Cleveland Advocate - Sports
Falcons fly over the Longhorns in their final game of district
 |
| Longhorn running back Justin Mullins gets tackled before reaching the first down mark last Friday as the Longhorns played their last game. |
By WAYNE RHYMES
The Tarkington Longhorns, on a five-game losing streak, closed out their football season at home against the Huffman Falcons last Friday by losing 20-0.
The Longhorns had everything going their way because of the support of the many fans who always come out in support of the team and on this night in particular with the crowning of homecoming queen.
The loss on Friday was hard for the Longhorns seniors who played in their last high school football game.
The Longhorns began the game on offense and immediately threw an interception thrown from quarterback Travis Hobbs that let the Falcons gain some confidence.
The Longhorn defense was strong as they stopped the Falcons from scoring because of the individual efforts of Justin Lawrence and Kirtus Stevenson who joined together for a huge stop on fourth down and four at the Longhorns’ 8-yard line.
The Longhorns regained possession of the ball and tried to establish their run. Their efforts resulted in a turnover on the fourth down.
The Falcons immediately gained momentum by completing a pass to get the Longhorns’ 10-yard line. Once again, the same scenario occurred as the Longhorns’ defense rammed the Falcons, causing a fumble and the Longhorns recovering it at their own one-yard line.
The momentum swung back toward the Longhorns as they began to show positive gains, getting first downs to close the first quarter. The Longhorn offense punted it away as the Falcons got possession.
The Longhorn defense came on the field and were thrown off guard as the Falcons quarterback dropped back and launched the ball downfield to a receiver who caught it for a 44-yard touchdown at the six-minute mark before halftime.
The Longhorns tried to get something started offensively but Hobbs threw another interception that resulted in another Falcon touchdown. The Falcons attempted another field goal but this time the Longhorns blocked it and it was picked up by Chris Cavarretta, who turned on the burners and took it the distance to the Falcon endzone. The Longhorn crowd was screaming and shouting, but Tarkington Head Football Coach Walter Fortune noticed what most others hadn’t — penalties called on the play.
The score did not count because there was a flag on the play for illegal blocking against the Longhorns that ultimately resulted in a call of unsportsmanlike-like conduct.
The Longhorns received the ball with the score being 13-0. The Longhorns ran out of time to score before halftime.
As the third quarter began, the Longhorn defense struggled with the passing of the Falcons. This led to a missed field goal, keeping the score 13-0.
The Longhorns continued to struggle offensively for the remainder of the game. Andrew Keniry, Longhorn leading rushing leader of the year, was hurt but continued to play.
“I laid it all on the field since it was my last game. We can’t do much because they have a very good defense,” Keniry said after the game.
As the night wore on, the crowd continued to cheer but grew subdued. The cheerleaders kept encouraging the team by shouting, “Come on Horns!”
With 3:05 left in the game, Hobbs threw another interception but this led the Falcons offense to their last score of the game, which was an 84-yard touchdown run making it 20-0. The Longhorns got one more chance to score but failed because of another turnover, this time a fumble.
As the clock ran out, it was the final closing chapter for the Longhorns seniors, who overcame so much adversity and found a modest amount of success.
“Winning two games is a lot better than going 0-10. I hope that the Longhorn program can continue with more wins next year,” Keniry said.
Another senior Diego Melgar, with tears in his eyes, said, “I am not totally happy with this season. I know we won two games but it wasn’t enough for the playoffs.” Melgar went on to say, “I hope that our senior class showed the upcoming players that they need more leadership and discipline to be successful,” Melgar said.
The Longhorns had everything going their way because of the support of the many fans who always come out in support of the team and on this night in particular with the crowning of homecoming queen.
The loss on Friday was hard for the Longhorns seniors who played in their last high school football game.
The Longhorns began the game on offense and immediately threw an interception thrown from quarterback Travis Hobbs that let the Falcons gain some confidence.
The Longhorn defense was strong as they stopped the Falcons from scoring because of the individual efforts of Justin Lawrence and Kirtus Stevenson who joined together for a huge stop on fourth down and four at the Longhorns’ 8-yard line.
The Longhorns regained possession of the ball and tried to establish their run. Their efforts resulted in a turnover on the fourth down.
The Falcons immediately gained momentum by completing a pass to get the Longhorns’ 10-yard line. Once again, the same scenario occurred as the Longhorns’ defense rammed the Falcons, causing a fumble and the Longhorns recovering it at their own one-yard line.
The momentum swung back toward the Longhorns as they began to show positive gains, getting first downs to close the first quarter. The Longhorn offense punted it away as the Falcons got possession.
The Longhorn defense came on the field and were thrown off guard as the Falcons quarterback dropped back and launched the ball downfield to a receiver who caught it for a 44-yard touchdown at the six-minute mark before halftime.
The Longhorns tried to get something started offensively but Hobbs threw another interception that resulted in another Falcon touchdown. The Falcons attempted another field goal but this time the Longhorns blocked it and it was picked up by Chris Cavarretta, who turned on the burners and took it the distance to the Falcon endzone. The Longhorn crowd was screaming and shouting, but Tarkington Head Football Coach Walter Fortune noticed what most others hadn’t — penalties called on the play.
The score did not count because there was a flag on the play for illegal blocking against the Longhorns that ultimately resulted in a call of unsportsmanlike-like conduct.
The Longhorns received the ball with the score being 13-0. The Longhorns ran out of time to score before halftime.
As the third quarter began, the Longhorn defense struggled with the passing of the Falcons. This led to a missed field goal, keeping the score 13-0.
The Longhorns continued to struggle offensively for the remainder of the game. Andrew Keniry, Longhorn leading rushing leader of the year, was hurt but continued to play.
“I laid it all on the field since it was my last game. We can’t do much because they have a very good defense,” Keniry said after the game.
As the night wore on, the crowd continued to cheer but grew subdued. The cheerleaders kept encouraging the team by shouting, “Come on Horns!”
With 3:05 left in the game, Hobbs threw another interception but this led the Falcons offense to their last score of the game, which was an 84-yard touchdown run making it 20-0. The Longhorns got one more chance to score but failed because of another turnover, this time a fumble.
As the clock ran out, it was the final closing chapter for the Longhorns seniors, who overcame so much adversity and found a modest amount of success.
“Winning two games is a lot better than going 0-10. I hope that the Longhorn program can continue with more wins next year,” Keniry said.
Another senior Diego Melgar, with tears in his eyes, said, “I am not totally happy with this season. I know we won two games but it wasn’t enough for the playoffs.” Melgar went on to say, “I hope that our senior class showed the upcoming players that they need more leadership and discipline to be successful,” Melgar said.
Copyright © 2009 - Houston Community Newspapers Online