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| By: Mike Jones, Sports Editor | 11/13/2004 |
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"The offensive line did great," said Montgomery. "We made some adjustments early and they did perfect. It feels pretty good (to score four times). I'm grateful to God for giving me the time to run like that."
"We went down and scored on our first possession and then turned it over near the goal line on our second one," said TWHS head coach Mark Schmid. "It shook us a little bit, but we came back with a couple of short-field scores, led 21-10 at the half and never looked back. In the second half we did an awesome job."
TWHS will now face Round Rock McNeil, another winner Friday night, next Saturday at Waco ISD Stadium at a time to be determined.
The Highlanders cranked it up right from the start, with Derrick McCants returning the opening kickoff 44 yards to near midfield. TWHS then took just five plays to cover 51 yards, with the key play coming on third-and-4 at the Viking 45. QB Greg Meinzer lofted a ball deep to tight end Kyle Anderson, who sped up in his final strides before hauling the ball in at the seven. Two plays later, Cameron Montgomery busted it into the end zone over the right side of the line with just 2:25 off the clock.
The Vikings battled back on their opening possession, methodically moving the ball 60 yards to the Highlander 12 thanks in large part to running back Artrell Woods, who carried four times for 41 yards in the drive. However, the drive stalled and Jacob Hartgroves came on and booted a 30-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3 at the 6:16 mark. Woods would run for 58 yards on his first five carries of the game, then was held to eight yards on his final 11 in the contest.
"It took us a few series to get adjusted to their speed," said Schmid. "Once we did our kids played lights out."
TWHS would keep up the momentum from its opening drive, with Meinzer hitting Drabek for 32 yards and Montgomery throwing a halfback pass 24 yards to Drabek down to the 12. However, two plays later, Josh Martinek was separated from the football, with Tommy Turner recovering for the Vikings at the 4.
Bryan would then make short work of the 96 yards that stood between it and the end zone, with QB Blake Joseph first rushing for 20 yards, then connecting with Brandon Mable for 17. After Woods' burst for 17 took it to the Highlander 42, Joseph threw a bullet to Bobby Mitchell, who broke a tackle and took it the distance for a 10-7 Bryan lead with 1:57 left in the opening quarter. That made the total offense by both teams in the first 10 minutes of the game 297 yards.
The next Bryan drive was cut short by a strong effort from the Highlander defense, which included a sack by Nick Reinsvold, a tackle for a six-yard loss by Brad Peek and a nice deflected pass by Preston Benditz, forcing a punt.
TWHS was then forced to a 3-and-out, with Drabek then finding just the right touch on his punt, with his kick stopping by itself at the 1. The Highlander defense then dug in again, forcing a 3-and-out, with McCants making an athletic stab at a bouncing punt and then using some fancy moves to take the ball from the 34 to the Viking 20. Montgomery then got the ball into the end zone in two plays, first rushing right for 11, then nine over the left side of the line for the score. Jacob Gibbons' second PAT put the Highlanders up 14-10 with 7:33 left in the half.
A.J. Montalvo would put the Vikings in a hole quick on their next possession, tackling Woods for a five-yard loss in their first play. Two plays later, Hunter Smith batted down a Joseph aerial, forcing a 36-yard punt that McCants returned 23 yards to the Viking 34.
Three plays later Montgomery bolted 33 yards to the one, but a holding penalty brought it back. Not to be denied, Meinzer then threw 12 yards to Drabek on 3-and-11. Facing third-and-4 at the 17, Meinzer went to Drabek again, this time for six yards to the 11, setting the stage for Montgomery to cruise up the middle and left and into the end zone for a 21-10 Highlander lead with 3:51 left until band and drill team time.
The Highlander defense looked to have the Vikings bottled up near halftime, but a 10-yard completion in a third-down situation ended up traveling 40 yards when TWHS was flagged for two personal fouls on the play. However, McCants would stop the Bryan momentum, which had reached the Highlander 24, by picking off Joseph's end zone pass intended for Mitchell with 1:21 left in the half.
TWHS would push into Viking territory on a highlight-reel catch by Drabek on his seventh reception of the half, as he skied high for a deep ball over coverage for a 37-yard gain down the right sideline to the Bryan 41 with :35 left, giving him 124 yards in receiving yards on the night.
"It was a phenomenal catch," said Schmid. "It was classic Kyle Drabek. He thinks every ball is his."
The drive ended on a 40-yard field goal attempt by Gibbons that fell just short.
Bryan tried a little trickery to open the second half after going 3-and-out, with Joseph, playing the upback, taking the punt on the snap and throwing to No. 94 Terrance Samuels, who dropped the first-down attempt.
TWHS would use the good field position to its advantage, marching 51 yards in six plays. Key plays included an 18-yard run by Montgomery, a 33-yard pass from Meinzer to Kyle Anderson and a final two-yard burst by Montgomery, who hesitated after taking the carry, faking right before taking it right up the middle for the TD. Gibbons' fourth PAT of the night gave the Highlanders a 28-10 lead with 8:10 left in the third quarter.
