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"I told the players that the bad thing about being in the playoffs is that one of the teams has to lose," said Highlander head coach Mark Schmid, whose squad was handed an early and somewhat unexpected exit from the state playoffs.
Turnovers and costly penalties were detrimental in the loss as The Woodlands proved to be their own worst enemy, committing two turn-overs, as well as untimely penalties that allowed the Tigers to get the upper hand.
Things looked good from the onset as the Highlanders took the opening kickoff and quickly moved the ball down the field. Brett Parsons opened with a huge 40-yard pass to Kyle Drabek to start, and followed with a 12-yard gain to Austin Hutson. After moving inside the red zone, Parsons was sacked for a seven-yard loss that resulted in a 37-yard field goal by Derek Depasquale to put TWHS on top 3-0 with 7:13 remaining in the opening quarter.
A&M Consolidated got a hefty dose of the staunch Highlander defense, as Alan Weimar and Van Mark Romero sacked Tiger quarterback Josh Myatt, forcing a punt. On the ensuing A&M drive, the entire defensive line stacked Myatt up for no gain on fourth-and-one to give the Highlanders the ball on their own 27.
Once again The Woodlands moved the ball with ease, until it came to crunch time. The Highlanders had to settle for a 41-yard field goal after two straight plays that resulted in losses, as TWHS extended its lead to 6-0.
The Tigers roared back with a time consuming scoring drive that covered 70 yards in 13 plays. Myatt called his own number from 10-yards out as he found his way into the end zone to put A&M on top 7-6 at the 3:18 mark.
The Highlanders' next series proved to be a comedy of errors. DJ Smalls took the handoff from his own 20, then
broke off left tackle and raced down the left sideline for an apparent 80-yard touchdown run. Smalls narrowly stepped out on the Tiger 40, so Parsons rallied his troops and went back to business on offense. Parsons started off with an 11-yard pass play to Drabek, then lobbed a 26-yard TD pass to Drabek in the end zone, only to have it negated by a penalty.
The tenacious Highlanders struggled to hit pay dirt, but a dropped pass in the end zone, followed by an interception that left The Woodlands rather deflated heading into the locker room at the half.
"That was a huge momentum killer," said Schmid. "We felt like we scored twice and didn't get anything out of it. That kind of knocked the wind out of our sails. We knew we had to come out tough in the second half, and they (A&M) were the ones who came out and scored quick. Then we muffed the kick and that just killed us. They didn't have a turnover and we had two. We knew coming into this game that we would have to play turnover free, and they were both killers."
In addition, A&M came out on fire in the second half, scoring on their opening drive. But the Highlander defense came through with a block on the extra point to make it 13-6 in favor of the Tigers.
The Woodlands struggled on offense, as Drabek was sidelined with an injury, while running back Ryan Montague carried the ball for 17-yards on only seven carries. Following a short 29-yard punt, A&M was right back in business. This time, the Tigers had to settle for a 35-yard field goal to extend their lead to 16-6 with 8:02 remaining in the game.
Things went from bad to worse for the Highlanders as The Woodlands muffed the ensuing kickoff, which was quickly recovered by Ben Holmes at the three-yard line. James Gay's 3-yard TD run pushed the Tiger lead to 22-6.
The Highlanders went three-and-out, but Taylor Grote put his foot behind a 60-yard punt to pin the Tigers back on their own two. But five plays later, Davis Orozco broke loose then outran the defenders on an 85-yard touchdown run to throw salt in the Highlanders' wounds. The PAT padded the Tiger lead to 30-6.
TWHS reserve quarterback Dillon Pound came in and completed passes for 22, 11 and 44 yards respectively, with Smalls capping the drive with a one-yard run to slash the Tiger lead to 30-12. But time was not on the side of the Highlanders, whose playoff dreams came to a screeching halt.
"These seniors are a great group," said Schmid. "They all get along well. There were no real big egos. But there are a lot of fresh faces who will be excited about next year."

Friday's H.S. Playoff Score
A&M Consolidated 30,
The Woodlands 12

TWHS       3 3 0 6 -12
A&M       0 7 6 17 - 30

Game Statistics
            TWHS       A&M
First Downs             19       17
Rushes-Yards       27-111       51-291
Comp-Att-Int       15-31-1       4-9-0
Passing Yards       250       51
Punts-average       3-111       2-69
Fumbles-Lost       1-1       0-0
Penalties/Yards       4-25       3-22

Scoring Summary
First Quarter
TW: Derek Depasquale 37-yard field goal, 7:13
Second Quarter
TW: Derek Depasquale 41-yard field goal, 9:46
A&M: Josh Myatt 10-yard run, Matt Szymanski kick, 3:18
Third Quarter
A&M: Josh Myatt 6-yard run, kick blocked, 7:57
Fourth Quarter
A&M: Matt Szymanski 35-yard field goal, 8:02
A&M: James Gay 3-yard run, Matt Szymanski kick, 7:54
A&M: Jonathan Bagala 85-yard run, Matt Szymanski kick, 4:13
TW: DJ Smalls 1-run, run failed, 2:35

