blind side. The hit was so hard Oswald lost his helmet.

Despite the hits, Oswald, who finished with a game-high 123 rushing yards, did not miss a snap in the second half.

"(Oswald) is a warrior," Rangers coach Larry Hill said. "He kept coming back, just like his team did."

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