The Huntsville Item, Huntsville, TX

Sports

Related Photos

  • David Magallanes

    images_sizedimage_318021515

Discussion

November 14, 2009

Early Exit

Eagles shut down Bulldogs’ offense in stunning bi-district playoff upset

By Gene Schallenberg

In a game of opportunity, the Bulldogs had their chances but couldn’t capitalize.

The New Waverly defense forced a couple of turnovers but the Dogs couldn’t take advantage and were dealt an early exit after losing to Woodville 21-14 on Friday night in the bi-district round of the Class 2A playoffs.

Despite their worst offensive performance of the season, New Waverly still had some life after quarterback X’Zavious Harrison hit senior Kyren Watts in the end zone with 15 seconds to play to get within a score.

However, the Bulldogs (8-3 overall) couldn’t recover the onside kick and could only watch as Woodville kneeled the ball and then celebrated the victory.

“They exploited some of the youth that we had on the field,” New Waverly head coach Ken Craig said. “It was tough. They did a great job. They had a good plan. We still didn’t execute some plays we should have that could’ve got us in the game.”

After finishing the first half with just 72 offensive yards and five first downs, the Bulldogs came out of the break and continued to struggle.

Woodville blitzed and blitzed and blitzed some more. The Eagles (6-5) harassed Harrison and the Bulldog running backs all game long.

New Waverly simply had no answer for the pressure they faced and could never get into a rhythm. The Bulldogs finished with a mere 197 yards of offense.

“We’ve been suspect to the blitz all year,” said New Waverly senior running back Tyren Watts, who finished with a season-low 70 yards on 16 carries. “Tonight, they knew that was our weakness. They put eight or nine in the box and sent them all. We couldn’t stop it. When they bring that type of pressure, what can you do? We just weren’t focused. We weren’t prepared for it.”

The Bulldogs had a tough time hanging onto the ball and it ended up costing them in a big way.

Trailing 14-7 midway through the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs faced a third-and-19 from midfield. Harrison tried to find Kyren Watts down the right side of the field, but Woodville cornerback Darrin Sells picked off the pass at the 14-yard line and motored 60 yards down the sideline.

Just two plays later, quarterback Calib Hadnot hit Sells in the flat and the running back weaved through several New Waverly defenders on his way to a 23-yard touchdown to give the Eagles an 14-point advantage with less than seven minutes to play.

After the opening kickoff that Bulldogs senior Colton Wyatt returned 23 yards to the New Waverly 37, Harrison was sacked on the first play from scrimmage. Harrison coughed up the ball and Woodville linebacker Adam Lively recovered it on the 28-yard line.

A few plays later, Hadnot burst through the defensive line for a 2-yard score.

“When you get a team like that a lot of chances, they’re going to take them and turn it into points,” junior linebacker Tate Maddox said. “If you only give them 40 yards or so, they’re going to score. They’re that type of team. They’ve got a good quarterback and some good running backs.”

Inversely, the Bulldogs had gotten two turnovers, but were unable to do anything with the ball.

Senior cornerback Eli Amador leapt up and snagged an interception from Hadnot. The Bulldogs drove down to Woodville’s 20, but turned the ball over on downs on an incomplete pass.

Late in the third quarter, Sells rushed up the middle. New Waverly senior defensive back Kody Coleman jarred the ball loose and Maddox recovered. Not only were the Dogs unable to move the chains, but they moved backwards and had to punt the ball away.

“We lost all the momentum in the beginning,” Tyren Watts said. “We didn’t respond right away and so it was going to be real tough to get it back. We tried to fight back.

“We gave it all we’ve got. I’m proud of our team.”

Text Only
Sports
  • 2-11-kriston-driving.jpg Hornets still rocking

    The Hornets knocked off another one Friday night and improved their playoff chances immensely. Led by seniors Kriston Minor and Abram Veasey, the Huntsville boys basketball team bounced the Bulldogs from Summer Creek 52-38 to improve to 6-7 in District 18-4A play.

    February 10, 2012 1 Photo

  • Bulldogs back in the playoffs

    Centerville didn’t mess around with the Bulldogs Friday night and almost snuck out of New Waverly with a win.
    But thanks to junior point guard Brent Purvis making four out of five free throws at the end of the game, the Dogs came away with a 57-54 victory and solidified their third-place standing in District 23-2A.

    February 10, 2012

  • Hornet swimmers positioned well for today’s regional finals

    All the Huntsville swimmers wanted to do and needed to do in the regional swimming meet was to put themselves in position to qualify for state. Well, consider that mission accomplished. In every event in which Huntsville qualified for in the Class 4A Region V swimming meet, no matter whether it was as an individual or in a relay, the Hornets and Lady Hornets finished among the top eight in the preliminaries Friday to advance to today’s finals at the Magnolia ISD Natatorium.

    February 10, 2012

  • Hornet golfers get out to strong start in Bastrop

    Halfway into their latest tournament, the Hornets are set up well to win quite a bit of hardware. Following the first 18 holes in the Evans-Dodson Memorial golf tournament in Bastrop, the Huntsville boys are just four shots off the pace and have a pair of players within range from sitting atop the individual medalist leaderboard.

    February 10, 2012

  • Huntsville wrestlers gain experience at regional meet

    The experience wasn’t as long as they would’ve hoped, but they’ll take it just the same. Competing in the regional meet in Katy, a pair of Huntsville wrestlers earned hard-fought, elusive wins, but fell in the consolation quarterfinals.

    February 10, 2012

  • 2-10-hornet-swimming-jaron-wagner.jpg Raring to go

    They’re as ready as they’re going to be. With two weeks to prepare from their district meet, the Huntsville swimmers will take the next step toward qualifying for state today. Over the next two days, a group of Hornets and Lady Hornets will take part in the Class 4A Region V swimming meet at the Magnolia I.S.D. Natatorium with the preliminaries taking place today and the finals on Saturday.

    February 9, 2012 2 Photos

  • Next week’s playoff matchups all set

    After spending countless hours in the gym, the hard work has paid off for both the girls basketball teams from Huntsville and New Waverly. Now the fun begins as the Class 4A and 2A girls basketball playoffs get going next week.

    February 9, 2012

  • Scott: Kats still looking for go-to guy

    February 9, 2012

  • College Scene: Former Hornets doing well at respective colleges

    February 9, 2012

  • 2-9-gatlin-driving.jpg OUTGUNNED: First-place Mavericks shoot down Sam Houston, run winning streak to 14

    Texas-Arlington had an answer for every Sam Houston run Wednesday night on the way to a 75-63 victory over the Bearkats. It was the Mavericks’ 14th consecutive win and improved their Southland Conference record to 10-0.
    The last team to start league action with such perfection was Sam Houston in 2010, a team which won the conference’s regular season as well as the postseason tournament championship.

    February 8, 2012 1 Photo