Print
E-mail
Comment
Opportunistic Crusaders cruise to playoff victory
By MIKE TENNEY
Taking advantage of every mistake that Mayde Creek made, Strake Jesuit rolled to a 27-7 halftime lead Thursday night and never looked back in defeating the Rams, 37-21, in a Region III, Division II Bi-District state playoff football game at Rhodes Stadium in Katy.
Strake Jesuit used a roughing-the-kicker call to keep its first drive going and then a fumble recovery and an interception to set up two more first-half score as they built a 30-point lead at one time before clearing the bench to get everyone on the team in the game.
“We definitely talk every day about being opportunistic,” said Strake Jesuit head coach Ron Counter. “Good teams take advantage of the other team’s mistakes and I thought we did a great job with that. I thought it was the reason we were able to really take control of the game. ”
The home team began the game with a long drive inside the Strake 20, but the Crusader defense tightened up and eventually Mayde Creek missed a 40-yard field goal.
From there, however, the rout was on.
The Crusaders failed to pick up a first down after running three plays the first time they had the ball, but on the punt, the Rams ran into the punter and Strake Jesuit kept the ball on the roughing penalty.
This time, they would not be stopped, moving 76 yards on eight plays with senior fullback Brent Sobiesk (four carries, 63 yards) barreling over a few people for a 28-yard touchdown run.
Alex Wilkins hammered the extra-point kick down the middle, giving Strake Jesuit a 7-0 lead with exactly four minutes remaining in the first period.
The teams then exchanged punts before Mayde Creek ran one play on its third possession and promptly fumbled, giving the Crusaders the ball at the Ram 19.
On the second play of the second quarter, quarterback James Scott delivered a short pass to wide receiver Kellan Bellenger, who turned it into a 12-yard touchdown catch. Wilkins hit the PAT and the Crusaders were in front, 14-0 with 11:46 to go until halftime.
Mayde Creek’s next ownership resulted in Strake Jesuit sophomore Evan Fichter’s interception and he returned the errant pass 33 yards to the Ram 24.
After a penalty pushed them back five yards, Scott threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Beau Grenier making it 20-0 with 6:44 left in the first half.
The score stayed that way when the Crusaders had a bad snap on the extra-point try and the pass for two was picked off in the end zone.
Mayde Creek got back in the game with its own scoring drive to make it 20-7, but the winners opened it back up by notching another touchdown just before halftime.
Taking over at its own 20 with just over two minutes to play in the second quarter, the Crusaders pieced together a nine-play, 80-yard drive aided by two Mayde Creek penalties.
The Rams had a pass interference call and then a personal foul penalty inside the 20 before Bellenger took an end-around pitch two yards for the touchdown that made it 27-7 with just two seconds remaining in the second quarter.
“We played a real good first half,” said Counter. “We were able to move the ball and I thought we played real good defense, other than that one scoring drive they had.”
The Crusaders, now 9-1 overall, didn’t let up in the third quarter.
They took the second half kickoff 80 yards on just five plays to make it 34-7.
First, Sobiesk ran 25 yards and then Scott hooked up with Bellenger on a 32-yard pass to the Ram 19 to highlight the drive.
Then, Scott kept it himself, carrying the ball 18 yards for the touchdown with 9:01 to go in the third quarter.
Midway through the fourth period, Wilkins connected on a 34-yard field goal, making it 37-7 with 6:50 to go in the game.
After that, the Rams scored two touchdowns against the Strake Jesuit reserves to make the final score respectable.
Strake Jesuit used a roughing-the-kicker call to keep its first drive going and then a fumble recovery and an interception to set up two more first-half score as they built a 30-point lead at one time before clearing the bench to get everyone on the team in the game.
“We definitely talk every day about being opportunistic,” said Strake Jesuit head coach Ron Counter. “Good teams take advantage of the other team’s mistakes and I thought we did a great job with that. I thought it was the reason we were able to really take control of the game. ”
The home team began the game with a long drive inside the Strake 20, but the Crusader defense tightened up and eventually Mayde Creek missed a 40-yard field goal.
From there, however, the rout was on.
The Crusaders failed to pick up a first down after running three plays the first time they had the ball, but on the punt, the Rams ran into the punter and Strake Jesuit kept the ball on the roughing penalty.
This time, they would not be stopped, moving 76 yards on eight plays with senior fullback Brent Sobiesk (four carries, 63 yards) barreling over a few people for a 28-yard touchdown run.
Alex Wilkins hammered the extra-point kick down the middle, giving Strake Jesuit a 7-0 lead with exactly four minutes remaining in the first period.
The teams then exchanged punts before Mayde Creek ran one play on its third possession and promptly fumbled, giving the Crusaders the ball at the Ram 19.
On the second play of the second quarter, quarterback James Scott delivered a short pass to wide receiver Kellan Bellenger, who turned it into a 12-yard touchdown catch. Wilkins hit the PAT and the Crusaders were in front, 14-0 with 11:46 to go until halftime.
Mayde Creek’s next ownership resulted in Strake Jesuit sophomore Evan Fichter’s interception and he returned the errant pass 33 yards to the Ram 24.
After a penalty pushed them back five yards, Scott threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Beau Grenier making it 20-0 with 6:44 left in the first half.
The score stayed that way when the Crusaders had a bad snap on the extra-point try and the pass for two was picked off in the end zone.
Mayde Creek got back in the game with its own scoring drive to make it 20-7, but the winners opened it back up by notching another touchdown just before halftime.
Taking over at its own 20 with just over two minutes to play in the second quarter, the Crusaders pieced together a nine-play, 80-yard drive aided by two Mayde Creek penalties.
The Rams had a pass interference call and then a personal foul penalty inside the 20 before Bellenger took an end-around pitch two yards for the touchdown that made it 27-7 with just two seconds remaining in the second quarter.
“We played a real good first half,” said Counter. “We were able to move the ball and I thought we played real good defense, other than that one scoring drive they had.”
The Crusaders, now 9-1 overall, didn’t let up in the third quarter.
They took the second half kickoff 80 yards on just five plays to make it 34-7.
First, Sobiesk ran 25 yards and then Scott hooked up with Bellenger on a 32-yard pass to the Ram 19 to highlight the drive.
Then, Scott kept it himself, carrying the ball 18 yards for the touchdown with 9:01 to go in the third quarter.
Midway through the fourth period, Wilkins connected on a 34-yard field goal, making it 37-7 with 6:50 to go in the game.
After that, the Rams scored two touchdowns against the Strake Jesuit reserves to make the final score respectable.
Submit a Comment
|
You must be logged in to post a comment.
|
Not yet a registered member?
Click here to become one. Comments to stories and articles on the Web site are not edited or pre-approved before appearing online. Readers posting comments are solely responsible for those comments. Comments must be germane to the story to which they apply. Online comments that are libelous, profane or personally attack another site participant can be reported as abuse using the link provided on each comment. Comments reported as abusive will be reviewed and may be removed from view, as will off-topic comments. BE CIVIL. Individuals continually posting abusive comments to the site may have their registrations revoked. |
