Scoop27
11-12-2016, 11:32 AM
SINTON — There are defining moments in football games, and for the Sweeny Bulldogs, they came in the third quarter Friday against Port Isabel when they held a potent Tarpon offense to just 11 yards in 12 minutes of play.
Couple that defensive feat with outscoring Port Isabel 21-0 in the second half and it added up to a come-from-behind, 36-21 win in a Class 4A Division II Region IV bidistrict playoff matchup at Sinton’s Pirate Stadium.
“It was awesome,” Sweeny coach Randy Lynch said. “I tell you what, our kids really stepped it up in the second half. We talked to them at halftime, made some adjustments defensively. But offensively and defensively, we played about as well as we could in the second half. The credit goes to the kids and defensive staff for making adjustments.”
The Bulldog defense gave up 221 rushing yards in the first half, including allowing 151 to Tarpon senior Omar Silva, and Sweeny trailed 21-15 going into the locker room.
“We tried putting in another defensive package and we knew they were going to go a lot of two tight ends and just run the ball,” Lynch said of the adjustments. “We just did what we were not used to doing and it worked for us.”
It certainly did, as the defense held Silva to just 50 yards in the second half. But the speedy back was hampered somewhat after a second-quarter collision that sent him to the sideline with what seemed a shoulder injury. After that, he never ran the ball the same.
“It was his shoulder and they put a brace on it, but it was bothering him,” Port Isabel coach Monty Stumbaugh said. “It hurt him and it slowed him down big-time.”
Sweeny’s Evan Green (17-142 rushing) picked up the pace for the Bulldogs after being held to just 10 yards on the ground in the first half. The senior quarterback had some tough touchdown runs of 19, 52 and 37 yards in the second half.
“We knew we could come back and we had been down before,” Green said. “For us, it was really just pushing harder, we just had to focus. We know we have the talent and we know we can do whatever we want against anybody, and for us it is just a matter of focus, hard work and dedication.”
It was quite a first half between the Bulldogs and Tarpons as they went back and forth like a couple of fighters.
Both threw big salvos with Sweeny’s Green hitting Donovan Banks in stride for a 59-yard score early in the second period.
But the Tarpons had its own big-play man in Silva, who ripped off a 77-yard run to get Port Isabel on the board for the first time in the first period.
Green added a 1-yard score in the first quarter for the Bulldogs’ first score, then Malik Willer added a two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead.
But the Tarpon running game just kept plugging along against Sweeny’s defense, with Silva, Carlos Orduna (4-36 yards) and Travis Camacho (6-34) leading the charge.
Sophomore quarterback Cesar Aguilera connected with Jesus Saldivar, who was wide open in the end zone, on an 11-yard score that gave the Tarpons the 21-15 lead with 2:44 before halftime.
The Bulldogs (7-4) will move on to face either Navarro or Poteet.
Port Isabel finishes the season at 9-2.
Couple that defensive feat with outscoring Port Isabel 21-0 in the second half and it added up to a come-from-behind, 36-21 win in a Class 4A Division II Region IV bidistrict playoff matchup at Sinton’s Pirate Stadium.
“It was awesome,” Sweeny coach Randy Lynch said. “I tell you what, our kids really stepped it up in the second half. We talked to them at halftime, made some adjustments defensively. But offensively and defensively, we played about as well as we could in the second half. The credit goes to the kids and defensive staff for making adjustments.”
The Bulldog defense gave up 221 rushing yards in the first half, including allowing 151 to Tarpon senior Omar Silva, and Sweeny trailed 21-15 going into the locker room.
“We tried putting in another defensive package and we knew they were going to go a lot of two tight ends and just run the ball,” Lynch said of the adjustments. “We just did what we were not used to doing and it worked for us.”
It certainly did, as the defense held Silva to just 50 yards in the second half. But the speedy back was hampered somewhat after a second-quarter collision that sent him to the sideline with what seemed a shoulder injury. After that, he never ran the ball the same.
“It was his shoulder and they put a brace on it, but it was bothering him,” Port Isabel coach Monty Stumbaugh said. “It hurt him and it slowed him down big-time.”
Sweeny’s Evan Green (17-142 rushing) picked up the pace for the Bulldogs after being held to just 10 yards on the ground in the first half. The senior quarterback had some tough touchdown runs of 19, 52 and 37 yards in the second half.
“We knew we could come back and we had been down before,” Green said. “For us, it was really just pushing harder, we just had to focus. We know we have the talent and we know we can do whatever we want against anybody, and for us it is just a matter of focus, hard work and dedication.”
It was quite a first half between the Bulldogs and Tarpons as they went back and forth like a couple of fighters.
Both threw big salvos with Sweeny’s Green hitting Donovan Banks in stride for a 59-yard score early in the second period.
But the Tarpons had its own big-play man in Silva, who ripped off a 77-yard run to get Port Isabel on the board for the first time in the first period.
Green added a 1-yard score in the first quarter for the Bulldogs’ first score, then Malik Willer added a two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead.
But the Tarpon running game just kept plugging along against Sweeny’s defense, with Silva, Carlos Orduna (4-36 yards) and Travis Camacho (6-34) leading the charge.
Sophomore quarterback Cesar Aguilera connected with Jesus Saldivar, who was wide open in the end zone, on an 11-yard score that gave the Tarpons the 21-15 lead with 2:44 before halftime.
The Bulldogs (7-4) will move on to face either Navarro or Poteet.
Port Isabel finishes the season at 9-2.