Bay Area Citizen - Sports
Clear Brook fights hard but no match for Bulldogs
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| Clear Brook defensive end Nathan Dann and the Wolverine defense stops the progress of a La Porte ball carrier. |
By RICHARD TEW
Clear Brook looked to be evenly matched against La Porte in their second-round playoff game but it didn't take long for the Bulldogs to get the upper hand.
Deer Park’s Abshier Stadium played host on Saturday pitting the 7-4 Wolverines against 7-4 La Porte Bulldogs. The Wolverines finished their regular season by besting Clear Lake at their meeting back in October to earn the top district spot as 24-5A champions although both finished with identical 5-1 district marks and are considered co-champions.
With 10:42 remaining in the first quarter, the Wolverines made their first of several turnovers due to fumbles. All told, the Wolverines would have four fumbles, three of which were recovered by the Bulldogs.
The defense had a hard time stopping the La Porte running game. Neither team relied much on their quarterback's arm, but what they lacked in passing yards, both teams made up for in rushing yards. Brook rushed for 332 yards while La Porte followed closely behind with 284. La Porte passed the ball for a total of 118 yards. Brook passed a couple of times but failed to connect.
Brook wasn't without their moments. Running back Ronnie McCloud ran in a short four yard hand-off for the Wolverines first touchdown making it 14-7 La Porte half-way through the second quarter. Averaging 9.33 yards per attempt, McCloud had the highest rushing average out of the Brook runners. Finally on the score board, Brook looked like they might be starting to make a comeback. Quarterback Lane Berry put the ball in the capable hands of Brandon Ellison, one of his “go-to” backs for the second touchdown in just over four minutes, leaving 2:34 in the second half. Endel Castillo contributed a touchdown and for his efforts, accumulated some 95 yards of rushing at the end of four quarters.
La Porte's offensive combination of quarterback Ryan Williams and running back Kendrick Perkins proved to be too much for Brook today. Perkins ran in four touchdowns and racked up 215 total yards of rushing and was the favored back for Williams to turn to for scoring duties. Another running back that helped the Bulldogs topple the Wolverines was Anthony Webb. Webb helped the Bulldogs running game with a first quarter touchdown and helped launch La Porte's opening salvo.
Before the second quarter was over, Brook and La Porte were actually tied 14-14 before the game turned in the Bulldogs favor just before the half. Also contributing to the touchdown tally was Ronnie McCloud, Kendrick Kennard with one a peice. Then in the fourth quarter, Berry himself ran one in from close range.
While at times Brook appeared to be on the verge of turning things around, they couldn't hold La Porte's runners when they really need to. Costly mistakes including fumbles and a blocked extra point didn't help the Wolverines chances for victory either. At the end of four hard-fought quarters, La Porte emerged victorious, with a final score of 49-27.
Wolverines coach Paul Lanier admits, the day belonged to La Porte. After the game, Lanier huddled with his players for a post-game chat. “Today, La Porte was the best football team. In life you give your best effort and sometimes you still fall short.” He went on to tell his players, “You get up the next day and try a little harder.”
Looking forward to next year, Lanier is already preparing to improve his Wolverines odds: “We are going to build on this season and work hard in the weight room to build strength. We will also be working on quickness. Off-season is where you melt your players into one solid unit.”
Deer Park’s Abshier Stadium played host on Saturday pitting the 7-4 Wolverines against 7-4 La Porte Bulldogs. The Wolverines finished their regular season by besting Clear Lake at their meeting back in October to earn the top district spot as 24-5A champions although both finished with identical 5-1 district marks and are considered co-champions.
With 10:42 remaining in the first quarter, the Wolverines made their first of several turnovers due to fumbles. All told, the Wolverines would have four fumbles, three of which were recovered by the Bulldogs.
The defense had a hard time stopping the La Porte running game. Neither team relied much on their quarterback's arm, but what they lacked in passing yards, both teams made up for in rushing yards. Brook rushed for 332 yards while La Porte followed closely behind with 284. La Porte passed the ball for a total of 118 yards. Brook passed a couple of times but failed to connect.
Brook wasn't without their moments. Running back Ronnie McCloud ran in a short four yard hand-off for the Wolverines first touchdown making it 14-7 La Porte half-way through the second quarter. Averaging 9.33 yards per attempt, McCloud had the highest rushing average out of the Brook runners. Finally on the score board, Brook looked like they might be starting to make a comeback. Quarterback Lane Berry put the ball in the capable hands of Brandon Ellison, one of his “go-to” backs for the second touchdown in just over four minutes, leaving 2:34 in the second half. Endel Castillo contributed a touchdown and for his efforts, accumulated some 95 yards of rushing at the end of four quarters.
La Porte's offensive combination of quarterback Ryan Williams and running back Kendrick Perkins proved to be too much for Brook today. Perkins ran in four touchdowns and racked up 215 total yards of rushing and was the favored back for Williams to turn to for scoring duties. Another running back that helped the Bulldogs topple the Wolverines was Anthony Webb. Webb helped the Bulldogs running game with a first quarter touchdown and helped launch La Porte's opening salvo.
Before the second quarter was over, Brook and La Porte were actually tied 14-14 before the game turned in the Bulldogs favor just before the half. Also contributing to the touchdown tally was Ronnie McCloud, Kendrick Kennard with one a peice. Then in the fourth quarter, Berry himself ran one in from close range.
While at times Brook appeared to be on the verge of turning things around, they couldn't hold La Porte's runners when they really need to. Costly mistakes including fumbles and a blocked extra point didn't help the Wolverines chances for victory either. At the end of four hard-fought quarters, La Porte emerged victorious, with a final score of 49-27.
Wolverines coach Paul Lanier admits, the day belonged to La Porte. After the game, Lanier huddled with his players for a post-game chat. “Today, La Porte was the best football team. In life you give your best effort and sometimes you still fall short.” He went on to tell his players, “You get up the next day and try a little harder.”
Looking forward to next year, Lanier is already preparing to improve his Wolverines odds: “We are going to build on this season and work hard in the weight room to build strength. We will also be working on quickness. Off-season is where you melt your players into one solid unit.”
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