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| WEEK 8 FOOTBALL: Silsbee 56, Orangefield 20 |
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Posted: Friday, November 13, 2009 2:00 pm
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By GERRY L. DICKERT
The Bee
The Silsbee Tigers did it again but this time, no one was holding their breath as the final seconds ticked away in Orangefield.
For the past five weeks, the Tigers have made a habit of winning or losing games in the final moments of football games.
This time, though, Silsbee dominated Orangefield for a 56-20 District 21-3A win at F.L. McClain Stadium this past Friday night.
The Tigers, still undefeated at 3-0 in district and 4-4 overall this season, didn’t take long to give the Bobcats a taste of what they would be chewing on all night.
On the first Silsbee possession and with the first snap of the ball, Chris Barnes sprinted 72 yards for a touchdown. A botched extra point attempt even turned sweet for the Tigers as holder Jacob McDonald scooped up the errant ball and heaved it into the end zone where kicker Caleb Henry was waiting for the two-point conversion.
With just six seconds gone off the game clock, the Tigers led 8-0.
The Bobcats took their first possession after a big kickoff return by Derrick Evans that went from the 5 yard line to the 49. Orangefield chipped away at the Silsbee defense, gaining a first down to the Silsbee 43. But on the next three plays, the Bobcats were swarmed under by the Silsbee defense, including one tackle by Kendall Harmon for a four-yard loss. Orangefield was forced to punt from the Silsbee 43 but only managed a kick of 15 yards as the Tigers special teams unit put pressure on the punter.
Silsbee quarterback Jeremy Johnson took the first carry of the drive 11 yards for a first down and then a blocking in the back penalty against the Tigers negated a good run by Barnes. Standing at their own 28 yard line, Johnson heaved a pass into the air and Orangefield’s Josh Shores came up with it at the 35, taking the stolen possession the distance for the touchdown with 7:32 left in the first quarter. The extra-point run by quarterback Corey Huckabay was stopped short by Caleb Henry’s tackle and the Tigers held on to a narrow 8-6 advantage.
Orangefield’s defense, bolstered by the interception on Silsbee’s last possession, did the same thing again when Johnson tried to hit receiver Prentice Lane. Derrick Evans picked off the pass at the Orangefield 23.
From there, it looked like Orangefield might take the advantage, but the Tigers defense defined the tit-for-tat theory with an interception of their own.
Facing third-and-12 from their own 21, Huckabay attempted to throw a pass to Kyle Fontenot. Silsbee’s Jarrian Rhone stepped in and grabbed the pass for Silsbee, returning it from the Bobcats 31 for a touchdown.
With 5:27 left in the first quarter, and after Henry’s successful PAT kick, Silsbee held a 15-6 lead.
The Tigers defense held Orangefield to just six yards on the Bobcats’ next possession, forcing a punt. On the first play of the possession for the Tigers, Johnson completed a pass to Darian Turk to about the Orangefield 35, where the ball was fumbled and the Bobcats’ recovered.
Again it was left up to the Tigers defense to pick up the pieces as they limited Orangefield to only one yard in three tries on the Bobcats’ next offensive possession.
This time, the special teams defense, which had haunted the punter all night, backed off and Rahkeem Bolton was allowed to field the ball at the Silsbee 34.
It wasn’t long before the senior punt returner had split the Orangefield defense and found the end zone for another Silsbee touchdown. Henry’s PAT kick was good and Silsbee led 22-6.
The rout was on.
In spite of Orangefield’s misdirection-style offense coming out of the backfield, the Silsbee defense owned the Bobcats’ defense.
On the next possession, Evan Guidry ran twice for six yards, but Huckabay was stopped for a three-yard loss as the OF offensive line simply collapsed under the push of the Tigers defense.
After the Bobcats punt, the Tigers put together their first honest-to-goodness offensive drive of the night, moving 53 yards in eight plays to take a 29-6 lead over Orangefield with 9:09 left in the first half.
The drive started out with an 11-yard loss as the snap flew past Johnson, who pounced on the ball to save the possession.
Johnson went to the air with a 14-yard completion to Turk and a 22-yard connection with Lane and then ran the ball himself for another 19 yards to the OF 7 yard line.
After carries by Bolton and Barnes for two yards each, and an incomplete pass into the end zone by Johnson, the senior quarterback did it himself as he sprinted to the right side for the final three yards and the score.
