Sept. 3, 2005, 5:41PM
La Porte's late rally upends Clear Lake
Blocked punt, TD cap
comeback from 20 down
By SAM KHAN JR.
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
BOXSCORE
LEAGUE CITY - The La Porte Bulldogs' special teams really were special
Friday night.
The Bulldogs blocked a Clear Lake punt with 4:44 remaining, setting
up a game-winning one-yard touchdown run by La Porte quarterback Chris
Anagnostou in a 35-34, come-from-behind win at District Stadium.
It was one of four blocks the Bulldogs produced on special teams, as
they blocked field-goal and extra-point attempts as well as two punts,
which helped dig them out of a 34-14 deficit with a 21-point fourth
quarter.
"We've preached to our kids that every point counts," La Porte coach
Jeff LaReau said. "They sold out on every field goal, extra point and
punt, and they came through."
Plagued by four turnovers in the first half, the Bulldogs risked
allowing the Falcons to blow the game open when Clear Lake quarterback
Jonathan Gilmer appeared to score on a one-yard run late in the third
quarter.
The Bulldogs forced a fumble on the play, however, and promptly took
the ball 80 yards the other way on a 10-play drive that ended with a
four-yard Demetric Davis touchdown run to cut Clear Lake's lead to
34-21.
|
LA PORTE 35 CLEAR LAKE 34
|
| •
The highlights: La Porte's Chris Coleman blocked a
punt with 4:44 remaining, setting up the game-winning touchdown run
by Chris Anagnostou.
• Notable: La Porte's Xavier Shaw blocked two
kicks (a field goal and an extra point) and intercepted Clear Lake
quarterback Jonathan Gilmer's final pass. |
The Bulldogs then forced the Falcons to go three and out on the next two
possessions and blocked a punt on each series, setting up their final
two touchdowns. For good measure, Xavier Shaw, who blocked a field goal
and an extra point, picked off Gilmer on his final pass of the night
with 3:20 to go to seal the win.
La Porte survived a triple-option attack by the Falcons that appeared
unstoppable in the early going, as the Falcons tallied 263 rushing yards
for the night.
"(Clear Lake) is a good football team that runs option ball, and (our
guys) were starting to doubt the (defensive) scheme," LaReau said. "We
just had to make sure they understood the scheme and they followed
through with the game plan we had."
The comeback even shocked a few of the Bulldogs, who wondered what
their fate may be down 20 points with less than nine minutes to go. But
Anagnostou, who hit 12-of-16 passes for 182 yards, made sure they never
stopped believing.
"We had a lot of adversity at halftime," Anagnostou said. "Me, the
coaches and the leaders stepped up and said, 'Hey, we can do this, it
ain't nothing.' Our defense stepped up, our special teams really stepped
up and we came back.
"This team has the most heart (of any) I've ever played with."
Added LaReau: "This is the best game I've ever been involved in."
sam.khan@chron.com |
LISTEN:
AUDIO: Chronicle's Sam Khan Jr.: