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Lamar survives fourth-quarter scare to fight another day
  
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By MIKE TENNEY
It was Lamar’s worst nightmare brought to life.
Almost.
For three periods Saturday afternoon, the Lamar defense kept Kingwood intact while Redskin junior running back Patrick Andrews, who rushed for 213 yards on 24 carries, ran roughshod through the Mustang defense to build a 19-7 lead.
But in the fourth period, the Redskins had to overcome a successful onside kick and two long Kingwood drives to hold off the Mustangs, 19-14, in a Region III-5A, Division I Bi-District playoff game at blustery Galena Park ISD Stadium.
The Redskins, now 9-1 on the year, head into the Area Round, hosting Katy Taylor at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Delmar Stadium. Taylor reached the second round with a surprising 17-3 victory over Memorial last Friday night in Katy.
Lamar head coach Tom Nolen said prior to the contest his defense had to control the Mustangs’ flexbone offense, which basically consists of a lot of quarterback keepers, fullback handoffs and pitches to the trailing man. They never really did stop them, but did enough to hold them off at the end.
“They like to control the ball and they did that, I thought, but our defense was able to make a few plays when they needed to,” said Nolen.
It got really scary for the chilled Redskin faith in the final 10 minutes, though.
The Redskins were driving for a score and threatening to open up that 12-point lead early in the fourth quarter when they fumbled at the Kingwood five with just under 10 minutes left.
From there, the Mustangs, using an array of short runs and passes, came back with an impressive 18-play, 95-yard drive before scoring on a two-yard touchdown run with just over four minutes to go.
Kingwood then recovered an onside kick and went right back to it at their own 47 with a chance to win the game.
They eventually ran nine plays and reached the Lamar 23 before coming up just inches short on a fourth-and-one play with less than 90 seconds remaining.
Lamar went into victory formation and was able to run out the clock.
“It got a little exciting there,” said Nolen. “They’re a good football team. We feel good to win the game.”
The Mustangs, who bow out at 4-5 overall, began the game with a long drive. They needed 10 plays to travel from their own 29 to the Lamar 10 before missing a 30-yard field goal on a cold, windy day that wasn’t real conducive to kicking.
With Andrews beginning his fantastic day, the Redskins took over at their own 20 and started heading down the field. When Andrews wasn’t carrying it, sophomore quarterback Bram Kohlhausen was showing his mobility, picking up a couple of first downs himself with his feet.
They completed the 11-play drive with Kohlhausen tossing a 14-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Joshua Gordon with 3:12 left in the first period. The score stayed 6-0 when Lamar’s extra-point try sailed left.
Kingwood came right back to take its only lead in the game on a 10-play, 68-yard drive that was completed by T.J. Olonilua’s four-yard touchdown run with 10:41 remaining in the second period. They hit their extra point to go up 7-6.
The Redskins got their offense cranked up again after the ensuing kickoff. With Andrews rushing for 28 yards on five carries and Kohlhausen and Gordon hooking up on a 26-yard reception, Lamar then took the lead for good on a Kohlhausen nine-yard touchdown run with 6:34 remaining in the second period.
But again the PAT kick failed and the Redskins were up 12-7.
On a short Lamar pooch kick that followed, the Mustangs started at their own 34. Keeping the ball on the ground (they threw just nine passes all day) they drove to the Lamar 30.
Once there, they tried a long 47-yard field goal and with the aid of a heavy wind, it had the distance, but hit the bottom of the cross bar and bounced away as Lamar led at halftime.
The Redskins gave themselves a little cushion on the second play of the second half when Andrews broke through a big hole in the middle of his line and sprinted 71 yards for the touchdown. They then added the point-after kick with 11:37 remaining in the third quarter.
“Patrick did a good job,” said Nolen. “Our offensive line did a great job. Those guys did a great job all game long. We ran the ball very well.”
The winner of the Lamar-Katy Taylor game will play the winner of the Pearland-Clear Lake game next week in the Region III semifinals.
Almost.
For three periods Saturday afternoon, the Lamar defense kept Kingwood intact while Redskin junior running back Patrick Andrews, who rushed for 213 yards on 24 carries, ran roughshod through the Mustang defense to build a 19-7 lead.
But in the fourth period, the Redskins had to overcome a successful onside kick and two long Kingwood drives to hold off the Mustangs, 19-14, in a Region III-5A, Division I Bi-District playoff game at blustery Galena Park ISD Stadium.
The Redskins, now 9-1 on the year, head into the Area Round, hosting Katy Taylor at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Delmar Stadium. Taylor reached the second round with a surprising 17-3 victory over Memorial last Friday night in Katy.
Lamar head coach Tom Nolen said prior to the contest his defense had to control the Mustangs’ flexbone offense, which basically consists of a lot of quarterback keepers, fullback handoffs and pitches to the trailing man. They never really did stop them, but did enough to hold them off at the end.
“They like to control the ball and they did that, I thought, but our defense was able to make a few plays when they needed to,” said Nolen.
It got really scary for the chilled Redskin faith in the final 10 minutes, though.
The Redskins were driving for a score and threatening to open up that 12-point lead early in the fourth quarter when they fumbled at the Kingwood five with just under 10 minutes left.
From there, the Mustangs, using an array of short runs and passes, came back with an impressive 18-play, 95-yard drive before scoring on a two-yard touchdown run with just over four minutes to go.
Kingwood then recovered an onside kick and went right back to it at their own 47 with a chance to win the game.
They eventually ran nine plays and reached the Lamar 23 before coming up just inches short on a fourth-and-one play with less than 90 seconds remaining.
Lamar went into victory formation and was able to run out the clock.
“It got a little exciting there,” said Nolen. “They’re a good football team. We feel good to win the game.”
The Mustangs, who bow out at 4-5 overall, began the game with a long drive. They needed 10 plays to travel from their own 29 to the Lamar 10 before missing a 30-yard field goal on a cold, windy day that wasn’t real conducive to kicking.
With Andrews beginning his fantastic day, the Redskins took over at their own 20 and started heading down the field. When Andrews wasn’t carrying it, sophomore quarterback Bram Kohlhausen was showing his mobility, picking up a couple of first downs himself with his feet.
They completed the 11-play drive with Kohlhausen tossing a 14-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Joshua Gordon with 3:12 left in the first period. The score stayed 6-0 when Lamar’s extra-point try sailed left.
Kingwood came right back to take its only lead in the game on a 10-play, 68-yard drive that was completed by T.J. Olonilua’s four-yard touchdown run with 10:41 remaining in the second period. They hit their extra point to go up 7-6.
The Redskins got their offense cranked up again after the ensuing kickoff. With Andrews rushing for 28 yards on five carries and Kohlhausen and Gordon hooking up on a 26-yard reception, Lamar then took the lead for good on a Kohlhausen nine-yard touchdown run with 6:34 remaining in the second period.
But again the PAT kick failed and the Redskins were up 12-7.
On a short Lamar pooch kick that followed, the Mustangs started at their own 34. Keeping the ball on the ground (they threw just nine passes all day) they drove to the Lamar 30.
Once there, they tried a long 47-yard field goal and with the aid of a heavy wind, it had the distance, but hit the bottom of the cross bar and bounced away as Lamar led at halftime.
The Redskins gave themselves a little cushion on the second play of the second half when Andrews broke through a big hole in the middle of his line and sprinted 71 yards for the touchdown. They then added the point-after kick with 11:37 remaining in the third quarter.
“Patrick did a good job,” said Nolen. “Our offensive line did a great job. Those guys did a great job all game long. We ran the ball very well.”
The winner of the Lamar-Katy Taylor game will play the winner of the Pearland-Clear Lake game next week in the Region III semifinals.
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