Scoop27
11-08-2014, 02:39 PM
From the Brazosport Facts
FREEPORT — Turnovers plagued Brazosport all season, and on Friday night at Hopper Field, loose balls cost the Exporters a trip to the playoffs.
“It is only fitting to finish the season with the thing that finished us off, which is turnovers,” Brazosport coach Ben Rudolph said. “But I’ve never been at a program that worked at it more and stressed it more about ball security all season long, and it is just one of those things that we have to analyze to see what we are doing and how we are doing it to get better from it.”
Stafford (3-2, 7-3) pulled out a tough 17-10 win against the Exporters (1-4, 2-8) in the regular season finale to secure third place in District 12-4A D-I.
The win didn’t come easy as the Ships were headed toward the tying score late in the fourth period. After Eric Covarrubias cut the lead down to seven with a 30-yard field goal with 6:39 remaining, the Exporters needed the ball back.
They got that break when Covarrubias’ onside kick got past a Spartan and freshman Ameer King came up with the ball before it rolled out of bounds at the Stafford 34-yard line.
Facing a fourth down and six from the 30 yard line, junior quarterback Navontae Darthard completed a pass to King that went for six yards, just enough to continue the drive.
Four plays later, with the ball at the 11, Darthard took off on a run but lost the ball after a 6-yard pickup. It was Brazosport’s second fumble of the second half and its fourth for the game. The Ships dropped the ball five times in the game to finish with 49 for the season, losing 22 of them.
Though that was the low point of the game for the Ships, they did need at least a 13-point win to get into the playoffs.
That or a Bay City win against Needville to give them an outside shot, but the Bluejays beat the Blackcats 25-14 to secure fourth place.
Brazosport got on the board first in the first period when King finished off a drive with a 44-yard scamper into the end zone after breaking a couple of tacklers along the way, 7-0.
The Spartans didn’t tie it up until the second quarter, but it came off the Exporters first fumble, when Eli Washington recovered it with 9:20 left before halftime.
Brazosport thought it had gotten the ball right back when Malcom Crane recovered a Spartan fumble on first down, but the Ships were called for offsides.
Nine plays later, Bryan Imarenezor (25 rushes, 163 yards) scored from 5 yards out with 5:42 before intermission.
Right before halftime, Laurencio Madrigal picked off a Stafford pass off a deflection and returned it to the Spartan 14-yard line with 1:24 remaining.
However, the Exporters could not convert on four plays as Kedrian Young threw an incomplete pass on fourth and 16 from the 20-yard line as the first half ended.
Despite not scoring, the Exporters had held a pretty tough Stafford bunch to seven points in the first 24 minutes of play.
“I was very excited for what they had accomplished in the first half,” Rudolph said. “We missed a golden opportunity right before the half when we had the ball on their side and we should have come away with some points.”
The Exporters, who took the opening kickoff, almost got the ball to start the second half when it seemed like Jeremiah Credit recovered an onside kick. But the Ships were called for offside on the play.
Stafford scored 10 crucial points in the third period, which turned out to be the difference. First Gabriel Sanchez connected on a 22-yard field goal with 3:22 left in the third period to take that 10-7 lead.
Two minutes later the Exporters lost the ball on a fumble at their own 28-yard line. It took the Spartans two plays as backup quarterback Curtis Robinson took a pitch from Imarenezor and heaved the ball to an open Hezekiah Jones for a 28-yard score.
But the Ships kept fighting to the end.
“I told the guys I loved them and the way they played,” Rudolph said. “There is great honor in the way they finished, and there is great honor in the way they played these four quarters.
“I told the seniors that the freshmen, sophomores and juniors on this team played their hearts out for them and for that they should always carry that honor,” Rudolph said.
FREEPORT — Turnovers plagued Brazosport all season, and on Friday night at Hopper Field, loose balls cost the Exporters a trip to the playoffs.
“It is only fitting to finish the season with the thing that finished us off, which is turnovers,” Brazosport coach Ben Rudolph said. “But I’ve never been at a program that worked at it more and stressed it more about ball security all season long, and it is just one of those things that we have to analyze to see what we are doing and how we are doing it to get better from it.”
Stafford (3-2, 7-3) pulled out a tough 17-10 win against the Exporters (1-4, 2-8) in the regular season finale to secure third place in District 12-4A D-I.
The win didn’t come easy as the Ships were headed toward the tying score late in the fourth period. After Eric Covarrubias cut the lead down to seven with a 30-yard field goal with 6:39 remaining, the Exporters needed the ball back.
They got that break when Covarrubias’ onside kick got past a Spartan and freshman Ameer King came up with the ball before it rolled out of bounds at the Stafford 34-yard line.
Facing a fourth down and six from the 30 yard line, junior quarterback Navontae Darthard completed a pass to King that went for six yards, just enough to continue the drive.
Four plays later, with the ball at the 11, Darthard took off on a run but lost the ball after a 6-yard pickup. It was Brazosport’s second fumble of the second half and its fourth for the game. The Ships dropped the ball five times in the game to finish with 49 for the season, losing 22 of them.
Though that was the low point of the game for the Ships, they did need at least a 13-point win to get into the playoffs.
That or a Bay City win against Needville to give them an outside shot, but the Bluejays beat the Blackcats 25-14 to secure fourth place.
Brazosport got on the board first in the first period when King finished off a drive with a 44-yard scamper into the end zone after breaking a couple of tacklers along the way, 7-0.
The Spartans didn’t tie it up until the second quarter, but it came off the Exporters first fumble, when Eli Washington recovered it with 9:20 left before halftime.
Brazosport thought it had gotten the ball right back when Malcom Crane recovered a Spartan fumble on first down, but the Ships were called for offsides.
Nine plays later, Bryan Imarenezor (25 rushes, 163 yards) scored from 5 yards out with 5:42 before intermission.
Right before halftime, Laurencio Madrigal picked off a Stafford pass off a deflection and returned it to the Spartan 14-yard line with 1:24 remaining.
However, the Exporters could not convert on four plays as Kedrian Young threw an incomplete pass on fourth and 16 from the 20-yard line as the first half ended.
Despite not scoring, the Exporters had held a pretty tough Stafford bunch to seven points in the first 24 minutes of play.
“I was very excited for what they had accomplished in the first half,” Rudolph said. “We missed a golden opportunity right before the half when we had the ball on their side and we should have come away with some points.”
The Exporters, who took the opening kickoff, almost got the ball to start the second half when it seemed like Jeremiah Credit recovered an onside kick. But the Ships were called for offside on the play.
Stafford scored 10 crucial points in the third period, which turned out to be the difference. First Gabriel Sanchez connected on a 22-yard field goal with 3:22 left in the third period to take that 10-7 lead.
Two minutes later the Exporters lost the ball on a fumble at their own 28-yard line. It took the Spartans two plays as backup quarterback Curtis Robinson took a pitch from Imarenezor and heaved the ball to an open Hezekiah Jones for a 28-yard score.
But the Ships kept fighting to the end.
“I told the guys I loved them and the way they played,” Rudolph said. “There is great honor in the way they finished, and there is great honor in the way they played these four quarters.
“I told the seniors that the freshmen, sophomores and juniors on this team played their hearts out for them and for that they should always carry that honor,” Rudolph said.