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Klein Oak vs. Klein Forest
Freshman Black
September 25, 2008
KO Panthers Black
Squad battle the Forest Eagles to a 6 6 tie.
By a KO Freshmen Mom
It was a beautiful night for the
Klein Oak Freshman district opener. The weather was cool and calm, the skys
were clear and the bleachers were crowded. The Black-N-Gold took on the Klein
Forest Eagles after an unforeseen vacation, from Hurricane Ike. But here, in the
stadium, there were no remnants of Ike, only the lively and vocal reverberation
of spectators and athletes ready for a battle.
First Quarter:
Klein Oak received the kick-off,
at south end of Oak Stadium; play was fumbled, and then recovered by Klein
Forest near the Panther 24 yard line. The Eagles opening
drive consisted of
eight plays which mostly ended in
 either the Panther Pounce or Panther Take
Down. Tackles during this drive were lead by #63 Jay Andrews, #61 Geo
Reyes, #54 Dwayne Paul, #46 Cougar Babin, #44 Eddie Fatu, and #24 Chris
Haywood. The drive ended in a touchdown for the Eagles, bringing the score
to 0-6. They did however miss their 2-point conversion attempt, in the face of
the powerful Panther defensive line.
Klein Oak received the second
kick-off of the game, where the pigskin bounced out near the 20 yard line. The
ball was spotted at the 30, after a ten yard penalty against the Eagles. Panther
Quarterback, #10 Nick Baratti, made three short passes to #15
Dashone Smith, for short gains. The ball was turned over to the Eagles with
a 30 yard punt by #11 Austin Ondreij.
With one minute and fifty-eight
seconds left in the quarter, Klein Forest attempted to drive down field from
their own 34 yard line. The Eagle ball carrier was tackled at their own 47, by
Ondreij (#11) with an assist by Haywood (#24). After that the
Panthers forced the Eagles to run out of bounds, throw an incompletion, and take
a time out. Even that couldnt divert the Panther Defense! The Eagles jumped on
their next play, giving over five more yards. Then the Panthers pounced on the
Eagles forcing them out of bounds at the 50. That Pounce was led by Andrews
(#62), Reyes (#61), Babin (#46) and Fatu (#44). There was no better way to
follow up that play then with Andrews (#62) sacking the QB. End of the
Quarter score, still remained 0-6.
Second Quarter:
The fight didnt end there! Klein
Oaks next possession, starting at the Panther 33 yard line, consisted of a
twelve play drive that lasted five minutes and fourteen seconds. There were
several beautiful passes and hand-offs from Baratti (#10) to #30 Andrew
Bailey, #35 Tuff McClain, and #22 Alec Chandler. Those plays, plus about
ten rushing yards, opened up the opportunity for Baratti (#10) to score a
touchdown and was met with a roar from the Panther crowd. The score was tied up,
6-6. The KO extra points were denied, but their spirits were not broken!
Klein Forest received the
kick-off, at the south end, near their 4 yard line. Their receiver was ambushed
near the 20, by #40 Goergie Zdravkov and #24 - Chris Haywood. The
remaining two minutes of the half was a Panther Pile On. Those numerous tackles
were led by #88 Dainel Shaul, #63 Jay Andrews, #54 Dwayne Paul, #48
Jeffery Toth, #46 Cougar Babin, #24 Alec Chandler, and #14 Luis Urrea.
Halftime score was tied up at 6-6.
Halftime:
The 2008-09 Freshman Cheerleaders
preformed their halftime show. The new uniforms were quite stylish. The squad
was very energetic, as they had been through the entire game. There were some
nice formations and good uniformity in their performance. Keep up the good work
Girls!
Third Quarter:
Klein Oak Panther #19 Adam
Walker, kicked off to Klein Forest towards the south end of the field. The
Eagle receiver was taken down, by Babin (#46) and #20 Alton Hilliard,
near the 20 yard line. The three minute and thirty-seven second possession was
denied, at their 35 yard line, and turned over to the Panthers. During that
possession the Panthers tackled the Eagle receivers four times, forced the QB to
throw the ball into nothingness, Chandler (#24) knocked a receiver right
out of bounds, and forced the punt.
The Klein Oak possession, near the
Panther 42, was hard fought, lasting five minutes and twenty-three seconds. QB,
Nick Baratti (#10) rushed for 8 yards, starting at the Panther 43. A flag
against the defense gave Oak a first down. There were a couple of short gain
hand-offs from Baratti (#10) to Smith (#15) and Fatu (#44) and a couple
of quick gain passes to Bailey (#30) and Smith. End of Third Quarter
score still remained 6-6.
Fourth Quarter:
Panther Nick Baratti (#10)
started off the quarter with a quick hand-off to Smith (#15) who reversed
it to #3 Deion Hill. Hill was forced out of bounds with a short
2-3 yard gain, but it wasnt enough for the down and the ball was turned over to
the Eagles.
The Eagles opening play, starting
at Eagles 33 yard line, was challenged by the stalk-and-ambush of #44
Eddie Fatu, with assists from #61 Geo Reyes and #4 Khalil Maknojia.
The following three plays were harsh tackles by the Panthers, led by #76
Kevin Wilfong, #63 Jay Andrews, #53 Thomas Martin,#44 - Eddie Fatu, #23
Bradley Koreneck, and #4 Khalil Maknojia. Klein Forest then fumbled the
leather oval; unfortunately they also recovered it, and called a time out.
Fatu (#44) took care of that during the next play when he stopped forward
motion of their receiver with semi-serious prejudice and a pride full of
Panthers. During the last Eagle play the Defensive Line forced a turnover while
maintaining a tight line that was impenetrable.
The Panthers then had possession,
on their 10 yard line, two minutes left in the game, score tied 6-6, and a long
way to go down field. Baratti (#10) passed to Bailey (#30), who
deflected two separate tackles, but lost a yard in the process. Smith (#15)
lateral passed to #19 Adam Walker, for a gain of 9 ½ yards. Fatu
(#44) pressed for the first down. Baratti (#10) was sacked; there was
a false start against Oak, and an incomplete pass. The Panthers did not give up
or give in. They dug down deep and Baratti passed to #35 Tuff
McClain, they play was brought back and once again Oak had a chance to take
the lead. Again from the Panther 20, Baratti passed to McClain for
a completion, but alas no addition to the score.
Final score of our first regular
season game, 6-6. Playing like we just took a 1.5 week hurrication, factual. Not
losing to a bunch of birds, perfect! Good job everyone!
Now, lets focus on taking out a
few lil Bearkats next week. Game is at Klein Memorial Stadium @ 6:30PM. Bring
your Black & Gold! |
