Scoop27
10-18-2014, 09:39 AM
From the Brazosport Facts
BAY CITY — It had been 49 days since their last win and on Friday night the Brazosport Exporters broke that string with a 41-28 victory against Bay City in a District 12-4A Division I showdown at Blackcat Stadium.
“This one feels good because the 49 days felt like 400 pounds,” Brazosport coach Ben Rudolph said. “As much as you try, the weight of the world bears down on you, but I told the kids the thing that is frustrating is that I know we are better than what we’ve been showing.”
The Exporters opened the season with a 34-28 win against Fort Bend Willowridge on Aug. 28. Since then, the Ships saw five consecutive losses, including the district opener last week against Columbia.
“When you have 34 fumbles on the year, it is hard to stay competitive,” Rudolph said. “And I thought we did a real good job because we only had one turnover offensively.”
That turnover by quarterback Navontae Darthard almost proved to be costly in this game as well. It happened with 8:01 remaining as the Ships were holding on to a six-point lead, 34-28.
Bay City moved the ball to the 40-yard line and was facing a fourth and 4 when Samuel Fisher (30-202 yards) churned his way for a 5-yard gain with Exporters hanging all over him.
But on first down from the 35, the Blackcats gave the ball right back on a fumble, with Jeremiah Credit recovering the ball as the Exporter bench celebrated.
Four plays later, freshman Ameer King (8-142 yards) took an end around handoff and jetted 64 yards into the end zone to put the finishing touches on the contest. “He ran that in with only one shoe on,” Rudolph said. “As he rounded the corner, he lost his right shoe and headed in 60 yards without a shoe.”
This win is big for the Ships, who are 1-1 in district play and 2-5 overall as they get set to entertain Needville at Hopper Field for homecoming next week.
“We were treating tonight as a playoff game and we had to have this one to have any kind of scenario down the road,” Rudolph said. “They did a very good job of setting themselves up.”
Tied 14-14 at halftime, it was Credit (9-87 yards) who gave the lead back to the Exporters after running the kickoff back 86 yards.
“I told him at half that I wanted him to be explosive, I didn’t know that he would be that explosive, but that was just what the doctor ordered,” Rudolph said.
But Bay City responded with the running of Samuel Fisher as they went on a seven-play, 76-yard drive, with quarterback Zavien Gartica finishing it up with a 20-yard gallop into the end zone. After Andrew Ruiz’s extra point, the game was tied again at 21-all. “Bay City was very difficult to scout with different formations, and we couldn’t get a good gauge on what they were going to do,” Rudolph said.
Brazosport then fielded a short kickoff by Bay City as King ran it back 37 yards to the Blackcat 25-yard line. Three plays later, Darthard (17-75 yards) waltzed into the end zone from 7 yards out to give the Ships the lead back.
On the extra point, Brazosport faked the kick and the two-point conversion pass was intercepted by Gartica in the end zone, but still Brazosport led, 27-21.
The Blackcats did not bat an eye, coming back on a 12-play drive covering 67 yards with Andrew Smith going the last 15 yards. But the most important play on the drive was a fourth and 1 at the Bay City 36-yard line when Gartica drew the defense offsides to keep the drive alive.
On the first play of the fourth period, the Exporters took the lead for good as Credit used some razzle dazzle on a run, coming from one side of the field and criss-crossing back across the middle for a 27-yard gain into the end zone, and it was 34-27 with 11:48 remaining.
Bay City opened the scoring on a 5-yard run by Smith. But the Ships responded when Darthard found Kedrian Young on a 60-yard touchdown pass with 50 seconds left in the first.
The Ships took a 14-7 lead on a Nathan Lewis (15-77 yards) 1-yard plunge with 8:40 left in the second period. Bay City tied it up 15 ticks before halftime on Fisher’s 7-yard score.
BAY CITY — It had been 49 days since their last win and on Friday night the Brazosport Exporters broke that string with a 41-28 victory against Bay City in a District 12-4A Division I showdown at Blackcat Stadium.
“This one feels good because the 49 days felt like 400 pounds,” Brazosport coach Ben Rudolph said. “As much as you try, the weight of the world bears down on you, but I told the kids the thing that is frustrating is that I know we are better than what we’ve been showing.”
The Exporters opened the season with a 34-28 win against Fort Bend Willowridge on Aug. 28. Since then, the Ships saw five consecutive losses, including the district opener last week against Columbia.
“When you have 34 fumbles on the year, it is hard to stay competitive,” Rudolph said. “And I thought we did a real good job because we only had one turnover offensively.”
That turnover by quarterback Navontae Darthard almost proved to be costly in this game as well. It happened with 8:01 remaining as the Ships were holding on to a six-point lead, 34-28.
Bay City moved the ball to the 40-yard line and was facing a fourth and 4 when Samuel Fisher (30-202 yards) churned his way for a 5-yard gain with Exporters hanging all over him.
But on first down from the 35, the Blackcats gave the ball right back on a fumble, with Jeremiah Credit recovering the ball as the Exporter bench celebrated.
Four plays later, freshman Ameer King (8-142 yards) took an end around handoff and jetted 64 yards into the end zone to put the finishing touches on the contest. “He ran that in with only one shoe on,” Rudolph said. “As he rounded the corner, he lost his right shoe and headed in 60 yards without a shoe.”
This win is big for the Ships, who are 1-1 in district play and 2-5 overall as they get set to entertain Needville at Hopper Field for homecoming next week.
“We were treating tonight as a playoff game and we had to have this one to have any kind of scenario down the road,” Rudolph said. “They did a very good job of setting themselves up.”
Tied 14-14 at halftime, it was Credit (9-87 yards) who gave the lead back to the Exporters after running the kickoff back 86 yards.
“I told him at half that I wanted him to be explosive, I didn’t know that he would be that explosive, but that was just what the doctor ordered,” Rudolph said.
But Bay City responded with the running of Samuel Fisher as they went on a seven-play, 76-yard drive, with quarterback Zavien Gartica finishing it up with a 20-yard gallop into the end zone. After Andrew Ruiz’s extra point, the game was tied again at 21-all. “Bay City was very difficult to scout with different formations, and we couldn’t get a good gauge on what they were going to do,” Rudolph said.
Brazosport then fielded a short kickoff by Bay City as King ran it back 37 yards to the Blackcat 25-yard line. Three plays later, Darthard (17-75 yards) waltzed into the end zone from 7 yards out to give the Ships the lead back.
On the extra point, Brazosport faked the kick and the two-point conversion pass was intercepted by Gartica in the end zone, but still Brazosport led, 27-21.
The Blackcats did not bat an eye, coming back on a 12-play drive covering 67 yards with Andrew Smith going the last 15 yards. But the most important play on the drive was a fourth and 1 at the Bay City 36-yard line when Gartica drew the defense offsides to keep the drive alive.
On the first play of the fourth period, the Exporters took the lead for good as Credit used some razzle dazzle on a run, coming from one side of the field and criss-crossing back across the middle for a 27-yard gain into the end zone, and it was 34-27 with 11:48 remaining.
Bay City opened the scoring on a 5-yard run by Smith. But the Ships responded when Darthard found Kedrian Young on a 60-yard touchdown pass with 50 seconds left in the first.
The Ships took a 14-7 lead on a Nathan Lewis (15-77 yards) 1-yard plunge with 8:40 left in the second period. Bay City tied it up 15 ticks before halftime on Fisher’s 7-yard score.