Falcons win football opener

By: CHUCK HLAVA , Citizen Staff

09/07/2004

Lake ground game, defense overcomes turnovers

Clear Lake takes its patented option and ball control game to La Porte on Friday after overcoming four turnovers in its season-opening 21-3 win over Tomball.
The 7 p.m. contest will be La Porte's season football opener.
"We don't really know what to expect from them," Lake head coach Troy Aduddell said of the upcoming game against the Bulldogs. "They might spread us out. I know they have a big defensive front."
Aduddell feels the Falcons have an edge by winning their first game.
"I think we have the advantage by winning our first game in zero week. It's easier going into the second game when you've won the first," he said.
But heading for Tomball, it was 'better late than never.' The bus was an hour late picking up the Falcons and by the time they arrived in Cougar Stadium, they only had 15 minutes before kickoff.
"When we got there we had to run into the locker rooms to change, and then we had only a five minute warm-up before the kickoff," Aduddell said.
"It was a little tense for us out there and we had to overcome some adversity," he added.
But the Falcons fought through that adversity despite fumbling the ball seven times, losing three, and had one interception at Cougar Stadium. But they still had over 300 yards total offense as quarterback Scott Oswald plunged in on short yardage situations for all three touchdowns.
Despite giving the ball away four times, the Falcons still controlled the tempo and played keep-away with their control game.
"We kind of got out of our routine and the defense kept us in the ball game and I'm real proud of the kids," Aduddell said.
While Oswald's three scoring keepers went only for a total of five yards (2, 2, 1) he led both teams in rushing with 136 yards on 22 carries. He kept the Tomball defense guessing the whole night by handing the ball over to three other backs for another 136 yards. Overall Clear Lake had 272 yards on the ground. The signal caller also hit two of four passes for 46 yards, including a 30-yarder to Vincent Brooks.
Tomball, led by Nathan Blake's 80 yards, had 160 on the ground and another 37 in the air but could not push anything into the end zone. The Cougars committed one turnover, a fumble. Their only score came with two minutes left in the first half on a nifty 48-yard field goal from Shaun Rundle.
Clear Lake moved the ball well against the Cougars, nearly scoring on its opening drive before fumbling the ball into the Tomball end zone. The Falcons' first score then didn't come until the second period. Oswald then entered the end zone in each of the final two quarters. Kyle Chism kicked all three PAT's.