Individual Leaders
Leading Rushers: TW: DJ Smalls 18-104, 1 TD; A&M: David Orozco 10-146, 1 TD; James Gay 22-82, 1 TD; Josh Myatt 7-7, 2 TD's
Leading Passers: TW - Dillon Pound 8-15-0-147; Brett Parsons 6-16-1-103
Leading Receivers: TW - Taylor Grote 6-110; Austin Hutson 3-22; A&M - Detron Lewis 3-33
Interceptions: A&M - David Hughes
Records: TWHS 7-4; A&M 9-2

©Houston Community Newspapers Online 2005

Tigers upend Highlanders

Consol still standing in playoffs

By LARRY BOWEN

Eagle Staff Writer

HUNTSVILLE - The A&M Consolidated football team picked a good time to play a great game, combining a revitalized running attack with a typically stout defense to thrash The Woodlands, 30-12, to start the state playoffs.

The Tigers produced their best offensive performance in five weeks, with senior quarterback Josh Myatt heading a long list of heroes who lifted Consolidated to the bi-district victory at Bowers Stadium.

Consolidated (9-2) earned its first playoff victory in three years, advancing to the area round of the Class 5A Division I playoffs. The Tigers will play Pflugerville, a 42-32 winner over Austin Westlake, at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Waco ISD Stadium.

The Woodlands finished the season at 7-4.

Rated as six-point underdogs, the Tigers overcame a sluggish start to squeeze out a 7-6 halftime lead and then dominated the second half.

"You've got to look really hard to find anything that the kids did wrong tonight," Consol coach Jim Slaughter said. "They played a really good football game."

Consol coaches had been encouraged by how their offense looked in practice during the week, but the Tigers' 342-yard outburst was stunning coming after Consol had averaged 178 yards in its last three games.

The Tigers rushed for a season-high 288 yards on 51 carries, overcoming the loss last week of their leading rusher with a dominating effort by the offensive line and solid work by several ball carriers.

Davis Orozco and James Gay combined for 228 yards and two touchdowns.

"That's a pretty good example of the character of this ballclub," Slaughter said. "Kids have more or less been coming through for us all year long, and it seems like every game it's a different kid.

"Our offensive linemen were very confident in their ability to block The Woodlands and for us to make yardage running at them. That's what they did."

Myatt started for the first time since the season opener. He passed for 54 yards and finished with 6 yards rushing, but he delivered two uplifting touchdown runs and kept the Tigers on track once they got rolling.

"This is just overwhelming," Myatt said. "I just wanted to lead my team and do my job. I'm just happy to be out here. It hasn't really hit me yet.

"The offensive linemen are the greatest guys in the world. I give all the praise to them. They stepped up so much and they were able to get our running game going."

Linemen Matt Coates, Daniel Hernandez, Matt Johnson, Ed King and Justin Woolard helped the Tiger running game turn the tide in the third quarter.

Consol marched 60 yards on nine plays to start the second half, with Myatt scoring on a 6-yard keeper.

The Tigers followed with a 16-play, 73-yard drive that resulted in Matt Szymanski's 35-yard field goal and a 16-6 lead.

Consol controlled the ball for 8 minutes and 50 seconds of the third quarter, compared to 3:10 for the Highlanders.

The Woodlands fumbled the kickoff after Szymanski's field goal, with Consol's Ben Holmes recovering at the 3-yard line. Gay scored on the next play, giving the Tigers a 23-6 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

Orozco raced 85 yards for a touchdown with 4:13 remaining that rendered The Woodlands' late rally inconsequential.

The Highlanders finished with 354 yards of offense, but 142 yards came after Consol built a 30-6 lead.

"There's no doubt right now that our defense is playing great," Slaughter said.

Consol's defense produced a couple of crucial stops in the first half, digging in to force the Highlanders to settle for field goals on a pair of 12-play drives

The Woodlands zipped 60 yards on the game's first possession, but the drive stalled when defensive end C.J Parish sacked Brett Parsons on third down, and Derek Depasquale kicked a 37-yard field goal.

Another sack stopped the Highlanders' third drive, with Trey White chasing down Parsons. Depasquale kicked a 41-yarder to make it 6-0.

"Any time you move the ball as well as we did, and you have to settle for field goals, it takes the wind out of your sail," Highlanders coach Mark Schmid said. "At the same time, I was happy to get the points, and I thought we'd be back."

The Tigers managed just one first down and 17 yards in the first quarter, but Consol came alive with the help of a couple of trick plays. Orozco took a reverse 17 yards on third-and-six, and then J.J. McMurry broke loose for 16 yards with a double-reverse on third-and-14.

Consol drove 70 yards in 13 plays, all on the ground, with Myatt scoring on a 10-yard keeper. Szymanski's extra point gave the Tigers a 7-6 lead.

The Woodlands' attempt to regain the lead before intermission was foiled when David Hughes intercepted a pass in the end zone.