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| 8/29/2009 1:20:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Hippos' defense staves off Jaguars' comeback attempt
By CLIFF COATS
Special to the Leader
The Hustlin' Hippos moved up from the comfort of 3A football into tough District 25-4A last season and slugged their way to a hard fought 6-4 overall record (2-4 in district play). One of those victories was a surprise win over the LBJ Jaguars in Austin. Hoping to repeat last year's success, Hutto head Coach Lee Penland's team welcomed the Jags to a packed Hippo Stadium on Friday night.
The Jaguars, coached by Demo Odems, are picked by many to top the other teams in District 26-4A, and they proved to be powerful opening game adversaries for the Hippos; the game was in doubt until the closing seconds with Hutto edging out the Jaguars, 28-20, making it two years in a row the Hippos have startled LBJ in the opener.
Hutto used its vaunted running attack featuring backs Darrin Allen and Joel Rothrock to control the ball while a pair of clutch passes by quarterback Alondre Thorn eventually spelled the difference.
John Kavanaugh headed LBJ's impressive and versatile running game from the quarterback position, but the Hippos defense held strong and stuffed the opening drive at midfield. A poor snap on a punt by the Jaguars gave Hutto the ball on its own 12-yard line, making for a short field for the Hippos first drive of the season. After moving to the six-yard line, Thorn sprinted into the end zone for the touchdown. Then Thorn hit Alex Aday on the two-point conversion to make the score 8-0 with 7:25 left in the first quarter.
After another strong stand by the defense the Hippos took over on the 50-yard line. Allen and Rothrock put together very nice back-to-back runs to set up the Hippos with a first-and-goal on the 10-yard line. But there the LBJ defense held, forcing a short field goal attempt by Michael Cottingham. The kick went wide right and the Jaguars took over once again.
Breaking away on a 60-yard run on a fourth and short yardage attempt, LBJ's big running back Cameron Brown gave new life to its offense. A few plays later, Dante Price earned LBJ its first touchdown of the season. The Hippo defense turned back the two-point conversion attempt to maintain the lead, 8-6, at the end of the first quarter.
After LBJ's defense forced a Hutto punt, it was time for the Hippos defense to follow suit. Led by Justin Santos, Malique Cage and Nick Crawford, Hutto held its ground very well - but LBJ's Kavanaugh was able to find Darryl Roberts over the top for a touchdown pass. The extra point gave the Jaguars their first lead, 13-8, with 7:27 left in the half.
The Hippos quickly got back to work with a three-pronged rushing attack from Thorn, Allen and Rothrock. They moved right down the field, grinding it out with the ground game. After pounding the ball up the middle repeatedly on the drive, Thorn was able to hit a wide-open Aday with a long bomb to take back the lead in time for halftime, 15-13.
The second half opened with a personal foul on LBJ that gave Hutto the ball on the Jaguar 47-yard line. Keeping the ball on the ground, Hutto moved the chains with Rothrock and junior Xavier Wynn. Christian Helmreich, Jerrott Abernethy and the rest of the Hutto offensive line cleared the way for Allen to crash over the goal line to make the score 22-13 early in the third quarter.
After squabbling over the ball at midfield Dederrick Hill and the rest of the Hippo defense made a bit of their own luck. With the Jaguars facing a third down, the defense forced a fumble that Nehemiah Hicks covered to keep the momentum moving in Hutto's favor all the way to the end of the third quarter.
Then LBJ's Elijah Cash opened the fourth quarter by catching a long pass from Kavanaugh that he took all the way to paydirt to bring the Jags within two, 22-20. The lighting fast score invigorated the Jaguars on defense as well and they forced the Hippos to punt with only 9 minutes left in the game. But the rally was snuffed as another costly penalty forced the Jaguars to punt.
Once they had the ball back, the Hippos got a needed shot in the arm from an explosive 65-yard run from Rothrock. Building up a head of steam, Rothrock then jammed the ball in for the score on a short run. The extra point was missed, but Hutto led 28-20 with 8:04 left to play.
Strong running from LBJ's Brown and Dante Price took them deep into Hutto territory with time winding down. Backed into the red zone, Hutto played excellent defense and forced a turnover on downs. The Hippos offense took over but was unable to run the clock out before they were forced to punt the ball away and give LBJ one more chance.
On their final possession, the Jaguars put faith, and the ball, in Brown's hands. Hutto could not stop him on a pair of fourth down conversion plays.
With their back to the wall on their own 9-yard line and :05 left in the game, the Hippos defense was able to hold and preserve the win.
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