Week Three Leander

Battle of Bagdad: war of the trenches
CP wrestles Leander to a hard-fought 18-16 win
Zac Horne powers his way into the end zone for the first Cedar Park touchdown.
Mirror-­‐image first and second halves combined for a surprisingly close two-­‐point win in Cedar Park’s first real “visit” to AC Bible Memorial Stadium Friday night as the Leander Lions gave the Timberwolves all they could want in an 18-­‐16 win that was the second-­‐closest margin ever in this ten-­‐year-­‐old rivalry. Well, they were almost mirror images, at least in the following respects: 1) Cedar Park started each half with a crisp, efficient touchdown drive in which the machinery of the offense hummed, then slowly bogged down and did little else, and 2) in the first and third quarters, the Black Rain defense absolutely shut down the Lion offense, but in the second and fourth quarters they went almost anywhere they wanted to go. Where the halves differed was in Leander’s scoring. The Lions’ second quarter offensive productivity resulted in two long touchdown drives; in the fourth, all their yardage still resulted in zero points. The win moves Cedar Park to 2-­‐1 and drops Leander to 0-­‐3 for the second consecutive year. It was the fourth straight win for Cedar Park in this rivalry, and the sixth in the last eight years. Although perhaps not as fulfilling on one level as the 42-­‐6 whipping administered in 2010, it did accomplish something important: establishing the Timberwolves’ ability to make adjustments to a game plan that wasn’t working as expected, and to come from behind and take a win in a close game. The latter will be a capability perhaps in more demand in 2011 than was required in 2010. On the road to this victory, quarterback Brian Hogan broke the all-­‐time Cedar Park touchdown record, which he had tied at 57 with Quinton Smith with his five scores in the Ellison game. Hogan also passed Korey Washington for third on the list of all-­‐
time Cedar Park rushers. His 209 yards of total offense allowed him to pass Dedrick McKnight for third on the list of career total offense. The big difference-­‐maker in this game was the Leander defense. Most people might have guessed that perhaps the Lions could muster about 170 yards of offense and maybe a touchdown in this game. If not for one long pass, that would have been all the Leander offense got. But most weren’t thinking the Leander defense would succeed in holding the Cedar Park offense to one of its least productive nights in years; specifically, the fewest total yards and first downs in a Cedar Park win since beating Round Rock in the middle of the Former Timberwolves Brad Willard (left) and Spencer
2008 season with 287 yards and 17 first downs. It was the Drango (right) of the Baylor Bears were on the sideline
fewest number of touchdowns and points scored by Cedar Friday night pulling for their former teammates.
Park in a win since beating Stony Point 14-­‐13 in 2006. The Leander D-­‐line, specifically the middle, surged regularly throughout the game, slowing the Timberwolf offense. Still, the T’wolves did what they needed to do for a victory, and as Coach Chris Ross points out, “An ugly win is a win,” and we’ll take ‘em any time. Two huge gambles by Coach Ross paid off late in the game; going for it on fourth and inches at their own fifteen nursing a four-­‐
point lead with four minutes left in the game, and running out of the end zone with the punter on an intentional safety with two minutes left, self-­‐trimming that four point lead to two and downgrading what was required of the Leander offense to win, from needing a touchdown to needing a field goal. In each case, the Timberwolves got what they wanted from their rolling of the dice. They made the first down, and Leander never got that field goal. Deep punter Grayson Cotham saw his first action against Leander. The late game-­‐risking gambles against an arch rival made for a hugely exciting finish, one of the best ever for CP football. It started out like we all thought it would. Cedar Park took the opening kickoff and exploded for a four-­‐play 63-­‐yard touchdown drive, Zac Horne banging it in from the one for the score just a minute and four seconds into the game. The extra point was missed after a high snap, but even at 6-­‐0, many felt that another rout was on. But Cedar Park would be outscored over the rest of the game. Thankfully, not by enough. That wasn’t readily apparent, however. On their own first possession, Leander threw three incomplete passes and punted. That was the end of the “rout”, though. The Lion defense from that point forward played heroically. They threw their own three-­‐and-­‐out and Cedar Park and got the Cedar Park’s Keith Tambe (31), Dylan Lutcher (90), and Adam Hill (43) crush
Leander’s Dylan Bauer (barely seen) for a first-quarter safety.
