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10-04-2003, 11:15 PM
La Vega upsets Gatesville, 21-18
By BRICE CHERRY Tribune-Herald staff writer
Don't look now, but a crew of greedy Pirates have landed on the shores of Bellmead.
La Vega's stingy defense came up with a big fourth-quarter goal-line stand, helping the Pirates preserve a hard-fought 21-18 victory over Gatesville in a duel of District 17-3A unbeatens Friday night at Pirate Field.
It was a huge win for the Pirates, who charged back from an early 10-0 deficit to improve to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the district, tying them with China Spring (a 31-0 winner over Hillsboro) for first place.
"Our kids played so hard," La Vega coach Willie Williams said. "Our defense is really playing well right now, and our offense is doing just enough to help us get by."
La Vega actually scored touchdowns in all three phases of the game, but it was the Pirates’ swarming pursuit on defense that allowed them to hold off the favored Hornets.
Down 21-18, Gatesville took over at its 41 with 9:27 left in the game and quickly picked up six yards on a pass from Chris Fadal to Phillip Taylor.
But that play was merely for show, as seeing the Hornets’ playbook in action is like reading an Agatha Christie novel from back to front — there really is no mystery. Gatesville (3-2, 1-1) began feeding workhorse back LaShon Thayer on every snap, and Thayer produced, running the ball on nine straight plays to carry the Hornets down to the La Vega 4.
But the Pirate defense held firm, pushing Thayer back for a loss on each of the next two carries. That set up a potential game-tying field goal from 20 yards out for Gatesville senior Juan Paredes, who had already kicked one field goal and converted two PAT kicks.
But Paredes sliced the kick wide right, and the Pirates managed to run out the last 1:53 to escape with the win.
"We knew that Thayer was their warrior," Williams said. "They shoved him right down our throat, and he did a great job. But our defense really bowed up when we needed it to. I thought (linebacker) David Rhodes played a great game."
Gatesville seized a 10-0 lead after a 10-yard touchdown run from Thayer midway through the first quarter and a 31-yard field goal from Paredes early in the second.
But the Pirates were far from sunk. Behind some slick running and passing from quarterback Jarvis Sanders — making just his second varsity start under center — La Vega put together a 14-play, 70-yard drive to cut the lead to 10-7. Sanders provided the capper with a three-yard run on a bootleg.
The momentum had clearly swung, and it was never more apparent than on the ensuing kickoff. Gatesville's Taylor cut up the sideline on the return until La Vega's Joe Sanders swept in like a hawk, stripped the ball out of Taylor's hands and darted 20 yards for a touchdown that had both sets of fans doing a double-take.
La Vega built its lead to 21-10 with 2:15 left in the third quarter when David Shepherd picked off a Fadal pass and returned it eight yards for the score.
Those kinds of mistakes proved costly for the Hornets, who coughed the ball up five times and were flagged nine times for 55 yards.
"We had some fumbles and just didn't make good decisions," Gatesville coach Mike Morgan said. "I thought we fought hard, but we've got to cut out those mistakes, especially with China Spring coming up next week."
Thayer finished with 134 yards and a pair of scores, but Gatesville managed only 38 yards through the air. Nick Clayburn had just 55 yards rushing to lead La Vega, but came up with a big 11-yard run on his final carry of the night to help the Pirates pick up a first down and run out the clock.
The game was also marred by a serious injury to Gatesville junior lineman Chad Newman, who went down on kickoff coverage late in the third quarter. Newman laid motionless face-first on the turf before being taken off the field on a stretcher after around 20 minutes. No word on his condition was available late Friday night.
G (1st): LaShon Thayer 10 run (Juan Paredes kick); G (2nd): Paredes 31 field goal; LV (2nd): Jarvis Sanders 3 run (Juan Orellana kick); LV (2nd): Joe Sanders 20 yard fumble return (Orellana kick); LV (3rd): David Shepherd 8 yard interception return (Orellana kick); G (4th): Thayer 33 run (Thayer pass from Chris Fadal).
