|
Alamo city shootout
Published November 22, 2009
SAN ANTONIO — Quarterback Johnny Manziel handed off the end around to Braedon White, who handed off the reverse to Mikhail Ironside, who found Manziel running wide open down the right sideline for the go-ahead touchdown with 3:54 to play Friday at Heroes Stadium.
The 39-yard pass gave Tivy its first lead of the game, 63-56, and sent the Antlers past Pflugerville Hendrickson and into the Class 4A, Division II regional semifinal round.
The throwback to Manziel had been attempted earlier in the game by Tivy but was nearly picked off. This time, the play worked to perfection, giving Manziel his first receiving touchdown of the night to go with four rushing and four passing scores.
“That time we caught them in a man (coverage), and it was me on a backer,” Manziel said. “He couldn’t keep up, and Bob (Ironside) made a lot better throw that time then he did the first.”
It was the Tivy defense, which had been beaten up all night by the Hawks’ (6-5) ground attack, that came up with late stops to allow Tivy’s offense the chance to catch up. The unit stopped Hendrickson twice on fourth down and forced a fumble on its last three trips to the field, letting Manziel and the Antler track meet on offense take over.
“We went to a football game and a basketball game broke out,” Tivy coach Mark Smith said. “When you play great teams, you have to find ways to get stops defensively. We’re finding ways to get the stops when we need to.”
The Antlers will face Medina Valley in the round of 16 at either 3 or 4 p.m. on Friday, again traveling to Heroes Stadium. Tickets will be available at the Tivy athletic office at the price of $6 for adults and $3 for students. After Wednesday afternoon, tickets will be available only at the gate, where all fans will be charged $8.
Tivy trailed by 14 with less than two minutes to play in the third quarter but touchdowns on five of the last six possessions kept the Antlers within a score. A 66-yard touchdown grab by a wide open Chad Ham with 8:53 to play in the fourth quarter tied the game at 56 apiece.
The Antlers never looked back.
“Absolutely amazing — words can’t even describe how great that win was,” Manziel said. “We kicked it into another gear, we fought, and it was the heart that really came out tonight.”
Manziel finished the game with 246 yards passing, 202 yards rushing and 39 yards receiving, getting a hand in all nine touchdowns in the process.
“We talked all week — if you want to be the guy to get in there, make sure you step up,” Manziel said. “I wasn’t going to let anyone stop me tonight. The whole team was like that.”
Ironside caught three touchdown passes in addition to the role reversal toss to Manziel to keep his final season as an Antler rolling for at least one more week.
The scoring was fast and frequent from the opening kickoff to Manziel’s final kneel-down. The Hawks needed only three plays to take a 14-0 lead early. An 89-yard kick off return for a touchdown by Hendrickson’s Juan Asencio put the exclamation point on a wild first quarter, pushing the Hawks ahead 28-14.
Tivy used a pair of second-quarter touchdowns, the first on a fourth-and-8 reception by Ironside, to pull to within a score at the half, 35-28.
“If we can keep it close, we believe we’ll win games in the fourth quarter,” Mark Smith said. “Now, I’d like to keep it a lower scoring game, but hey, hats off to the offensive guys for finding ways.”
Following a three-and-out on their opening possession of the half, the Tivy offense rattled off four straight touchdowns to tie the game.
A 29-yard touchdown run by Hendrickson quarterback Damarion Jackson, who had 135 rushing yards and four touchdowns, gave the Hawks a 56-49 lead with 9:05 to play, but the score would be their last.
Share |
Save |
Mail |
Print |
Comment
|
|
|
 |
|
Photo Reprints
Get Daily Times photos from the latest games and scenic locales.
Special Sections
Visitor's Guide
Real Estate Guide
Hill Country Life
Medical Directory
Home Directory
|