TWHS then got the ball back quickly, with Montalvo and Brooks Dorsett putting the heat on Joseph, whose pass down the right sideline was tipped by McCants and then athletically intercepted on an all-out dive by Benditz at the Viking 27. The Highlanders would take advantage again, with Eric Paul taking a pass from Meinzer, making a nice move and then sprinting the final yardage into the end zone for a 20-yard scoring play at the 5:49 mark for a 35-10 lead.
Benditz would then flex his muscles on defense, first rocking Mitchell and forcing an incompletion on a hard hit, then sacking Joseph for an eight-yard loss, forcing a punt.
The Highlander offensive locomotive continued to rip down the tracks on its next possession, going 56 yards, with Meinzer finishing it off on a 35-yard pass to Paul, when TWHS was pushed back on a penalty on the previous play. The Vikings elected to give the Highlanders a second third-down opportunity instead of fourth-and-five at the 25 and paid for it.
"Greg was really on," said Schmid. "When he clicks, it really opens up our offense."
The Highlander second-team then continued the onslaught, with backup QB Austin Hutson speeding 33 yards early in the fourth quarter around left end, with Chris Burns finishing the scoring drive with a 17-yard scamper around right end. Derek Depasquale's PAT put the Highlanders ahead 49-10 with 10:29 left in the contest.
November 13, 2004
Vikings fall to The Woodlands
By TIM SCHNETTLER
Eagle Staff Writer
KATY — For
one quarter the Bryan Vikings had The Woodlands Highlanders
on their heels.
Then — with one punt from Kyle Drabek — the Highlanders
recovered and took control of the game.
Drabek pinned the Vikings at their own 1 with a 62-yard punt,
which served as the impetus for a pair of touchdowns that helped
propel the Highlanders to a 49-10 victory in Class 5A Division
I bi-district playoff action at Katy’s Rhodes Stadium.
“I thought we were playing with them until they had that punt,” Bryan
head coach Marvin Sedberry said. “They pinned us back there
and from that point on the momentum swung their way, and I guess
the true talent that they have started to show.
“They’ve got several Division I players and those guys stepped
up. I am sure the fact that they have been to the playoffs and
knew how to deal with adversity [helped].”
While the Vikings made the playoffs for the first time under
Sedberry and for the first time since 2000, the loss ended their
season at 6-5.
“I am pleased that we had an opportunity to play more than 10
games,” Sedberry said. “I am not satisfied with the
way things turned out. All-in-all, I am pleased with the season.”
With the victory, the Highlanders improved to 8-3 and moved on
to the second round to face either Austin Bowie or Round Rock
McNeil.
Before Drabek’s kick, the Vikings were leading 10-7. But
six minutes later the Vikings found themselves down 21-10.
Following the punt, the Vikings went three-and-out on back-to-back
possessions and both times The Woodlands ended up with terrific
field position — and both times the Highlanders took advantage.
First, the Highlanders only had to go 20 yards and Cameron Montgomery,
who finished with 105 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries,
covered it in just two plays, scoring on a 9-yard run.
On the next possession, which started at the Bryan 34, it took
The Woodlands five more plays than the previous drive, but the
result was the same when Montgomery went in from the 11 to make
it 21-10.
“They had the field position and the momentum as well,” Sedberry
said, “and they didn’t have to go very far to score.
I give it to them, they have a good football team, a good 5A
football team.
“It was just one of those things to me where it just started to
snowball.”
The two touchdowns were the first of six unanswered touchdowns
the Highlanders would go on to score.
“Once we changed ends of the field and we were able to pin them
down on the 1, they had some short punts into the wind,” Highlander
head coach Mark Schmid said. “We were able to capitalize
on the short field and punch it in twice right before the half
and it really swung the momentum in our favor.”
From that point on the Highlanders were in control, scoring all
three times they touched the ball in the third quarter, and adding
another on the first possession of the fourth.
Bryan, meanwhile, was not able to get anything going offensively,
gaining just 54 yards in the entire second half, after putting
up 169 in the first half.
The Highlanders started the scoring on their first possession,
when Montgomery scored his first touchdown, a 3-yarder, that
capped a five-play, 51-yard drive.
The Bryan offense responded with a drive to the Highlanders’ 12,
but it couldn’t get any further. Jacob Hartgroves kicked
a 30-yard field goal to get the Vikings on the board.
The Woodlands appeared headed for the go-ahead score, moving
to the Bryan 9, but on second down Josh Martinek coughed up the
football and Bryan’s Tommy Turner fell on it at the 4.
Though backed up, the Bryan offense put together a 96-yard drive,
giving them their first and only lead.
Blake Joseph, who threw for 98 yards and a touchdown, started
the drive with a 20-yard run.
He followed with consecutive passes to Brandon Mable and Artrell
Woods, both of them for 17 yards, with the Woods reception moving
the ball into Highlander territory.
On the fourth play of the drive Joseph hit Bobby Mitchell, who
shook off a tackle and raced to the end zone for a 42-yard touchdown.
“I thought we did some good things, “Sedberry said. “When
you are playing a team with the talent that those guys have you
can’t afford to make mistakes.”
The Bryan - College Station Eagle