|
Tors Knock Off
Falcons
(by Joey
Richards, Galveston Daily News)
|
Published November 4, 2005
LEAGUE CITY — Somebody forgot to tell Clear
Lake this was a meaningless game. The Falcons, who had lost
six consecutive games, roared back from a 28-6 first-half
deficit to send the game into overtime.
Ball High, however, scored first in overtime on a 5-yard
touchdown pass from Reggie Thompson to Frank Avery.
Then, after playing a near flawless second half, the demons
that haunted Clear Lake all season, including the first half
of this game, came back to bite the Falcons again.
Clear Lake quarterback Jonathan Gilmer fumbled the ball on the
Falcons’ first play from scrimmage in overtime, and the Tors
recovered to preserve a 42-35 overtime victory in the District
24-5A finale for both teams Thursday night at District
Stadium.
It was Clear Lake’s fourth turnover of the night, but only the
Falcons’ first of the second half.
Ball High scored three touchdowns on the three first-half
turnovers.
“Lake, all year, has been beating itself,” Ball High coach Ron
Holmes said. “Lake has done like Ball High did last year —
finding a way to lose. If you look back at all the game’s
they’ve lost, they’ve been putting the ball on the ground.”
The Falcons rolled up 443 yards of offense, all on the ground,
and had 28 first downs. Ball High had 287 yards of offense and
18 first downs.
Geno Blow ran for 209 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries
to lead the Falcons, and Ronnie Feaster added 129 yards on 11
carries.
But those numbers didn’t bother Holmes. His team won.
“You’ll have games like this,” he said. “We showed the heart
of a champion. We made the plays in overtime.”
Ball High (8-2 overall, 5-1 district) already had clinched a
playoff berth and likely will play Pasadena Dobie in the first
round of the Division II playoffs next week.
Clear Lake (2-7, 0-6) scored on all four of its possessions in
the second half of regulation, including 21 unanswered points
in the fourth quarter, to send the game into overtime.
T.J. Brown ran 9 yards for a touchdown with one minute left in
regulation, and Bruno Lesage kicked the extra point to tie the
game at 35-35.
The Falcons had lined up to go for two, but Blow moved early,
backing the ball up five yards and forcing Clear Lake’s hand.
It also forced Lesage to kick a 25-yard PAT.
The score capped a five-play, 61-yard drive by the Falcons,
who got the ball by stopping Ball High on a fourth-and-1 play
from the Falcon 37 with 2:11 left in the game.
The Tors converted three turnovers into 21 points en route to
a 28-6 first-half lead.
Marcus Littleton picked off Clear Lake quarterback Andrew
Decker’s first pass of the game at the Tors’ 28-yard line and
returned it 63 yards to the Falcon 35. Ten plays later, Dwight
Taylor ran two yards for the game’s first touchdown with 2:04
left in the opening quarter.
On the very next play from scrimmage, Blow scampered 85 yards
for a touchdown. The Tors, however, blocked the extra-point
kick to preserve a 7-6 lead with 1:43 to go in the first
quarter.
Taylor answered with a 66-yard touchdown run two plays from
scrimmage later.
Clear Lake marched down to the Ball High 30 on seven plays,
but turned the ball over again. This time, Littleton scooped
up an errant Decker pitch and ran 63 yards for a Tors’
touchdown with 9:10 left in the second quarter.
Clear Lake fumbled the ball away again on its next possession.
Ball High took over at the Falcons 13. Two plays later, Taylor
scored his third touchdown of the half on a 2-yard run. Logan
Jackson kicked his fourth PAT for a 28-6 lead with 7:13
remaining in the half.
Jonathan Gilmer scored from 2-yards out, and Blow ran for the
two-point conversion on the first drive of the second half.
Ball High came back to score on a 1-yard run by Avery Curry.
But Clear Lake answered with three consecutive touchdowns in
the fourth quarter.
 Save
 Mail
 Print
 Comment
|
|
|
|
