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Fredericksburg rides early scores to beat Com
Published September 19, 2009
FREDERICKSBURG — After six minutes of play, Fredericksburg found itself leading Comfort 14-0 Friday at home. After four quarters of play, Fredericksburg and coach Dean Herbort were happy to walk away with a closer-than-it-looks 21-7 win.
“Our kids played real hard the whole game, and I got to give credit to them ... and that’s probably about the toughest bunch of people we’ve ever played,” Herbort said. “(Comfort) coach (Chip) Mayfield’s going to have a lot of success over there. If they continue to let him coach hard, they are going to be very successful in the future, I can guarantee you that.”
The Billies opened the game with a long drive, which was capped by a Ben Sanders 11-yard touchdown catch from Dillon Reeh.
After a Comfort turnover on the next possession, Reeh darted to the end zone on a 57-yard quarterback keeper on the first play of the drive.
Then the game slowed down.
For the next two quarters, Comfort held the Billies from the end zone and scored just before half when Joe Carlos connected with Will Pace for a 3-yard touchdown.
“They came out offensively and did something we haven’t seen all year, so they got a couple (points) on us early,” Mayfield said. “Our kids adjusted well, (and) I thought our defense played pretty well considering we didn’t practice any of that stuff all week.”
After a scoreless third quarter, Comfort drove the ball into the red-zone, and was on the brink of tying the game, when the turnovers started. Comfort threw the first of what would be three fourth-quarter interceptions, giving him four on the day.
Minutes later, Fredericksburg scored on a 12-yard pass to Kaleb Wunderlich.
The Bobcats had several chances after the score, as the defense continued to force the reformulated Fredericksburg offense in the closing minutes, but the turnovers continued to mount for the offense.
“We got in (the red-zone), we just made some mistakes,” Mayfield said. “We got close to the goal line, but we got to stay out of third-and-longs, fourth-and-longs — you can defend us a lot easier when it’s third and long and you know what we’re going to do.”
Despite the turnovers, Carlos, a sophomore, had some success passing the ball. Carlos was 18-of-37 passing with 170 yards and one touchdown. Pace, emerging as one of the Bobcats most effective offensive players, rushed for 52 yards on four carries and had five catches for 29 yards, including the touchdown. Jake Klemstein led the team in reception yards with 87 on five catches.
“We moved the ball well, and we get in close to the goal line — I don’t know if it’s the short field ... we were real close tonight,” Mayfield said.
For the Billies, hanging on for the win could be a turning point after starting the season 1-2, and coming off a 34-3 loss to Brady. The loss ignited changes in the offense, which included passing the ball more and taking shots down field.
“Offensively, we kind of went back to what we’ve done in the past and it’s something we’re comfortable with,” Herbort said.
But the game was marked by defense. Each team generated a strong pass rush and was able to stop the offenses on crucial plays. For Comfort, the defense’s performance was the best of the season, as the team allowed 35 points in each of its past two games.
“Coach Rich, our defensive coordinator, and coach Brown, our linebacker coach, did a great job and they made adjustments on the fly — and it was hard to do because in the first quarter our headsets didn’t work.”
Comfort now enters district play with San Anotonio Cole at home next Friday, and despite the 0-4 record, Mayfield is entering that game knowing his team got a little better this week.
“I’m so proud of my guys,” he said. “I couldn’t be any prouder of my guys, even if the score was reversed.”
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