With Henry’s kick, the Tigers were up 29-6.
Orangefield put together some strong running to open their next possession, moving from the Bobcat 35 to the 48, where they had a first-and-10. That’s when Huckabay completed one of his best passes of the night when Quinton Evans came down with a 27-yard reception, stopped by Silsbee’s Lane on the tackle.
Damon Burton reeled off a 5-yard run, then Huckabay carried to the 6 with an 11-yard carry.
Evan Guidry did the rest with a 6-yard run for the touchdown with 6:06 left in the first half, closing the gap to 29-13 when Huckabay hit the extra-point kick.
The Tigers showed some offensive life in its next possession with Johnson gaining 13 and 10 yards on back-to-back carries.
But another Johnson fumble, recovered by Zach Rachal, pushed the Tigers back 10 yards on third down and they were forced to punt.
Almost as if they were returning the favor, Orangefield ran two plays and then fumbled, giving Silsbee possession at the Bobcats 26 when Bolton fell on the ball for the Tigers.
Two incomplete passes later, the Tigers were looking at third-and-10 from the 26. That’s when Johnson took off on one of the most spectacular runs of the season.
He battled his way through the interior defensive line of the Bobcats, got into the secondary where he physically carried defenders on his back. About three yards before falling to his knees, and carrying more than a few OF defenders, Johnson lunged forward, extended both arms out and punched the ball over the goal line for the score.
With 21 seconds left in the half and after Henry’s PAT kick, the Tigers led 36-13.
Orangefield opened the second half by taking the kickoff at the 1 yard line and returning it to the 9. After a facemask penalty against Silsbee, the Bobcats took possession at the OF 24. The first run from scrimmage was for no gain and the second snap of the ball squirted loose and Todd McKee of Silsbee found the loose ball for the Tigers.
With 11:07 remaining in the third quarter, Johnson took the snap and six seconds later was 22 yards downfield and in the end zone, untouched by the Bobcats’ defense. Henry’s kick was good and Silsbee was up 43-13.
Orangefield received the next kickoff at the goal line and took the first snap at the Bobcats 22. Seventeen plays later, and facing fourth down from the Silsbee 1 yard line, the Tigers defense was faced with one of the biggest plays of the game.
Evan Guidry took the ball and plowed forward, trying to get just three feet of real estate to get into the end zone. But the Tigers defense wasn’t having it, stopping the OF back for no gain.
Adding insult to injury, it would take just nine plays for the Tigers to go 99 yards for another score.
Between Johnson and Barnes reeling off the yards on the ground, it was Kelson McDaniel’s turn to shine as a receiver, catching two passes in the drive, the first for 16 yards and the second for 33.
The 33-yard reception was immaculate as Johnson’s pass laid right into McDaniel’s hands, hitting him in full stride as he sprinted into the end zone. With 10:35 left in the fourth quarter, the Tigers were up 49-13.
The Bobcats lost possession again on their third lost fumble, recovered by Leroy Simmons with 9:21 left in the game.
Barnes and Bolton took turns, literally, as one would carry the ball, and then the other, as they marched from the Silsbee 34-yard line to the end zone in seven plays. Barnes finished off the push with a 13-yard run to give Silsbee a 56-13 advantage. But it was Bolton’s run just before that which will live on in highlight reels. The senior running back carried a half-dozen Orangefield defenders, moving them all forward as they attempted to stop Bolton. Before it was over, Bolton had gained 12 yards and the respect of every defender on the field.
The Bobcats’ final drive of the game resulted in their only other score as they moved from the OF 26 to the Silsbee 3 with 1:30 left in the game. A big part of that acreage was picked up on a 33-yard run by Derrick Evans midway through the drive. But it was Evan Guidry who rolled in from the 3 and the PAT kick by Huckabay made the final margin 56-20.
Johnson finished with 5-of-10 passing for 87 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. His top receivers were McDaniel, who had two catches for 46 yards and a touchdown, and Turk, who had two for 23 yards.
Barnes was the top running back, collecting 178 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns, while Johnson had 12 carries for 63 yards and three touchdowns.
A handful of Orangefield running backs shared the rushing duties for the Bobcats with Huckabay running 18 times for 43 yards and Derrick Evans six times for 39 yards. Evan Guidry had 14 carries for 34 yards and two touchdowns.
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