JR2004
10-04-2008, 12:33 AM
That's a new state record for consecutive regular season victories. Pretty impressive to be able to do it at Abe Martin.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6039179.html
North Shore beats Lufkin for record 73rd straight win
Lufkin's 27-game home winning streak snapped by Mustangs
By SAM KHAN JR.
Oct. 3, 2008, 11:44PM
LUFKIN - Nobody said making history would be easy.
After entering a hostile environment after a 28-day layoff caused by Hurricane Ike, the North Shore Mustangs got what they came for - a state record - but needed a 26-yard touchdown pass from Alex Tillman to DeAndrew White with 26 seconds left to pull out a 28-21 win over Lufkin on Friday at Abe Martin Stadium.
The Mustangs won their 73rd consecutive regular-season contest, breaking the state record of 72 set by Southlake Carroll from 1986-94. In the process, they also broke Lufkin's 27-game home winning streak, which dated back to 2002.
"I was just relieved (after White scored)," Tillman said. "I said to myself 'Oh yeah, we got this.' It feels very good."
The Mustangs also tied the state record for consecutive regular-season games without a loss, which is 73, held by Austin Westlake. They can break that record with a win over Port Arthur Memorial next week.
Lufkin (2-3) lost its third consecutive game. The last time the Panthers lost three straight was 1996.
For 44 minutes, the North Shore offense couldn't muster much production. But with 3:47 left and locked in a 21-21 tie, the Mustangs were able to pull out a 13-play, 85-yard drive that took 3:21 off the clock - their best drive of the night. They needed a conversion on 4th-and-3, which they got on a slant pass from Tillman to White to get to the Lufkin 26. Then they went back to that same play for the game winner.
"At halftime we talked about that - that the slant was there," North Shore coach David Aymond said. "We went to it and it was good for us when it counted the most."
White (seven catches, 134 yards) was Tillman's go-to man throughout the night. Similarly, Lufkin's Quinn Trimble (seven catches, 147 yards), provided a consistent target for Lufkin quarterback Jeremy Claybon.
But North Shore's defense was the key on Friday. The unit came up with six turnovers (four fumble recoveries, two interceptions) and produced three touchdowns. After Lufkin took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 1-yard Claybon sneak, the Mustangs picked up two defensive touchdowns in a span of 38 seconds early in the second.
Daniel Salinas sacked Claybon at the Lufkin 11 and defensive end Terrence Kindle stripped Claybon then an ran 11 yards for a score. Two Lufkin plays later, backup quarterback Arthur Tinz fumbled in the end zone and defensive lineman Jarrod Foster recovered in the end zone for a 14-7 lead with 10:40 left in the second quarter.
In the third, North Shore extended the lead when Larry Stephens picked up a dropped option pitch by TreVon Lewis and returned it 41 yards for a score and a 21-7 lead with 2:01 left in the third quarter.
"We handed them 21 points," Lufkin coach John Outlaw said. "It's just hard to stomach right now. As long as you keep (turning it over) when you're playing good people, you're going to lose."
Lufkin showed fight late, getting a 36-yard touchdown pass from Claybon to Trimble and a 12-yard run by Claybon to tie the game with 7:42 left. The teams exchanged punts after that before the Mustangs dug deep and put together their only good offensive drive of the night.
The effects of the layoff showed for North Shore, who committed nine penalties for 85 yards and produced only 220 yards of offense. But Aymond wasn't worried about the details after the game - just the result.
"I'm so proud of our players because we overcame so much tonight," Aymond said. "It just showed how valiant the fight in our players is. Our defense continued to fight and our offense got it done (when it counted) to score with 26 seconds left."
sam.khan@chron.com
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6039179.html
North Shore beats Lufkin for record 73rd straight win
Lufkin's 27-game home winning streak snapped by Mustangs
By SAM KHAN JR.
Oct. 3, 2008, 11:44PM
LUFKIN - Nobody said making history would be easy.
After entering a hostile environment after a 28-day layoff caused by Hurricane Ike, the North Shore Mustangs got what they came for - a state record - but needed a 26-yard touchdown pass from Alex Tillman to DeAndrew White with 26 seconds left to pull out a 28-21 win over Lufkin on Friday at Abe Martin Stadium.
The Mustangs won their 73rd consecutive regular-season contest, breaking the state record of 72 set by Southlake Carroll from 1986-94. In the process, they also broke Lufkin's 27-game home winning streak, which dated back to 2002.
"I was just relieved (after White scored)," Tillman said. "I said to myself 'Oh yeah, we got this.' It feels very good."
The Mustangs also tied the state record for consecutive regular-season games without a loss, which is 73, held by Austin Westlake. They can break that record with a win over Port Arthur Memorial next week.
Lufkin (2-3) lost its third consecutive game. The last time the Panthers lost three straight was 1996.
For 44 minutes, the North Shore offense couldn't muster much production. But with 3:47 left and locked in a 21-21 tie, the Mustangs were able to pull out a 13-play, 85-yard drive that took 3:21 off the clock - their best drive of the night. They needed a conversion on 4th-and-3, which they got on a slant pass from Tillman to White to get to the Lufkin 26. Then they went back to that same play for the game winner.
"At halftime we talked about that - that the slant was there," North Shore coach David Aymond said. "We went to it and it was good for us when it counted the most."
White (seven catches, 134 yards) was Tillman's go-to man throughout the night. Similarly, Lufkin's Quinn Trimble (seven catches, 147 yards), provided a consistent target for Lufkin quarterback Jeremy Claybon.
But North Shore's defense was the key on Friday. The unit came up with six turnovers (four fumble recoveries, two interceptions) and produced three touchdowns. After Lufkin took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 1-yard Claybon sneak, the Mustangs picked up two defensive touchdowns in a span of 38 seconds early in the second.
Daniel Salinas sacked Claybon at the Lufkin 11 and defensive end Terrence Kindle stripped Claybon then an ran 11 yards for a score. Two Lufkin plays later, backup quarterback Arthur Tinz fumbled in the end zone and defensive lineman Jarrod Foster recovered in the end zone for a 14-7 lead with 10:40 left in the second quarter.
In the third, North Shore extended the lead when Larry Stephens picked up a dropped option pitch by TreVon Lewis and returned it 41 yards for a score and a 21-7 lead with 2:01 left in the third quarter.
"We handed them 21 points," Lufkin coach John Outlaw said. "It's just hard to stomach right now. As long as you keep (turning it over) when you're playing good people, you're going to lose."
Lufkin showed fight late, getting a 36-yard touchdown pass from Claybon to Trimble and a 12-yard run by Claybon to tie the game with 7:42 left. The teams exchanged punts after that before the Mustangs dug deep and put together their only good offensive drive of the night.
The effects of the layoff showed for North Shore, who committed nine penalties for 85 yards and produced only 220 yards of offense. But Aymond wasn't worried about the details after the game - just the result.
"I'm so proud of our players because we overcame so much tonight," Aymond said. "It just showed how valiant the fight in our players is. Our defense continued to fight and our offense got it done (when it counted) to score with 26 seconds left."
sam.khan@chron.com