|
Klein Oak vs. Klein Forest
Varsity
September 26, 2008
Klein Oak Defense comes up huge in
big win over the Klein Forest Eagles.
KO forces 8 turnovers and
scores 21 defensive points as they route the Eagles 34 to 6
Dealing with hurricanes,
power outages, gas shortages and miles of tree debris, not to mention the
looming economic situation; a much needed diversion was certainly in order… for
all of us… Nothing like a little high school FOOTBALL to answer that bell.
 Speaking of answering the
bell, that is exactly what our Klein Oak Panthers did Friday night as they
absolutely blasted the cross town rival Klein Forest Eagles 34 to 6 in the
district opener for both squads. Defense was the key to this game as they forced
the Eagles into 4 interceptions with 3 of them returned for TDs and 4 fumble
recoveries that also led to scores. Two of the picks we’re by Sr. nose guard
Cody Davis and the other by Jr. safety Luke Muncie. Not too sure if
in the history of football you will find a nose guard picking two passes and
scoring… Pretty darn rare. The Panther D held the highly touted Forest RB to
just 28 yards on 17 carries and gave up just 145 yards on the ground and just 64
through the air. Overall an outstanding job by the entire defense including the
coaching staff that made some gutsy position changes from the previous game and
challenged the team to attack.
1st Half:
Sr. Captains Clint Naron,
Jordan Najvar, Ossam Cook, Brian Corcoran and Davis met with the Forest
captains for the coin toss.
 Forest won and elected to take the ball first. As it
turned out that was clearly a decision they might change if they new what was
about to happen. Oak’s Michael Schroble kicked off and a combination
tackle by Antwoine Stewart and Mike Anderson stopped the Forest
ball carrier at the 18 yard line. The kick off team must have fed off the
defense as they continually harassed the Forest returnees all evening long and
did an excellent job of keeping the ball deep in Forest territory. KF opened up
with a run that went for about 3 yards as Sr. middle linebacker Kevin
Williams made the first of his 13 tackles. Forest then tried the air and
the pass fell incomplete, With 3rd and long and the Eagles deep in
their own territory, the Panthers appeared to be in good position but the Forest
QB completed a 38 yard pass down the right sideline and gave them another set of
downs. After another nice tackle by Williams, the Forest ball carrier
finally slipped thru the defense for a decent 12 yard gain after being driven
out of bounce by Sr. Safety Craig Palmer. With a little bit of momentum,
Forest went to their money man #8 on 1st down and he was greeted by
Sr. strong side DE Brian Corcoran who spun the ball carrier into the
ground for a 4 yard loss. Then it was our other defensive ends turn, as super
Soph Nathan Hughes stopped the ball carrier for a short 3 yard gain.
Feeling a bit frustrated the Forest coaching staff went to the air which is just
what Jr. Safety Luke Muncie was hoping for. He stepped in front of KF
receiver and picked it off and ran down the west side of the field for a super
68 yard touchdown. That opened up the scoring and Oak led 7 – 0 as the extra
point was good by Jr Matt Peterson.
Oak kicked off and back up
QB and kick off hit man Jr. Brandon McClain made his presence known as he
blasted the Forest returner leaving him down on the turf at the 20 yard line.
That brought our defense back on the field which was a common theme, especially
in the 1st quarter. Just a quick side note, there were 28 plays in 1st
qtr (not including kicks) and the defense was on the field for 23 of them. Those
boys we’re not only fighting hard but breathing hard all the same. Forest was
able to move the ball as Oak’s defense did bend a bit but did not break. Forest
put together a decent 28 yard 10 play drive but ended with Jr. linebacker
Demetrich Gilliam jumping on a lost ball. Nice defensive plays on the drive
by Jr. outside linebacker Stewart who literally picked up the Forest
tailback and stuck him in the ground. Corcoran also got his second of 13
tackles on the evening with another tackle in the backfield for a 6 yard loss. A
great heads up play by Gilliam as there we’re a number of folks who could
have grabbed that ball but he clearly wanted it more than them.
FINALLY a much needed rest
for the D and a chance for our explosive offensive to get a crack at em… Did not
take long as Sr. tailback Ossam Cook took the 3rd play from
scrimmage all the way to the house for a 54 touchdown. The offensive line opened
a huge hole as Sr. guard Clint Naron absolutely pancaked the Forest
linebacker and Sr. center Brad Benditiz blocked what appeared to be two
would-be tacklers. That quickly gave us a two touchdown lead 14 – 0.
