Galveston (7-3, 3-2) takes on Pearland (8-2) on Saturday in the first round
of the playoffs. Clear Lake ends the season 5-5 overall and 2-3 in District 24-5A.
Clear Lake had come back from a 28-14 deficit by
scoring two touchdowns, both on passes from quarterback Michael Fritz.
"We spotted them early and once we got used to the
speed our offense did a great job of coming back," head coach Troy Aduddell said.
With 3:06 left in the third period Fritz found Chris
Hunter for their second connection of the night, this one a 20-yarder to draw closer at
28-21.
Then in the fourth, at the 7:47 mark, Scott Oswald took
a throw from Fritz for a 27-yard touchdown to tie the game.
Galveston then drove 67 yards on its final drive, with
quarterback Dwayne Brown going the final three to get the lead and the eventual win.
It was still anyone's game as Lake drove right back in
the final minute and nearly pulled it out before a tipped pass in the end zone prevented a
Falcon score.
The Falcons were never ahead, always coming from
behind, in a game that differed in offensive styles. Clear Lake managed 94 yards on the
ground while the Tors had 305. In the air, the Falcons were the masters as Fritz completed
13 of 31 for 157 yards. Galveston had 89 yards passing.
All offensive touchdowns (3) from Lake were scored via
the pass. For Galveston all the offensive touchdowns (4) came on the ground.
Curiously back-to-back touchdowns were scored off
blocked punt returns. First Lake's Chris Davison ran 15 yards with a blocked punt for a
touchdown halfway through the second period. At the time the Tors were leading 21-6 and
Davison's TD and a Chris Sportt run for the two points, make it 21-14.
But in the third period Galveston blocked a Lake punt
and Roderick Johnson returned it 18 years to paydirt to make it 28-14. It was the first
blocked punt the Falcons have had this year. After that Lake began its drive for two
touchdowns to tie the game.
Brown, who kept the ball 28 times and rushed for 167
yards in the game, scored all four Galveston touchdowns. His first, from the eight, make
it 7-0 after the kick. Hunter then scored on a 9-yard pass from Fritz to make it 7-6, with
the kick being no good. Brown then scored on runs of one and nine before Davison took the
blocked punt back for a touchdown. Hunter caught six passes from Fritz for 59 yards.
The Tors overcame three fumbles to win the game while
Clear Lake played a error-free contest with no fumbles nor interceptions.
Fritz was Lake's leading rusher with 14 carries for 45 yards.
"We had a great season (despite not making the
playoffs)" Aduddell said. "We lost a couple of close games we could have won but
the kids played great. The coaches did a great job of preparing the kids. "It was a
good turnaround for us," he added.
Fritz wound up as the No. 1 passer in 24-5A with 1,669
yards on 113 completions on 228 attempts, 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
But the 2002 district football season wasn't kind for
the passing game.
Neither Fritz' team nor Noah Carrasco's Alvin
Yellowjackets made the post-season. Carrasco was the No. 2 passer in district behind
Fritz, throwing for 1,164 yards, including 15 touchdowns. They were the only quarterbacks
to throw for 1,000 yards or more in 24-5A.
The top three receivers were also from Lake and Alvin.
Lake's Hunter grabbed 36 passes for 525 yards and seven touchdowns while teammate Oswald
had 31 catches for 437 yards and two TD's. Alvin's Zach Muzzy caught 29 passes for 676
yards and eight touchdowns.