ball back to their offense on a punt. The Lions moved the ball 22 yards and gained a first down on their next possession, but Tevin Smith fumbled at the end of a nice run and Cedar Park was back in business from their own 46. But again the Lion defense held fast and the T’wolves put up their second consecutive three-­‐and-­‐out, launching a punt that was ruled downed at the one. On the very first play, the Black Rain brought maximum pressure and tackled Leander running back Dylan Bauer in the end zone for a safety and an 8-­‐0 lead. QB Brian Hogan passed
some record milestones in
this game. Here he goes
for some of his 154
rushing yards, as
teammates Garrett Lutz
(34) and Will Becker (55)
help to plow the road. Leander sent the free kick back to Cedar Park, and the Timberwolves appeared to find the right gear again on offense, moving downfield thirty yards on seven plays and looking like they were about to go up 15-­‐0 before throwing an interception at the fifteen. The Lions then drove eighteen yards on four plays, but the final run ended in another fumble, this one by QB Andres Barrera. The T’wolves covered it and set up the offense at the 35. Once again the Leander defense found the answer and stopped CP cold on just two yards on six plays a pair of false start penalties bogging Hogan had 36 carries on the night, accounting for all but 98 of the Timberwolves’
the T’wolves down after having total offensive output. Here Will Becker (55) sends a prospective Lion tackler flying.
gained one first down. The quarter had changed during this possession, and CP punted the ball back to Leander. At this point, Leander had a mere 39 yards of offense and two first downs. But the second quarter would prove the busiest on the scoreboard this night; accounting for 17 of the game’s total 29 points. Starting from their own eleven, this next possession started off well for the CP defense, as they stuffed Bauer for another loss, this one three yards. On second and thirteen from the eight, Barrera found Tevin Smith alone in the middle of the field at about the thirty, and hit him with a dart. Smith turned straight downfield and busted through three CP defenders on a 92-­‐yard touchdown play that was the longest touchdown pass ever against Cedar Park. Facing an 8-­‐6 deficit, Leander at first went for two. The first play was stopped, but a penalty on Cedar Park restarted the untimed down at the one-­‐and-­‐a-­‐half. That play resulted in a ten-­‐yard holding penalty on Leander, moving the ball out of feasible range for a two-­‐point conversion attempt, and the Lions kicked a 27-­‐yard extra point to pull within one at 8-­‐7 with 10:52 left in the half. After the kickoff the T’wolves started from their own thirty, and seemed to have solved the Leander defensive surge for the time being. They drive sixty yards on ten plays before a pass to Nathan Harwell at the goal line was broken up, resulting in a fourth down at the ten. From there, Austin Randa knocked through a 27-­‐yard field goal and an 11-­‐7 lead with 7:06 left in the half. But Leander, aided by a drive-­‐sustaining pass interference penalty, knifed 66 yards in six plays for another touchdown, this one coking on a four-­‐yard run by Barrera, giving Leander its first lead over Cedar Park since the final gun of the 2007 game, a 34-­‐23 Lion win. Cedar Park had not only won the next three games, but had never trailed in any of them. The kick made the score 14-­‐11 Lions with 5:03 left in the half. The two teams traded punts and negative-­‐yardage three-­‐and-­‐outs before CP moved ten yards on three plays with the clock running out on them at their own 35. The mirror was cleaned at halftime and the second half began with Leander going nowhere after the kickoff, five yards and a punt on another three-­‐and-­‐out. Cedar Park came out of the second-­‐half gate just like they did the first: with a sharp-­‐looking long touchdown drive, reclaiming the lead after grinding out 89 yards on eleven plays, Hogan scoring on a one-­‐yard run with only 3:35 left in the third quarter. The Timberwolves had taken nearly all of the period on this one drive, and recaptured the lead with Randa’s kick 18-­‐14. The Black Rain smote the Leander O after the kickoff, throwing them backwards six yards on three plays and forcing another punt. And the offense sprung back to life, with a nice 37-­‐yard spurt in six plays. But they went for it on fourth down in no-­‐man’s-­‐land at the Leander 36 and couldn’t move the chains. After this fourth-­‐down play, the Cedar Park offense would only move sixteen more yards the rest of the game. Leander wasn’t done moving, though. The Lions lunged eighteen yards to the to the CP 46 before another fumble -­‐ this one by Bauer -­‐ was covered by the Black Rain. The CP offense got bogged down again, this time on a four-­‐yard three-­‐and-­‐out, punting the ball back to Leander at its own 29. On the first play, Zach Espinoza picked off Barrera over the middle and Cedar Park had the ball right back, this time from their own 48. But a couple minutes later the sixth three-­‐and-­‐out was inflicted on the T’wolves by the Leander defense, and the Cedar Park punted Leander down to its own five. This potential scoring pass to Nathan Harwell was broken up
by Leander’s Mikal Wilson. Cedar Park settled for a field goal
on the next play.