 The good news was we scored,
the bad news was it took just 3 plays and we were back on defense. Apparently we
had enough rest as we forced the Eagles into a 3 and out as Sr. linebacker
Blake Washington squashed the drive with a tackle 10 yards deep in the
backfield. A forest punt and Oak’s offense took over at the Eagle 38 yard line.
Two more plays and that ended the quarter (finally).. Sr. TE Jordan Najvar
got his first catch of the evening, a nice 10 yard strike from Jr. QB Andy
Wilson that moved the chains for a Panther 1st down. This drive
would eventually fizzle out and we we’re forced to punt. The Schroble
punt gave the ball back to the Eagles at their own 34 yard line. Did not take
long for the Panthers defense to create some more havoc for the Eagles as they
forced yet another turnover as Stewart alertly jumped on the pigskin in
the Forest backfield. Unfortunately we gave it right back to them as the Forest
DB made a nice interception deep in their own territory.
Panther D back in action.
Williams, Hughes and Gilliam stuffed the ball carrier on 1st
down then a minor let down allowed the ball carrier to scoot down the field for
a 20 yard gain with Palmer making the stop.. Corcoran then got his
3rd tackle for a loss as he one armed the ball carrier around his
blocker. Sr. DB Jacobe Shankle got in the action and made a nice run down
of the Forest ball carrier, however a penalty on the Eagles pushed them back to
the 8 yard line. That’s when the Eagles tried a middle screen and the ever
present Davis made his first of two pick/six’s…..A nice pass rush led by
Stewart forced the errant throw and Cody made the absolute best
out of it. That brought the Panther lead to 21 – 0..
Well when the defense scores
they need to go right back out there and that’s exactly what they did after the
Schroble kick off. The Eagles opened their next drive at their own 34 yard line
and went to work. They attempted to throw the ball and nice coverage by
Shankle shut that down; they then tried run around their right side and the
Forest ball carrier was blasted by Muncie. That left them with a 3rd
and long and yes you guessed it we forced yet another fumble. This time with
great pursuit by a host of Panther’s led by Hughes, the Forest ball
carrier tried a desperation pitch back to the QB and Mr. Washington was
there instead. Our 5th turnover to that point.
 Wilson
then took his offense back on the field. You got to give the Oak offense a ton
of credit because it was very difficult for them to get into any rhythm based on
all the strange turn of events in one half. Andy did an excellent job of
taking advantage of excellent field position with the ball at the Eagle 17 yard
line. It took only 5 plays to hit pay dirt as he threw a dart to a slanting
Max Stevenson for an 8 yard TD strike. The offensive line of Zack
Coleman, Ryan Koch, Kevin Forsch, Naron and Benditz did an excellent
job of team blocking. A big play on the drive was a 4th and 1 and
Wilson went under center and Benditz and co. drove the D-line
backwards for an easy first down. That was a big play and executed perfectly.
Nice job by the big boys up front.
With the half coming close
to an end, each team got another possession that ended in punts. Forest was
threatening right at the end of the half but time ran out and the Klein Oak
Panthers held a commanding 27 – 0 advantage.
2nd Half:
Oak to receive. Soph Tory
Waites took the kick and returned it 24 yards to the Panther 29 yard line.
 A
direct snap to O. Cook resulted in a 17 yard gain. Great blocking by
Koch and Sr. flanker Jeremy Mayweather was key. With the ball spotted
at the 46 yard line it was Sr. RB John Michael Cook’s turn. JM
scooted right up the middle for a hard fought 4 yard gain. Again nice interior
blocking by Forsch helped. Another 7 yard scamper by JM Cook gave
Andy and co another 1st down. O Cook got another carry
and ran the DB over for a 6 yard burst. Again Forsch, Naron and
Coleman were blocking like this was their last game. With the ball in Eagle
territory the Forest defense stiffened and stopped the Panthers short of a first
down and forced a punt. A great punt and even better coverage spotted the ball
back at the Eagle 15 yard line. Corcoran made the first stop of the 2nd
half for the Panther defense with his 4th tackle for a loss. Faced
with a 2nd and 11 the Eagles went to the air and outstanding coverage
by Palmer forced the pass to sail out of bounce. If you can believe it
the Eagles tried that middle screen once again to catch us off guard and it back
fired again. Cody Davis read it perfectly, dropped back off his initial
rush and stepped in front of the Eagle flanker and took it home for his 2nd
score. That gave Oak an even more commanding lead of 34 to 0.
