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VICTORIA WEST
FOOTBALL
West Falls to Bay City in Final Minute
September 17, 2011

BAY CITY - After getting torched by Corpus Christi King for 40 points and 422 passing yards last week, Victoria West's defense had to change something in order to win.

Friday against Bay City, the Warriors' defense was more active, coming up with drive-stalling sacks, timely fumbles and turnovers, while allowing just 14 yards rushing.

The problem was the Blackcats came up with their biggest play through the air.

With 34 seconds remaining, Bay City quarterback Derek Brown connected with Dennis Martin for a 44-yard touchdown to give the Blackcats (2-1) a 12-7 win over West (0-3) at Memorial Stadium.

"We just came up short," West head coach Leonard McAngus said.

Down 7-6 with less than a minute remaining, Bay City was out of timeouts and facing fourth and 10 from its own 24-yard line.

But the Warriors were flagged for pass interference, keeping the drive alive.

Three plays later, the Blackcats produced the deciding score.

"It just goes to show the tenacity and the heart that this team has," said Bay City coach Robert Blackmon.

West still had an opportunity to rally, taking control at Bay City's 42-yard line with 34 seconds remaining.

But the drive ended after three plays, as Garrett Rother was threw his second interception.

Waylon Jackson got the interception and the Blackcats ran out the clock.

The West offense amassed 235 total yards, but finished with very few points to show for it.

Rother completed 11 of 19 passes for 82 yards.

"I'm proud of how our defense played," McAngus said. "They played good enough for us to win. We just didn't execute on offense consistenly enough for us to win."

The West defense made timely plays, giving the team an opportunity to earn its first win of the season.

Late in the second quarter, Brown drove the Blackcats to West's 6-yard line to set up a first and goal.

But Zach Hougen came up with a sack, forcing Bay City to attempt a 35-yard field goal that missed wide right as time expired in the first half.

Bay City scored its first touchdown in the third quarter on a 71-yard pass from Josh Ervin to Brown, but West's Jayce Serrano blocked the extra point attempt to keep the Warriors ahead 7-6.

The West defense made more plays in the fourth quarter as seniors Gabe Garcia recovered a fumble and E.J. Simmons intercepted a pass on drives with Bay City inside West's 40-yard line.

"We needed our seniors to lead us, and I felt like they did a great job this week," McAngus said.

West running back Chris Franklin scored the game's initial points in the third quarter on a 9-yard delayed hand off and Felipe Bastida added the extra point.

Franklin finished with a team-high 112 yards rushing on 19 carries.

"He's the guy we're going to hang our hat on," McAngus said.

It took Bay City just one play to answer Ervin connected with Brown with 1:56 remaining in the third quarter.

Tthe Blackcats' offense then began moving consistently with Ervin at the helm and Brown relocated to the slot.

The duo connected on five completions for 144 yards, most coming on screens.

"They do it really well, and they were able to get their blockers out there, and we didn't execute at times as well as we're capable of," McAngus said.

Added Blackmon: "We just happened to get a play with Derek that let our kids play better in the second half."

Ervin finished with 184 passing yards and a touchdown, while Brown produced 147 passing yards and a touchdown to go with his scoring reception.

West's offense had chances to score in the first half.

On their second and third possessions of the game, Warriors' drives stalled at at the Bay City's 25 and 34.

"Those are crucial things we've got to get better with offensively," McAngus said.