|
Anticipation was in the air at Klein Oak
Field prior to the Kickoff of the Klein Oak JV Gold 2005 Football
season. The Klein Collins Tigers proved ready for the task with a 76 yard
touchdown return to open the game. The two point conversion made the
score 8 – 0 before the crowd in the stands could even blink. As Oak
muffed the ensuing kickoff and Collins recovered, there was fear that the
Gold Team might be in for a long night. Two plays later a Ryan Bump
fumble recovery began a transition into a very solid Panther performance.
The remainder of the first half was a defensive struggle and ended with
Oak facing an 8 – 0 deficit. As they would do all night long, the
Panthers struggled to contain the Collins return game, but never allowed
another return to break free for a score. Steven Dean led the
defensive effort in the first half with a fumble recovery on the Oak 7 yd
line, and an interception return of 60 yds on the last play of the half
that had the potential to go all the way.
The second half continued as a defensive
struggle until Collins broke through with their second big play of the
game, a 27 yd touchdown pass with 4:03 to go in the 3rd
quarter. Later in the quarter, Bump would again add some spark
with his second fumble recovery of the game. Quarterback Aaron
Nicholls would then team up with Chris Starr on a 34 yd bomb
for the Panthers first score of the season. Bruno Kerger would add
the extra point kick to make the score 14 – 7 Collins at the end of the
quarter. The Panthers had one promising drive during the fourth quarter
keyed by a Nicholls to Nick Seltz 25 yd pass play. This
drive would be thwarted as the Collins defense provided extreme pressure
on Nicholls with back to back sacks for big losses. Collins would
add one more scoring drive near the end of the game leaving the final
score Klein Collins – 20, Klein Oak 7. Offensive statistical leaders were
as follows: Lamar Gage (18 hard fought yds rushing on 12 carries),
Nicholls (5/15 passing for 81 yds but several other passes on the
mark were not hauled in by Panther receivers), Anthony Breedlove (2
receptions, 14 yds), Starr (1 reception, 34 yds, TD), and Seltz
(2 receptions, 33 yds). Seltz also had a nice game punting the
ball with a 32 yd/punt average.
The JV Gold defense provided a solid and
sometimes spectacular performance. Collins could not muster a consistent
attack without their high level return game. The following players made
at least one tackle in the Collins backfield: John Eickenberry, Zach
Sebag, Corey Pruitt, Bump, and Josh Hongkham. Defensive statistical
leaders were as follows: Dean (7 tackles, fumble recovery,
interception), Bump (5 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries), Sebag
(5 tackles, blocked pass), Pruitt and Fred Gistarb (5
tackles each), Matt Schwertner (4 tackles), Breedlove (3
tackles), Harris Bliss, Anthony Macalusco, and Hongkham (2
tackles each).
Even in defeat, the Klein Oak JV
Gold’s strong performance after a shaky start to the game shows
resilience and offers encouragement for a successful 2005 season. |