Schroble kicked off once
again and the Panthers let the Forest ball carrier return it to their own 34
yard line. The Panther D continued to harass the Eagles as they forced them into
yet
 another 3 and out. Super plays by Anderson and Jr. Corner Trey
Payne stopped them in their tracks. After the ensuing punt, the Panthers got
the ball back at their own 24. After some hard nosed running by JM Cook
came up just a bit shy for a 1st down, the coaches elected to punt.
Clearly with a 34 point lead the coaching staff kept the ball on the ground to
eat up the clock. There was no need to run this up as the game was clearly in
control at this point. Forest took over and put together a 3 play drive that
amounted for 50+ yards with a nice 40 yard scamper by the Eagle QB with
Palmer running him down once again.. However the Eagles got a bit greedy and
went deep. Payne and the Eagle receiver both caught up to the ball at
approximately the same time near the 10 yard line and Payne out muscled him for
the interception. Payne’s momentum ran him into the end zone as he then
reversed field and headed south landing at the Oak 23 yard line. Outstanding
corner play by Trey. Oak took over and after 3 plays that accumulated 14
yards the 3rd quarter ended,
Moving into the 4th
quarter and the game clearly in hand, the Panther coaching staff continued to
run the ball in a conservative style.
 This drive eventually ended in a punt as
the Forest Eagles stuffed 8 or 9 players in the box as they new what was
happening. With Forest on offense after the punt, reserve D-linemen Kelby-Diaz
Jackson made two nice tackles and Corcoran fell on the last of the
8 turnovers. JM Cook and Krimildo Shirute handled the running
chores and McClain took over at QB. If not for some untimely penalties
this group would have done some damage. Nice interior blocking by linemen
Chris Kline, James Caldwell, Marcus Montanye, Clemente Rodriguez and Geoffery
Hartnup along with wide out Ethan Condiff made holes a bit larger for both
Cook and Shirute to run through.
McClain did an excellent job of managing the team down the stretch.
Defensively in the 4th quarter there we’re big plays by linemen
Andy Ortiz who had the only sack of the evening and Pat Bailey who
made a nice tackle on the east side of the field. Towards the end of the game
the forest QB hooked up with their top RB and completed a relatively long TD
pass that ended the scoring.
Final score: Klein Oak
Panthers 34 … Klein Forest Eagles 6.
This was a game for the ages
as you won’t see 8 turnovers by one team with 3 returned immediately for
touchdowns and 2 additional scores resulting from the turnovers. It would be
hard to believe if you did not see it for yourself. Not often is defense the
talk of the town but in this particular case it is deserving…
Klein Oak Panthers 33, Klein Forest Eagles 6
Score by
quarters 1 2 3
4
Klein Forest
Eagles 0 0 0 6 -- 6
Klein Oak
Panthers 14 13 6 0 -- 34
Individual Stats
Offense
RUSHING
–Ossam Cook 17-145, 1 TD; Andy Wilson 7-30; John Michael Cook 4-12; Jeremy
Mayweather 2-5
PASSING
–Wilson 3-6 for 30 yards and 1TD, 1 INT
RECEIVING
–Jordan Najvar 2-20, Max Stevenson 1-10, 1TD
Defense
Brian Corcoran:
13 tackles, 4 for loss, 1 pressure, 1 QB hit, 1 fumble recovery
Kevin Williams:
13 tackles, forced fumble
Demetrich
Gilliam: 8 tackles, 1 caused fumble, 1 fumble recovery
Nathan Hughes:
8 tackles,
Antwoine
Stewart: 7 tackles, 2 QB hit, 1 pressure, 1 fumble recovery
Tray Payne: 3
tackles, 1 Int, 1 pass block
Luke Muncie, 3
tackles, 1 INT, 1 TD
Craig Palmer, 7
tackles
Blake
Washington, 5 tackles, 2 pressures
Jacobe Shankle,
3 tackles
|
