The Woodlands gets past Humble

With versatile plays from Drabek, Highlanders roll to 58-35 victory

By NIKI HERBERT
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

CONROE --  Go-to guy. Clutch performer. The man.

Whatever is used to describe a team's hero can be said about The Woodlands receiver Kyle Drabek.

In a high-scoring game with plenty of top-notch performances between No. 5 The Woodlands and No. 4 Humble, it would be the 6-1, 195-pound Drabek who would seal a 58-35 victory for the defending state finalist Highlanders on Friday night at Moorhead Stadium.

Drabek caught a 27-yard strike from Greg Meinzer with 3:55 left in the third quarter to give the Highlanders a lead they would not relinquish.

"I would say that made the difference," Humble coach Neal Quillin said. "He's a big-time player."

The Woodlands (2-1) began the game-clinching drive on its 10-yard line. On the first play from the line of scrimmage, Cameron Montgomery put the Highlanders at the 22 on a 12-yard carry. Meinzer then hit Drabek, who turned and reached high for the catch, at the Humble 46 for a 32-yard gain.

An Humble personal foul on the reception put the Highlanders at the Humble 31. After three rushing plays put The Woodlands at the 27, the home team faced fourth-and-seven, but Drabek dug deep for the game-clinching reception. A deep ball thrown in the end zone dropped right into Drabek's hands for a 38-35 Highlanders lead.

"I was just thinking catch it, because we needed it," Drabek said. "I was fortunate I caught it."

Drabek's catches can hardly be called fortunate. Since a season-opening victory over Eisenhower, Drabek has put in some work for the Highlanders.

"Every team has that go-to guy, and for us it's been Kyle," The Woodlands first-year coach Mark Schmid said. "He's been making great catches for us. He had two good ones for us on that drive.

"Our quarterback (Meinzer) has confidence in Kyle that he will make the catches. And Kyle makes the catches."

Humble (1-2) scored two third-quarter touchdowns to take a 35-31 lead midway through the quarter.

"I was proud of them for coming back for a while, and they didn't quit fighting," Quillin said. "There are some things we're going to have to get better at, and one of them is pass coverage."

Drabek finished with five receptions for 135 yards.

He also twice pinned the Wildcats at their one with 53- and 47-yard punts in the opening half.

The Highlanders' defense also caused two turnovers early in the game to jump to a quick 21-7 lead.

"After they scored on that first drive, we made some adjustments and got after them," Highlanders linebacker A.J. Montalvo said. "They're explosive and made a good comeback. But we dug deep."




TWHS humbles Wildcats
By: Mike Jones , Sports Editor 09/18/2004
In a game that had it all, including nearly 900 yards of offense, 13 touchdowns and 169 yards in penalties, The Woodlands won the battle with fellow state-ranked Humble 58-35 at Buddy Moorhead Memorial Stadium on Friday night.

The Highlanders, coming off a 28-15 loss to North Shore, the team that had beaten them in the state-title game last year, were in no mood to lose again on this night. After falling behind 7-0 on a 99-yard drive by Humble midway through the first quarter, TWHS got it into high gear, scoring on three straight possessions, with Kyle Drabek taking in two of those on receptions of 19 and 36 yards from QB Greg Meinzer and back Cameron Montgomery. Montgomery would also score on a nine-yard run during the spree. Jake Gibbons booted all three PATs for a 21-7 edge with 10:54 left in the half.

When it was over, the Highlan-ders would score two touchdowns in every quarter and would score the final 27 points in a row after falling behind 35-31 in the third quarter.

Drabek, who had a huge game in the season-opening win at Reliant Stadium against Eisenhower, was at it again Friday, catching five passes for 135 yards and three TDs. Meinzer would complete 7-of-14 passes, with three for TDs, the other going to Kyle Anderson on a 30-yarder. Montgomery would throw the one TD pass after taking a pitch to Drabek, with Austin Hutson adding a late five-yarder to Bryan Howe.

The Highlander defense would knock Humble all-everything QB Jamal Pettiford out of the game, with Jerrod Johnson coming in and doing an able job. However, after Johnson led the Wildcats to a 35-31 lead, The Woodlands' defense held tight. A.J. Montalvo had several huge tackles, including a sack, with Dustin Kawaja and Hunter Smith also recording sacks. Brooks Dorsett was among a large group of others who made big plays in the game defensively. Preston Benditz and Kawaja had interceptions. On the Benditz pick-off, he took it from one end of the field to the other, before pitching to Derrick McCants, who took it into the end zone. However, it was called back on a penalty, with Howe getting his TD catch four plays later.

Montgomery and Chris Burns each ran for over 100 yards for TWHS.


©Houston Community Newspapers Online 2004

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