Area Teams Burst into Quarter Finals
 By SuperCentex.com Student Correspondents
 Drew Raymond and Ted Parrish of Vanguard High School
 December 1, 2009


ROUND 3 PLAYOFF SUMMARY - An old coaching proverb suggests close games are won by coaches. The Lorena Leopards must have a gem of a coach because the Leopards keep notching close wins in their Class 3A playoff games. It’s nice also to have a tremendous threat in the backfield in Evan Ward. And a defense stalling the opponent drives at all the right times. Saturday Lorena faced the Coldspring-Oakhurst Trojans in the third round of the playoffs. The Lorena front seven on defense could not find an answer to Coldspring-Oakhurst running back Andrew Leigh who found the end zone three times all on the ground in the first half. Ward, however, was getting his due as well. He waltzed in to the end zone from six yards out in the first quarter, and caught a 13 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Sky Dolezel. Lorena trailed 21-13 at recess, but was poised for a big run in the second half. Coldspring-Oakhurst scored a touchdown and cashed in the two point conversion to lead 29-13 early in the third. Lorena had the sense of urgency to start chipping away at the Coldspring-Oakhurst lead. Lorena drove 70 yards down the gridiron and scored on a six yard Ward touchdown. The score was now 29-19, a manageable deficit, but the defense would have to cooperate, and they did. The Leopard defense stopped the Coldspring-Oakhurst offense on their own territory and Dolezel and company set up shop. Lorena coach Ray Biles dialed up a double-reverse that put the Leopards inside the Trojan 30 yard line. Ward pounded the ball six straight times down to the one yard line where Dolezel pushed in to bring the Leopards within three points of the lead. Again, the Leopard defense held strong and forced a turnover on downs to hand over possession to their offense at the Lorena 37 yard line. The courage displayed on this drive was one for the ages, and one all players will remember. With all momentum pointing in Lorena’s direction, the Leopards used it to their advantage. Lorena moved the ball into Trojan territory when they faced a fourth and eight to potentially decide their season would they not convert. Dolezel found receiver Bradley Krall for the first down and their season stayed alive. Ward just took over the game. He plunged ahead for runs of 11 and 20 yards to decimate the Trojan defense. Ward then found the end zone from two yards out and gave Lorena the lead for good. The 33-29 win was a tremendous symbol of the quality of the team physically and emotionally. The next Lorena opponent is undecided.
           
The Reicher machine led by quarterback Matt Hicks is rolling strong after a 63-7 thrashing of Colleyville-Covenant in the state-semifinals. Hicks scampered for four touchdowns on the ground—in the first half. He also found Matt Pineda on a 17 yard touchdown pass, essentially ending the game at halftime. Reicher scored the first 36 points of the game and never looked back. Reicher will play Bullard Brook Hill in the TAPPS 3A state title game next Saturday at 7 P.M. The Cougars are seeking their third straight state championship and the ninth in school history.
           
Undefeated McGregor put their foot on the peddle early against Aubrey, and never let up en route to a 31-21 victory. The Bulldogs just find a way to win every week. Against their foe last Saturday, no McGregor player rushed or passed for over 100 yards. The McGregor defense had a strong showing in the first half forcing two turnovers and converting them into fourteen points early in the second quarter. After a Dirk Gerhardt field goal, the Bulldogs led 17-7 at the break. Early in the third quarter, the Bulldog defense forced yet another Aubrey turnover, and it didn’t take long for McGregor to make them pay for giving up possession on their own 15 yard line. Bulldog quarterback Keith Reineke ran left and pitched the ball to running back Julian Young who scampered to the end zone to extend the lead 24-7. Aubrey made somewhat of a surge but McGregor tacked on another touchdown to put the game out of reach. McGregor reaches the Class 2A regional final with the win over Aubrey. They will play the winner of Gainesville Callisburg and Caddo Mills.