On a very scary possession, Leander moved 55 yards on eight clock-­‐chewing plays, but ultimately the Black Rain held and forced a punt from the CP forty with about five minutes left in the game. That punt was downed at the three and the T’wolves were in a precarious position. They were able to run seven plays’ worth of time off the clock, but due to penalties and losses, only gained seven total yards. It was during this possession that both of Coach Ross’ strategic gambles occurred. First, the fourth-­‐and-­‐inches at the t thirteen. Hogan ran right up the middle for about three yards to move the chains and keep the Lions from being an anvil’s throw away from a touchdown and a late lead. Subsequently, penalties and losses moved the T’wolves backward to the ten, from where they faced a fourth-­‐
and-­‐long. They lined up in punting formation and at the snap, we saw Ross’ second big gamble, not kicking that ball away but having the punter Cotham run around in the end zone for as long as he could ticking the time down. Finally pressured, he stepped over the end line to concede the safety with just forty seconds left in the game. That move set up the scenario where Leander now needed only to get into field goal position for the win rather than go all the way to the goal line needing a touchdown. But Ross’ gamble paid off again. After the free kick, Leander started from the fifty, needing maybe thirty yards for a Sophomore fullback Thomas Middleton ran well. Here he takes off on a 19-yard
dash in the second quarter. CP center Davis Geerts (74) helped create the hole.
decent chance at a game-­‐winning kick. They only got five in four plays as the Black Rain made a final defensive statement to win this game. Next up is an Austin High team that has given up 54, 50, and 31 points in its three games to date; all losses. But the Maroons will remember their 56-­‐0 spanking at the hands of Cedar Park last year, and a wideout some tout as the best in the nation may choose to play against the Timberwolves this season. This game could be another nail-­‐biter. It is Homecoming, and the crowd will be large. Bring your best pair of vocal chords. Score by Quarters
Cedar Park
Leander
1st
8
0
2nd
3
14
3rd
7
0
4th
0
2
Final
18
16
Scoring Summary
Q.
1
1
2
2
2
3
4
Time
10:56
6:07
10:52
7:06
5:03
3:35
:40
CP
6
8
LHS
7
11
14
18
16
How
Horne 1 run (kick missed)
Safety
Barrera 92 pass to T. Smith (kick)
Randa 27 FG
Berrara 4 run (kick)
Hogan 1 run (kick)
Safety, punter out of end zone
First Downs
Rushing
Attempts
Rushing Yards
Yards/Carry
Passing
Attempts
Completions
INT.
Passing Yards
Comp. Pctg.
Yards/Attempt
TOTAL OFFENSE
Return Yds.
Punt
Kickoff
Fumble
Interceptions
Total Return Yds.
Punts
Number
Average
Penalties
No.
Total Penalty Yds.
Average
Fumbles
Lost
Cedar Park
Leander
19
10
60
252
4.20
25
102
4.08
18
7
1
55
38.89
3.06
19
7
1
161
36.84
8.47
307
263
0
51
0
0
51
2
80
0
2
84
6
34.33
4
38.8
8
64
8.0
1
0
5
45
9.0
4
2
Individual Stats Rushing Cedar Park –Hogan 36-­‐154 (TD); Middleton 8-­‐41; Horne 11-­‐27 (TD); Bernardo 2-­‐27; Harwell 2-­‐4; Fry 1-­‐(-­‐1) Leander – Barrera 15-­‐51 (TD); Smith 2-­‐34; Bauer 8-­‐17 Passing Cedar Park –Hogan 7-­‐17-­‐1, 55; Curl 0-­‐1-­‐0 Leander – Barrera 7-­‐19-­‐1, 161 (TD) Receiving Cedar Park – Bernardo 2-­‐23; Shaw-­‐Bell 1-­‐15; Harwell 2-­‐9; Fry 1-­‐4; Curl 1-­‐4 Leander – Smith 5-­‐134 (TD); Brown 1-­‐23; Tilley 1-­‐4 Drive Chart