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09-12-2015, 10:43 AM
By Billy Loveless sports@thefacts.com | 0 comments
FREEPORT — After a tough and tight first half, the Baytown Sterling Rangers dominated the final two quarters Friday night on the way to a 38-8 victory over the Brazosport Exporters at Hopper Field in Freeport.
The Rangers scored on their first two possessions of the third quarter to stretch a 15-8 halftime advantage into a 29-8 lead that essentially sealed the contest before the fourth quarter began.
Sterling (3-0) went on to register another touchdown before the game ended, as well as benefited from a bad Brazosport snap on a punt that went out of the end zone for a safety.
It also didn’t help that Brazosport’s leading running back, Jeremiah Credit, left the game late in the first half and didn’t return. Credit scored the Exporters’ lone touchdown and rushed for 101 yards.
The status of his injury wasn’t known immediately after the game.
During the tough second half, Brazosport (1-2) earned only one first down, and it was via penalty.
“We made too many mistakes and couldn’t recover from those mistakes,” Brazosport head coach Ben Rudolph said of his team’s second-half play. “That’s not who we are and it’s not the effort we want to give. This was a nondistrict game. We’re going to go in and watch the film, clean up our mistakes and continue moving forward.”
Doing a bulk of the damage for Sterling was quarterback Matt Corbett, who rushed for 84 yards and three touchdowns, while completing nine-of-13 passes for 142 yards.
Nathaniel Charles and Xavier Curry also scored second-half touchdowns on runs from 13 and 2 yards out.
Brazosport’s only touchdown came on its first drive of the game, and it was even more impressive because of how the Exporters handled a difficult situation to start the contest.
The game began with Brazosport fumbling the opening kickoff. The defense responded when, deep in its own territory, Ja’Quavious Dean crushed the Ranger running back on a third-and-2 play, followed by a stop by Danny Martinez on fourth down.
Brazosport’s offense then went on a 12-play, 81-yard drive to jump out to an 8-0 lead. Credit played a key role on the drive, rushing six times for 75 yards, including a 16-yard scamper into the end zone. Credit also ran in the two-point conversion.
On Sterling’s next possession, Corbett led the Rangers down the field, eventually scoring on a 34-yard keeper. After a two-point conversion, Sterling had knotted the contest at 8.
Corbett scored once more before the half closed, capping a six-play drive with a 1-yard plunge with 4:47 left in the second quarter to put the Rangers up 15-8.
Brazosport went on a 13-play drive down to the Sterling 15-yard line late in the second stanza, but was unable to get the ball into the end zone, leaving the Exporters down 15-8 at the half.
“What I’m most proud of is how we responded to sudden change in the first half,” Rudolph said. “We fumbled the opening kickoff, but we stopped them in four downs to get the ball back. I was proud of how our kids handled that transition. The effort in the first half was there. A couple of plays and into the end zone, and we would have been in a tied game at the half.
“We feel pretty good about that part, but we just have to clean up those second-half errors. And those are all fixable mistakes. At the end of the day, we’ll coach them up better and get ready for district play.”
Sterling finished with 375 yards of offense, with 233 coming on the ground. Brazosport ended the game with 185 total yards, including 135 rushing yards.
FREEPORT — After a tough and tight first half, the Baytown Sterling Rangers dominated the final two quarters Friday night on the way to a 38-8 victory over the Brazosport Exporters at Hopper Field in Freeport.
The Rangers scored on their first two possessions of the third quarter to stretch a 15-8 halftime advantage into a 29-8 lead that essentially sealed the contest before the fourth quarter began.
Sterling (3-0) went on to register another touchdown before the game ended, as well as benefited from a bad Brazosport snap on a punt that went out of the end zone for a safety.
It also didn’t help that Brazosport’s leading running back, Jeremiah Credit, left the game late in the first half and didn’t return. Credit scored the Exporters’ lone touchdown and rushed for 101 yards.
The status of his injury wasn’t known immediately after the game.
During the tough second half, Brazosport (1-2) earned only one first down, and it was via penalty.
“We made too many mistakes and couldn’t recover from those mistakes,” Brazosport head coach Ben Rudolph said of his team’s second-half play. “That’s not who we are and it’s not the effort we want to give. This was a nondistrict game. We’re going to go in and watch the film, clean up our mistakes and continue moving forward.”
Doing a bulk of the damage for Sterling was quarterback Matt Corbett, who rushed for 84 yards and three touchdowns, while completing nine-of-13 passes for 142 yards.
Nathaniel Charles and Xavier Curry also scored second-half touchdowns on runs from 13 and 2 yards out.
Brazosport’s only touchdown came on its first drive of the game, and it was even more impressive because of how the Exporters handled a difficult situation to start the contest.
The game began with Brazosport fumbling the opening kickoff. The defense responded when, deep in its own territory, Ja’Quavious Dean crushed the Ranger running back on a third-and-2 play, followed by a stop by Danny Martinez on fourth down.
Brazosport’s offense then went on a 12-play, 81-yard drive to jump out to an 8-0 lead. Credit played a key role on the drive, rushing six times for 75 yards, including a 16-yard scamper into the end zone. Credit also ran in the two-point conversion.
On Sterling’s next possession, Corbett led the Rangers down the field, eventually scoring on a 34-yard keeper. After a two-point conversion, Sterling had knotted the contest at 8.
Corbett scored once more before the half closed, capping a six-play drive with a 1-yard plunge with 4:47 left in the second quarter to put the Rangers up 15-8.
Brazosport went on a 13-play drive down to the Sterling 15-yard line late in the second stanza, but was unable to get the ball into the end zone, leaving the Exporters down 15-8 at the half.
“What I’m most proud of is how we responded to sudden change in the first half,” Rudolph said. “We fumbled the opening kickoff, but we stopped them in four downs to get the ball back. I was proud of how our kids handled that transition. The effort in the first half was there. A couple of plays and into the end zone, and we would have been in a tied game at the half.
“We feel pretty good about that part, but we just have to clean up those second-half errors. And those are all fixable mistakes. At the end of the day, we’ll coach them up better and get ready for district play.”
Sterling finished with 375 yards of offense, with 233 coming on the ground. Brazosport ended the game with 185 total yards, including 135 rushing yards.