 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Great Season Ends With a Tough Loss --By Brett Autry The Coleman Bluecats played well, and so did the Canadian Wildcats, with one team winning the first half, and the other winning the second. Unfortunately, the winner of the second half usually wins the whole shebang, and that’s what happened to Coleman. Canadian won the second half and with it, the Region championship, ending Coleman’ s season at 10-3. Both defenses played well, with neither team gaining 100 yards on the ground. The airways were different, though. Canadian threw the ball a lot, and completed a lot, and that proved to be the difference in the game. The first quarter was scoreless, as neither team could mount a drive. Then, in the second quarter, Glen Edington broke off a couple of big runs, and set up a field goal try. Oscar Villeda’s 40-yard field goal was good, and Coleman led 3-0 at the 11:44 mark. Later in the period, Colton Buzzard hit Dalton DeLeon on a 31-yard play action pass for the second score of the evening. “True Toe” Villeda’s PAT was good for a 10-0 lead. Then, the Wildcat offense, who had been held in check by the tough Bluecat defense, started to move the ball. Canadian mounted a drive, and with little time left in the half drove down the field. A pass into the end zone with : 22 left was dropped, and Coleman let out a sigh of relief. But it was not to be. Coleman Bentley then found Danny Reyes on a 22-yard pass for a touchdown with :09 left in the half, to cut Coleman lead to 10-7 and gain the all- important momentum. The change in momentum proved to be prophetic, as Canadian took the second half opening kickoff and drove 62 yards in 12 plays, scoring on an 8-yard run by Roger Guerrero, talking the lead for good at 14-10. On their ensuing possession, Coleman mounted a drive of their own, but an interception ended their hopes at the Canadian 27. The turning point in the game came deep into the fourth quarter, with Coleman still trailing 14-10. Coleman went for it on fourth down, and failed, giving Canadian the ball at their own 26. The short field proved to be just that, and the Wildcats scored six plays later to make the score 21-10 with just under three minutes to play. The Bluecats never quit, though. They put together a drive that culminated in a 2-yard scoring run by Colton Buzzard. A pass from Buzzard to Stanley Cole for the 2-point conversion was good, and Coleman trailed by just 3 with 30 seconds left in the game. The Bluecats tried a onside kick, but couldn’t recover, and the game was history. The Bluecats held the Wildcats to just 98 yards rushing on 34 attempts, a 2.88 yard average per carry. But, they gave up 201 yards in the air, on 23 completions, an 8.7 yard per catch average. The offense sputtered through much of the game, gaining just 99 yards on the ground on 35 attempts, a 2.82 yard per carry average. Through the air, Coleman gained 105 yards on eight completions, for a 13.1 yard per catch average. Sounds like we should’ve followed Canadian’s lead, and passed more. Anyway, the Bluecats had another outstanding season, ending up as Area Champs for the fourth year in a row. That is nothing to sneeze at. I know that Canadian feels fortunate to win the game, and they know that we were every bit as good as they were, just not on this particular Saturday. Coach Buzzard said, “There’s no shame losing the way we did. These guys kept fighting, and I’m very proud of them. This season has been a testament to these kids, this community and the way they approach things.” Well said, coach Buzzard, well said. STATS Coleman Canadian First Downs 11 18 Rushing 99 98 Passing 105 201 Att-Com-Int 8-21-1 23-34-1 Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-0 Penalties 2-12 3-24 |
