|
|
 |
Monday
March 15, 2010 Since 1922 |
Broncos turn tables on El Campo Ricebirds, 17-16
By Dave Rogers
The Baytown Sun Published November 28, 2009 HOUSTON – Gamal Fowler’s 63-yard run through traffic and down the middle of the field didn’t score a touchdown – or even lead to points.
But the big third-down play by the sophomore with a little more than a minute left allowed the Dayton Broncos to run off all but the final 17 seconds.
And then Fowler intercepted a last-gap Hail Mary pass as the game ended and the Broncos celebrated a come-from-behind 17-16 win over El Campo in a Class 4A regional round playoff at Tully Stadium.
The Broncos, now 11-2, will meet the winner of Saturday’s game between Angleton and Brenham in the 4A Division II quarterfinals next weekend at a time and site to be announced.
A 29-yard field goal by freshman Juan Carranco gave Dayton its only lead of the game with 5:56 left to play in the game.
But the big star of the Broncos’ comeback from a 16-7 halftime deficit was a defense that held El Campo to three first downs and 53 total yards in the final half, allowing Dayton to rally in the second half for the first time since it trailed Barbers Hill 7-3 at halftime of a 24-21 win Oct. 16.
The Ricebirds, who finished 9-3, only totaled eight first downs in the game, but they picked up their 201 first-half yards in big chunks, thanks to running back Dvonte Wells, who ran for 144 yards on 10 carries in the first half and only 32 yards on eight second-half carries.
Wells rushed for two first-quarter touchdowns before the Dayton offense and quarterback Andres Herrera warmed up.
Herrera warmed up in the second quarter and finished the night hitting 17 of 30 passes, with no interceptions, for 179 yards.
But Payton Ploch replaced the 5-foot-5 sophomore at quarterback for Dayton’s most important fourth-period plays.
Early in the fourth, Ploch converted a fourth-and-two play from the El Campo 29 by lining up in the wildcat formation to take the shotgun snap and run six yards to the 23.
After Herrera passed 22 yards to Armando Reyes, who was tackled at the 1, Ploch took a snap from under center and sneaked the final yard to get Dayton within 16-14 with 10:29 left in the game.
Ploch re-entered to run the wildcat after Dayton regained the ball on a Wells fumble recovered by Jordan Baxter. He ran for gains of 10 and 17 yards to get a first at the Ricebird 21, and he passed eight yards to Fowler to set up Barranco’s go-ahead field goal.
The Dayton D came up big again with two behind-the-line tackles, including Aaron Jenkins’ sack of El Campo quarterback Waylon Malone, to force a three-and-out.
A Ricebird punt and a blocking-in-the-back penalty against Dayton left the Broncos with 3:45 on the clock and a start at their own 14-yard line.
Two Ploch runs punched it out to the 25, but the Broncos soon faced third-and-nine from the 26. That’s when Ploch threaded the needle to Fowler through a phalanx of bodies for a screen pass.
Fowler did the rest, weaving his way through defenders until breaking free. He was finally forced out of bounds at the El Campo 11-yard line.
Ploch finished the game 3 for 3 passing for 70 yards. Before switching to wildcat, he caught eight passes for 78 yards and then he rushed 12 times for 61 yards in the fourth quarter.
Fowler finished with 10 catches for 113 yards.
Herrera hit only 4 of his first 12 passes and Dayton’s early offense was limited to a couple of bursts by Xavier Frank.
The running back’s 51-yarder got the Broncos’ third drive started, and his 17-yarder to finish the six-play, 80-yard sortie in the end zone.
But El Campo’s Wells had already ripped off runs of 51 and 63 yards on his team’s first two possessions to give the Ricebirds a quick 13-0 lead.
Frank had 89 first-half yards and finished with 122 on 16 carries. His score cut El Campo’s lead to 13-7 with 2:26 left in the first quarter.
The only score of the second quarter came on a 22-yard field goal by El Campo’s Devan Luedecke and came after officials disallowed an end zone interception by Bronco Quincy Williams, ultimately ruling pass interference.
Dayton’s sophomore quarterback warmed up and finished the half with 11 completions in 20 attempts for 119 yards.
But the Broncos came up empty on their only other scoring chance, a 13-play, 49-yard drive that featured two third-and-double digit conversions but died when Herrera was sacked for a 12-yard loss on fourth-and-16.
Malone, El Campo’s quarterback ended the night with four completions in eight attempts for 32 yards. He was 0 for 3 with two interceptions in the second half, the other by Dayton’s Chris Young.
