Klein Oak vs. Spring

Freshman Gold

October 23, 2008

Medina, defense send Klein Oak Freshman Gold past Spring

 By Russ Goodall

When Klein Oak Freshmen Gold receiver Andrew Medina was open, quarterback Conner McQueen would find him.

Medina hauled in five passes for 116 yards, including two for touchdowns, to help lead the Panthers to a 23-6 win over Spring on Thursday at Klein Oak High School.

Medina hauled in all five of McQueen’s completions, as the Panthers (6-1) shook off last week’s loss to Klein Collins to get back in the win column.

While the McQueen-to-Medina combination was working to perfection on offense, the Panthers’ defense – led by the play of Luis Avelino, Adam List, Tyler Scott, Adam Walker and Kurt Berks – shut down the Lions. Klein Oak Freshmen Gold held Spring to just 101 total yards, and just 21 yards rushing on 28 carries in the victory.

The Panthers took the opening kickoff, but it took a while for the offense to get going after turning it over on downs on their first two possessions of the game.

The second of those set up the Lions with a first down from their own 1. Klein Oak Gold defensive end Luis Avelino wasted little time blowing by the Spring offensive tackle to get into the backfield and bring down the quarterback in the end zone. The safety would give the Panthers the early lead at 2-0 with just 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

The Panthers would get the ball on the free kick in Spring territory, but would not be able to garner a first down and for the third time in the game they would turn the ball over on downs.

After a Spring punt, the two teams would trade fumbles and Klein Oak Gold would take over at the Spring 39.

That is when the offense – led up front by Tanner Choppy, Luke Emerson, Omar Rojas, Samuel Vela and Derrick Downing – came to life.

McQueen took the first down snap and hit a wide open Medina behind the defense for a 39-yard touchdown. The kick would sail wide left, but the Panthers now led 8-0.

The defense stepped up again and forced the Lions to punt. The Panthers’ offense took over on their own 31.

The first five plays of the drive include four runs by Rock Stevens – who finished with 41 yards on 13 carries – and a 19-yard pass from McQueen to Medina. On the sixth play of the drive, Klein Oak Gold would strike again.

McQueen hit Medina again, this time from 38 yards out for the TD. McQueen then added the two points on a run to put the Panthers up 16-0 with 2:59 to play in the first half.

The Spring offense would show signs of life after the ensuing kick off.

The Lions needed just five plays to find the end zone on a 39-yard touchdown pass. The point after kick was blocked, but the Panthers’ lead was cut to 10 points, 16-6.

The second half would open the same way the first half did – a punt by Spring followed by a turnover on downs by Klein Oak Gold.

On the Lions next possession, they began to move the ball again. On fourth down and seven from the Panthers 44, the Lions decided to go for it.

Not a smart decision, as Klein Oak Gold defensive back Ernest Davis picked off the pass and returned it 65 yards for the touchdown. Kurt Kleypas added the extra point to put the Panthers out front 23-6 with 2:16 to play in the third quarter.

From there the Panthers’ defense would clamp down.

On the next possession for the Lions, their offense would begin to march down the field again.

But on a crucial third down and three at the Spring 45, Klein Oak Gold linebacker Jason Cartwright stepped into the hole and laid a lick on the Lions’ running back and stopped him dead in his tracks for just a 1-yard gain, and more importantly a fourth down punt.

Spring would have one last chance to cut into the Klein Oak Gold lead, after an interception gave the Lions the ball at the Panthers 20.

However on fourth and goal from the 15, the Lions would complete a 10-yard pass but turn the ball over on downs. From there, the Panthers ran out the final seconds on the clock to pick up their sixth win of the season.

Klein Oak Freshmen Gold will go for win No. 7 on the season when the Panthers host Spring Westfield at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday at Klein Oak High School.

KLEIN OAK FRESHMEN GOLD 23, SPRING 6

Score by quarters

SPRING         0            6        0          0          --          6

KLEIN OAK    2          14        7          0          --          23

Scoring summary

First quarter

KLEIN OAK: Luis Avelino safety, 0:30

Second quarter

KLEIN OAK: Andrew Medina 39 pass from Conner McQueen (Kick fails), 7:09

KLEIN OAK: Medina 38 pass from McQueen (Rock Stevens run), 2:59

SPRING: No. 25  39 pass from No. 10 (Kick blocked), 1:24

Third quarter

KLEIN OAK: Ernest Davis 65 interception (Kurt Kleypas kick), 2:16

Team statistics

                                    SPRING         OAK

First downs                 8                      11

Rushes-yards               28-21               26-108

Comp-att-int               5-19-1              5-12-1

Passing yards              80                    116

Total yards                  101                  224

Fumbles-lost                1-1                   3-2

Individual statistics

RUSHING: KLEIN OAK – Blake Ashford 16-68, Rock Stevens 13-41, Conner McQueen 3-(-3), Darrius Calicutt 3-0, Luis Avelino 1-2.

PASSING: KLEIN OAK – Conner McQueen 5-10-0-116-2, Zachary Gebhart 0-2-1-0-0.

RECEIVING: KLEIN OAK – Andrew Medina 5-116.