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feed/sports/2003/10/04/1065249461.19830.5668
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By BRICE CHERRY Tribune-Herald staff writer
Don't look now, but a crew of greedy Pirates have landed on the shores of Bellmead.
La Vega's stingy defense came up with a big fourth-quarter goal-line stand, helping the Pirates preserve a hard-fought 21-18 victory over Gatesville in a duel of District 17-3A unbeatens Friday night at Pirate Field.
It was a huge win for the Pirates, who charged back from an early 10-0 deficit to improve to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the district, tying them with China Spring (a 31-0 winner over Hillsboro) for first place.
"Our kids played so hard," La Vega coach Willie Williams said. "Our defense is really playing well right now, and our offense is doing just enough to help us get by."
La Vega actually scored touchdowns in all three phases of the game, but it was the Pirates’ swarming pursuit on defense that allowed them to hold off the favored Hornets.
Down 21-18, Gatesville took over at its 41 with 9:27 left in the game and quickly picked up six yards on a pass from Chris Fadal to Phillip Taylor.
But that play was merely for show, as seeing the Hornets’ playbook in action is like reading an Agatha Christie novel from back to front — there really is no mystery. Gatesville (3-2, 1-1) began feeding workhorse back LaShon Thayer on every snap, and Thayer produced, running the ball on nine straight plays to carry the Hornets down to the La Vega 4.
But the Pirate defense held firm, pushing Thayer back for a loss on each of the next two carries. That set up a potential game-tying field goal from 20 yards out for Gatesville senior Juan Paredes, who had already kicked one field goal and converted two PAT kicks.
But Paredes sliced the kick wide right, and the Pirates managed to run out the last 1:53 to escape with the win.
"We knew that Thayer was their warrior," Williams said. "They shoved him right down our throat, and he did a great job. But our defense really bowed up when we needed it to. I thought (linebacker) David Rhodes played a great game."
Gatesville seized a 10-0 lead after a 10-yard touchdown run from Thayer midway through the first quarter and a 31-yard field goal from Paredes early in the second.
But the Pirates were far from sunk. Behind some slick running and passing from quarterback Jarvis Sanders — making just his second varsity start under center — La Vega put together a 14-play, 70-yard drive to cut the lead to 10-7. Sanders provided the capper with a three-yard run on a bootleg.
The momentum had clearly swung, and it was never more apparent than on the ensuing kickoff. Gatesville's Taylor cut up the sideline on the return until La Vega's Joe Sanders swept in like a hawk, stripped the ball out of Taylor's hands and darted 20 yards for a touchdown that had both sets of fans doing a double-take.
La Vega built its lead to 21-10 with 2:15 left in the third quarter when David Shepherd picked off a Fadal pass and returned it eight yards for the score.
Those kinds of mistakes proved costly for the Hornets, who coughed the ball up five times and were flagged nine times for 55 yards.
"We had some fumbles and just didn't make good decisions," Gatesville coach Mike Morgan said. "I thought we fought hard, but we've got to cut out those mistakes, especially with China Spring coming up next week."
Thayer finished with 134 yards and a pair of scores, but Gatesville managed only 38 yards through the air. Nick Clayburn had just 55 yards rushing to lead La Vega, but came up with a big 11-yard run on his final carry of the night to help the Pirates pick up a first down and run out the clock.
The game was also marred by a serious injury to Gatesville junior lineman Chad Newman, who went down on kickoff coverage late in the third quarter. Newman laid motionless face-first on the turf before being taken off the field on a stretcher after around 20 minutes. No word on his condition was available late Friday night.
G (1st): LaShon Thayer 10 run (Juan Paredes kick); G (2nd): Paredes 31 field goal; LV (2nd): Jarvis Sanders 3 run (Juan Orellana kick); LV (2nd): Joe Sanders 20 yard fumble return (Orellana kick); LV (3rd): David Shepherd 8 yard interception return (Orellana kick); G (4th): Thayer 33 run (Thayer pass from Chris Fadal).
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