The Baytown Sun Published November 28, 2009 HOUSTON – Gamal Fowler’s 63-yard run through traffic and down the middle of the field didn’t score a touchdown – or even lead to points.
But the big third-down play by the sophomore with a little more than a minute left allowed the Dayton Broncos to run off all but the final 17 seconds.
And then Fowler intercepted a last-gap Hail Mary pass as the game ended and the Broncos celebrated a come-from-behind 17-16 win over El Campo in a Class 4A regional round playoff at Tully Stadium.
The Broncos, now 11-2, will meet the winner of Saturday’s game between Angleton and Brenham in the 4A Division II quarterfinals next weekend at a time and site to be announced.
A 29-yard field goal by freshman Juan Carranco gave Dayton its only lead of the game with 5:56 left to play in the game.
But the big star of the Broncos’ comeback from a 16-7 halftime deficit was a defense that held El Campo to three first downs and 53 total yards in the final half, allowing Dayton to rally in the second half for the first time since it trailed Barbers Hill 7-3 at halftime of a 24-21 win Oct. 16.
The Ricebirds, who finished 9-3, only totaled eight first downs in the game, but they picked up their 201 first-half yards in big chunks, thanks to running back Dvonte Wells, who ran for 144 yards on 10 carries in the first half and only 32 yards on eight second-half carries.
Wells rushed for two first-quarter touchdowns before the Dayton offense and quarterback Andres Herrera warmed up.
Herrera warmed up in the second quarter and finished the night hitting 17 of 30 passes, with no interceptions, for 179 yards.
But Payton Ploch replaced the 5-foot-5 sophomore at quarterback for Dayton’s most important fourth-period plays.
Early in the fourth, Ploch converted a fourth-and-two play from the El Campo 29 by lining up in the wildcat formation to take the shotgun snap and run six yards to the 23.
After Herrera passed 22 yards to Armando Reyes, who was tackled at the 1, Ploch took a snap from under center and sneaked the final yard to get Dayton within 16-14 with 10:29 left in the game.
Ploch re-entered to run the wildcat after Dayton regained the ball on a Wells fumble recovered by Jordan Baxter. He ran for gains of 10 and 17 yards to get a first at the Ricebird 21, and he passed eight yards to Fowler to set up Barranco’s go-ahead field goal.
The Dayton D came up big again with two behind-the-line tackles, including Aaron Jenkins’ sack of El Campo quarterback Waylon Malone, to force a three-and-out.
A Ricebird punt and a blocking-in-the-back penalty against Dayton left the Broncos with 3:45 on the clock and a start at their own 14-yard line.
Two Ploch runs punched it out to the 25, but the Broncos soon faced third-and-nine from the 26. That’s when Ploch threaded the needle to Fowler through a phalanx of bodies for a screen pass.
Fowler did the rest, weaving his way through defenders until breaking free. He was finally forced out of bounds at the El Campo 11-yard line.
Ploch finished the game 3 for 3 passing for 70 yards. Before switching to wildcat, he caught eight passes for 78 yards and then he rushed 12 times for 61 yards in the fourth quarter.
Fowler finished with 10 catches for 113 yards.
Herrera hit only 4 of his first 12 passes and Dayton’s early offense was limited to a couple of bursts by Xavier Frank.
The running back’s 51-yarder got the Broncos’ third drive started, and his 17-yarder to finish the six-play, 80-yard sortie in the end zone.
But El Campo’s Wells had already ripped off runs of 51 and 63 yards on his team’s first two possessions to give the Ricebirds a quick 13-0 lead.
Frank had 89 first-half yards and finished with 122 on 16 carries. His score cut El Campo’s lead to 13-7 with 2:26 left in the first quarter.
The only score of the second quarter came on a 22-yard field goal by El Campo’s Devan Luedecke and came after officials disallowed an end zone interception by Bronco Quincy Williams, ultimately ruling pass interference.
Dayton’s sophomore quarterback warmed up and finished the half with 11 completions in 20 attempts for 119 yards.
But the Broncos came up empty on their only other scoring chance, a 13-play, 49-yard drive that featured two third-and-double digit conversions but died when Herrera was sacked for a 12-yard loss on fourth-and-16.
Malone, El Campo’s quarterback ended the night with four completions in eight attempts for 32 yards. He was 0 for 3 with two interceptions in the second half, the other by Dayton’s Chris Young.