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Tigers Give Valiant Effort in Loss

November 15, 2014

 Tigers give valiant effort in loss

  BRENT ADDLEMAN Managing Editor | Posted:   Saturday, November 15, 2014 3:16 am   When the final horn sounded, Cameron Yoe, the two-time defending state champions escaped with a 41-21 victory over   Glen Rose on Friday night at Waco ISD Stadium.   In a game much closer than the score indicated, the Tigers scratched and clawed their way against a bigger, faster opponent in Cameron Yoe (7-4), Glen Rose (7-4) never led in the game, but battled their way in the second half to close the gap.   “I thought they played their hearts out,” Glen Rose coach Tommy Dunn said. “The way the game started, we felt like we were trying to dig out of a hole after giving up a touchdown on the kickoff return to start the game. We were ready to go. We wanted to make them make some plays early on offense, but they didn’t have to. They did later, but they didn’t have to right off the bat.   “They never trailed in the game. It always seemed we were fighting from behind. That is the way the game went.”   Cameron Yoe got off to a quick start as a reverse to Aaron Sims on the opening kickoff, led to the speedster running up the right sideline through the Glen Rose coverage team to give the Yoemans an early 6-0 lead. Cameron Yoe extended the lead to 14-0 as Traion Smith scored on a 5-yard run with 2:11 left in the opening quarter. Cameron Yoe quarterback Reid Nickerson connected with wide receiver Sicory Smith on the two-point conversion, giving the Yeomans a 14-0 lead after one quarter of play.   Glen Rose was able to score on an 8-play, 72-yard drive to pull within a touchdown, 14-7, just seconds into the second quarter. Glen Rose quarterback Colten Lane capped the drive with a 1-yard plunge into the endzone, and Azahel Herrera’s kick trimmed the deficit to seven.   Lane and running back Preston Shuffield combined to get the Tigers into the endzone on the drive. Lane scampered for 15 yards on a second-and-6 at the Cameron Yoe 47 yardline to put the ball to the 38. A late hit call against the Yoemans moved the ball to the 23. Shuffield then gained 10 yards on a dive to bring up first-and-goal at the 13.   Lane connected with wideout Ethan Hartman for a 10-yard gain to move the ball to the 4. Lane took the ball into the endzone with runs of 3 and 1 yard.   Cameron Yoe responded with a 10-play, 53-yard drive that chewed nearly 4 minutes off the clock. Smith capped the drive by taking the direct snap into the endzone from 1-yard out. Eric Sanchez’s point-after attempt was good and Cameron Yoe led 21-7 with 7:48 left in the first half.   “We didn’t match them scoring,” Dunn said. “It is simple as that. It was 14-7 (in the second quarter), and they went down and scored. We felt we had to come right back and score, and we didn’t. They exploited us with their speed. We hit them between the tackles on that first scoring drive, and they took that away a bit. You almost had to play perfect. It is tough when you get behind against a team like that.”   Glen Rose turned up the heat in the second half on offense, and defense, against Cameron Yoe, but was unable to overcome the early deficit. After a scoreless third quarter, Glen Rose outscored the Yoeman 14-13 in the final frame but it wouldn’t be enough to pull out victory.   “I thought at halftime we were going to get involved,” Dunn said. “It was 28-7 at that point. I thought if we could go down and score and make it 28-14 we are back in the ballgame. We knew that we had to score. When we didn’t and they went up and scored, it put us behind the 8-ball.”   Lane connected with Hartman on a 5-yard scoring strike midway through the quarter, but Cameron Yoe stormed right back to take a 41-13 lead as Nickerson connected with wideout Vincent Vargas on an 18-yard scoring strike.   Glen Rose scored a late touchdown with just 1:42 left in the game as Lane connected with Drayton Williams for the score. On the two-point conversion, running back Jacob Locke found Brett Taylor in the back of the endzone to set the final.   Dunn praised his players, citing their hard work throughout the season as a key element to the identity of the squad.   “The kids, those seniors, after the game we told them how much the coaches appreciate them, all the hard work they did and standards they set,” Dunn said. “We told them they had a great season. Don’t let the way the season ended affect what they think about the season.   “I thought everybody contributed. Sam, Preston, Drayton, Jacob and Ethan. We really ran those guys. We tried to establish a little bit more of a running game. We didn’t have much depth at running back, but we thought we had a few things where we could establish the running game – and we did. We just didn’t finish drives like we needed to.   “I think that’s the way we always play. We have that ‘never say die’ attitude no matter what the score is. That is how those kids are brought up.”   Defensively, the Tigers kept going after the Cameron Yoe offense, maintaining pressure on the ball.   “I thought (the defense) played tremendous,” Dunn said. “They made some stops in there against a good offense. In the first half, Cameron Yoe didn’t really have many plays. I thought (the defense) played really well.   “It was a privilege to coach them. I hope they think it was a successful year. I think it was. It didn’t end (the way we wanted) but it was a successful year. That’s the thing when you work so hard, you fight through the heat of the summer and you get to this point in the year and this is what you fight for. That is the way the season took us, and there are some different factors in there. We fought as hard as we could.”   Brent Addleman is managing editor of the Glen Rose Reporter. He can be reached at 254-897-2282 or email to brent.addleman@theglenrosereporter.com. Follow him on Twitter: @GRR_Editor.