ILS1
12-18-2005, 10:46 AM
By Alan Trubow
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Sunday, December 18, 2005
IRVING — Quarterback Jeremy Kerley just laid on his stomach, sprawled across the 48-yard line where he had been sacked. One player yanked off his helmet and tossed it a good 10 yards. Shiloh Wampler just buried his teary eyes in his coaches' shoulders and teammates' shoulder pads.
Some stared. Others shook their heads.
Nobody wearing a Hutto uniform thought it would end like this. With a loss. After all the upsets, the doubters and the overcome obstacles, the Hippos' surprise run finally came to an end Saturday as Tatum downed Hutto 38-34 in the Class 3A, Division II championship game at Texas Stadium.
The Eagles scored the final points of a back-and-forth battle when Lennon Creer dove for a 1-yard touchdown with 2 minutes and 54 seconds left, completing a comeback victory.
The Hippos, with the help of two penalties, moved the ball to the Eagles' 31 on the ensuing possession, but Kerley was sacked on consecutive plays to end Hutto's chances at the school's first state football championship.
"This was just two teams out here beating up on each other, playing hard to the end, and I guess the better team won," Kerley said. "But we're Hutto. We came from nowhere. Nobody thought we would be here. But we're here. We're No. 2 in the state. And that's a great feeling."
The Hippos (13-3) opened the game looking like a championship team thanks to junior fullback Shiloh Wampler, who finished the game with 226 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Wampler sidestepped one tackle and broke another for a 41-yard touchdown run to give Hutto a 19-10 lead with :52 left in the first half.
Then a special season turned especially sour with some poor special teams play.
Tatum speedster Darnius Moore returned the ensuing kick 87 yards untouched for a touchdown to bring the Eagles within 19-17.
"The kickoff return was huge," Tatum coach Andy Evans said. "Moore has returned 10 kicks back for more than 50 yards this year. I knew if they kicked it back to him that he was going to run it back.
Then Justin Ledbetter fumbled the Eagles' pooch kickoff, giving Tatum the ball back on the Hippos' 31 with :34 left. Three plays later the Eagles had the lead as quarterback Cashas Pollard tossed an 18-yard pass to Carson Blackmon and Tatum converted a successful two-point conversion.
Thirty seconds. Fifteen-point swing.
"It was the whole factor," Evans said. "That was the ballgame for us. We were nine points down, and somehow we go in ahead 25-19 at halftime."
The Hippos missed two extra points and fumbled two kickoffs.
Still, they kept responding.
After stopping Tatum (16-0) on the opening drive of the second half, Hutto marched down the field with an eight-play, 57-yard drive that culminated with a 21-yard touchdown by Wampler, who had season high records for carries (27), yards and tied his season high for touchdowns.
"My dad was with me tonight," said Wampler, whose father, Tony, died of a heart attack in late October. "But they were victorious."
That happened when the Eagles converted a key fourth-and-20 late in the third quarter as Moore somehow got behind the defensive backs and caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Cashas Pollard for a 31-26 lead.
Hutto responded with its own fourth-down conversion with 7:29 left in the fourth quarter as Kerley pitched to tailback Jerrick Gauthier on an option play that went for a 21-yard touchdown run and 34-31 lead when Kerley ran in the two-point conversion.
But the Hippos' defense came up short as Creer finished a 10-play, 65-yard drive with his touchdown run to complete the scoring.
"If you would have told me that we would score 34 points I would have thought we would have won," Hutto coach Lee Penland said.
Not that he was too disappointed.
"Every time we challenged these guys they stepped up. We fought through the whole time and just came up a little short," Penland said. "It's awfully disappointing. We've got a lot of broken hearts right now. I'm going to go in there and tell these guys how much we love them.
"I couldn't be more proud of these guys even if we had won the game."
Game Story (www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/highschool/12/18HUTTO.html)
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Sunday, December 18, 2005
IRVING — Quarterback Jeremy Kerley just laid on his stomach, sprawled across the 48-yard line where he had been sacked. One player yanked off his helmet and tossed it a good 10 yards. Shiloh Wampler just buried his teary eyes in his coaches' shoulders and teammates' shoulder pads.
Some stared. Others shook their heads.
Nobody wearing a Hutto uniform thought it would end like this. With a loss. After all the upsets, the doubters and the overcome obstacles, the Hippos' surprise run finally came to an end Saturday as Tatum downed Hutto 38-34 in the Class 3A, Division II championship game at Texas Stadium.
The Eagles scored the final points of a back-and-forth battle when Lennon Creer dove for a 1-yard touchdown with 2 minutes and 54 seconds left, completing a comeback victory.
The Hippos, with the help of two penalties, moved the ball to the Eagles' 31 on the ensuing possession, but Kerley was sacked on consecutive plays to end Hutto's chances at the school's first state football championship.
"This was just two teams out here beating up on each other, playing hard to the end, and I guess the better team won," Kerley said. "But we're Hutto. We came from nowhere. Nobody thought we would be here. But we're here. We're No. 2 in the state. And that's a great feeling."
The Hippos (13-3) opened the game looking like a championship team thanks to junior fullback Shiloh Wampler, who finished the game with 226 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Wampler sidestepped one tackle and broke another for a 41-yard touchdown run to give Hutto a 19-10 lead with :52 left in the first half.
Then a special season turned especially sour with some poor special teams play.
Tatum speedster Darnius Moore returned the ensuing kick 87 yards untouched for a touchdown to bring the Eagles within 19-17.
"The kickoff return was huge," Tatum coach Andy Evans said. "Moore has returned 10 kicks back for more than 50 yards this year. I knew if they kicked it back to him that he was going to run it back.
Then Justin Ledbetter fumbled the Eagles' pooch kickoff, giving Tatum the ball back on the Hippos' 31 with :34 left. Three plays later the Eagles had the lead as quarterback Cashas Pollard tossed an 18-yard pass to Carson Blackmon and Tatum converted a successful two-point conversion.
Thirty seconds. Fifteen-point swing.
"It was the whole factor," Evans said. "That was the ballgame for us. We were nine points down, and somehow we go in ahead 25-19 at halftime."
The Hippos missed two extra points and fumbled two kickoffs.
Still, they kept responding.
After stopping Tatum (16-0) on the opening drive of the second half, Hutto marched down the field with an eight-play, 57-yard drive that culminated with a 21-yard touchdown by Wampler, who had season high records for carries (27), yards and tied his season high for touchdowns.
"My dad was with me tonight," said Wampler, whose father, Tony, died of a heart attack in late October. "But they were victorious."
That happened when the Eagles converted a key fourth-and-20 late in the third quarter as Moore somehow got behind the defensive backs and caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Cashas Pollard for a 31-26 lead.
Hutto responded with its own fourth-down conversion with 7:29 left in the fourth quarter as Kerley pitched to tailback Jerrick Gauthier on an option play that went for a 21-yard touchdown run and 34-31 lead when Kerley ran in the two-point conversion.
But the Hippos' defense came up short as Creer finished a 10-play, 65-yard drive with his touchdown run to complete the scoring.
"If you would have told me that we would score 34 points I would have thought we would have won," Hutto coach Lee Penland said.
Not that he was too disappointed.
"Every time we challenged these guys they stepped up. We fought through the whole time and just came up a little short," Penland said. "It's awfully disappointing. We've got a lot of broken hearts right now. I'm going to go in there and tell these guys how much we love them.
"I couldn't be more proud of these guys even if we had won the game."
Game Story (www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/highschool/12/18HUTTO.html)