           
Mart faced an undefeated Tenaha team in the divisional round of the Class 1A playoffs on Saturday. Mart scored an astounding 25 points in the first 28 minutes of the game. Mart achieved only 185 yards of total offense, a shocking number considering how many points they scored. Mart’s defense however, was the key to victory. Mart forced six fumbles, five coming in the first half. The Mart secondary also came up with an interception to help the team to victory. Marty head coach Rusty Nail knew the kind of potent offense he was up against and adjusted his game plan accordingly. Nail sent blitz after blitz to Tenaha’s sophomore quarterback Cobi Steadman, forcing him into many bad decisions. Mart jumped out to a 22-0 lead at halftime, shocking the undefeated Tigers. After the Panthers of Mart tacked on another field goal in the third quarter, they lead 25-0 and seemingly started to play not to lose, rather than to win. The Tigers scored on a huge 40 yard pass play from Steadman to receiver Octavius Griffith. Then following a three-and-out, Tenaha scored on a broken play, which also broke the Panther lead to 25-14. Despite going three-and-out on two of their three possessions in the second half and achieving only one first down, Mart limped to victory and a berth in the Regional playoff for Class 1A.

           
Riesel held a lead late over Joaquin but could not hold on, dropping the game 38-29. The Rams and the Indians were in a second-half shootout that favored Joaquin because Riesel was unable to take the lead, trailing 30-29. Reisel received the ball with 4:13 remaining, but their offense stalled and handed the ball back over to the Rams, who ran out the clock and won the game. Joaquin will face the winner of Goldthwaite and Junction for a berth in the state semifinal game for Class 1A.

AUSTIN AREA FEATURED GAMES:

Lake Travis is heading to the class 4A regional finals again, thanks to a great performance from split end, Conner Floyd. Floyd caught three touchdown passes as Lake Travis crushed Flour Bluff 52-13. The Cavaliers (13-0) advanced to face Alamo Heights (10-3) in San Marcos next Friday. This was the 43rd straight victory for the two-time defending state-champion Cavaliers. Michael Brewer did what he has been doing all season, throwing for 221 yards and three touchdown passes. Lake Travis jumped on them early and was up 22-7 at halftime. Flour Bluff only had 42 yards passing, thanks to pressure from defensive end Jackson Bonnette. Flour Bluff finished the season 11-2 and had their 11 game winning streak snapped thanks to Lake Travis.

Westlake showed what kind of team they have been all season, taking care of business against previously undefeated Harlingen, 42-13. Westlake will face unbeaten San Antonio Clark next week in the regional final. There were many big plays in this game, none more important then a blcoked field goal that was returned for a touchdown by Westlake with 25 seconds left in the first half. That touchdown put Westlake up 25-7 at halftime, which was too much for Harlingen to overcome. Tanner Price led the Chaps offense, passing for 155 yards and two touchdowns and running for another. Westlake forced six Harlingen turnovers, including a 68 yard fumble return to end the scoring for the Chaps. The Cardinals finished the season 12-1after a dissapointing semifinal performance.

Stony Point struggled early for the second week in a row, but was able to pull out a 27-23 come back victory over Tyler Lee. After Tyler Lee missed a field goal with 7 minutes to go in the game, Stony Point marched down the field getting the the Lee 7 yard line in 11 plays. After a timeout, Aaryn Sharp was able to score the winning touchdown. Aaryn Sharp, who shares snaps with last weeks hero, Gus Barrera, threw for 150 yards and a touchdown and running for two more. Sharp only threw one incomplete pass, going 10 for 11. Stony Point was down 16-7 at halftime before storming back in the second half. Tyler Lee finished the season 6-5.

La Grange rolled to a 36-0 victory over Devine in a class 3A regional quarterfinal in San Marcos. La Grange (11-2) jumped out early with a quick 41 yard touchdown pass and continued to pour it on the rest of the night. La Grange rushed for 89 yards in the first quarter and finished with 135 rush yards on the night. Devine ran the ball 27 times for only 41 yards as La Grange's defense played outstanding all night. Devine finished the season 8-4.

Anthony Morgan had an incredible first half throwing for four touchdowns for Carthage as the knocked out Caldwell 56-41. Carthage extended their winning streak to 26 games with the win. Carthage returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and then scored on their next drive to go ahead 14-0 early in the game. Morgan threw for 231 yards in the first half along with his four touchdown passes. Caldwell tried as hard as they could to make a comeback, scoring 27 unanswered points in the second half to make it 42-27 with 11 minutes left in the game. Morgan stopped any hope of a comeback with his fifth touchdown pass of the night. Caldwell finished with a 9-2 record.