Week Two - McNeil vs Ellison

I had a decision to make about which game to see this week.  On paper, the matchup between Anderson and Westlake looked pretty good.  Both teams had started the season at 2-0.  But the game would be played at House Park and I had seen Anderson play there the week before.  So I decided to head north to Round Rock to see McNeil play Killeen Ellison.  A different stadium to see, a new experience to enjoy.  McNeil entered the game with a 1-1 record, Ellison at 2-0.  When I heard that Westlake was leading Anderson 38-3, I knew I had chosen well.  My choice of where to eat barbeque did not turn out nearly as well.

The Barbeque

I googled barbeque joints located near Round Rock Dragon stadium where the game would be played.  Up popped a list showing The Salt Lick, Rudy’s, and Pok-e-Jo’s.  I’ve been to the Salt Lick in Round Rock and think the original restaurant in Dripping Springs is better.  Rudy’s and Pok-e-Jo’s are part of restaurant chains and my intention is to only eat at “one of a kind” BBQ joints.  Also listed was a place called Full House BBQ.  It too looked to be part of a chain, but perhaps a “smaller” chain.  At least I’d never had any of their BBQ, so I thought I’d give it a try.  I survived rush hour traffic on I-35 and cruised up and down North Mays Street in Round Rock.  Three times I drove past the address listed on the web site and all that was there each time was an empty field.  No building, no nothing.  There might have been food trucks parked there in the past, but zilch on this Friday night.  Next time I’ll do a better job of researching where to eat.  I hear there is a new invention called a telephone.  I’ll try using that in the future.

So now where to go?  Using the google on my phone, up popped the same list of places I’d seen before.  Also listed was Smokey Mo’s.  I’ve seen their ads on TV and it was the closest to where I was, so I thought I’d give it a try.  That was my second mistake.  Smokey Mo’s can best be described as fast food barbeque.  I knew I was in trouble when I saw someone get served a hamburger and fries.  The brisket was tender, but pretty much lifeless.  The ribs were fatty.  What passed for sauce was some fluorescent orange colored concoction the consistency of water, kind of reminiscent of the sludge that drips out of a rusty window air conditioner on a hot August day.  I overheard some people sitting near me comment about how good the BBQ was.  It was pretty obvious those people don’t get out much.  If you have a choice between Smokey Mo’s and eating a McRibb sandwich, head to McDonald’s.

The Football Game

Despite the BBQ, it was a great night for football.  A little overcast, temperature 85 degrees, a gentle breeze.  Dragon stadium is a nice facility opened in 1974.  I sat on the visiting Ellison Eagles side and enjoyed a beautiful sunset.  Turned out it was the McNeil Mavericks homecoming, so I picked the correct side of the stadium.  It also turned out that I picked a game with a crazy ending.

Pre-game warm ups at Dragon Stadium

Ellison got the kick-off to open the game.  They could not move the ball and went three and out.  McNeil took possession on their own 38.  A face mask penalty against the Eagles helped move the ball to the Ellison 36.  Facing a fourth and 7, Mav quarterback Hayden Cooper hit a big pass for a first down.  The Mavs drove to a first and goal from the Eagle six yard line.  The McNeil line opened a huge hole for Justin Ward as he ran up the middle for the first touchdown of the night giving McNeil a 7-0 lead.

Ellison got the ensuing kick-off on their own 28.  Eagle quarterback Carl Robinson was repeatedly pressured by the Mav defense, but was able to make plays with his feet and his arm.  The Eagles pushed the ball to the Mav 11 where their drive stalled.  Morgan Button drilled a line drive field goal to put the Eagles on the board.  The score was 7-3 with 3:02 left in the first quarter.

The Ellison kick-off sailed through the end zone for a touchback.  McNeil started from their own 25.  Facing a third and 7, Cooper was sacked as he tried to pass and stripped of the ball.  The Eagles recovered the fumble on the Mav 25.

Ellison ran the ball for a short 2 yards.  On second down, Robinson was pressured while trying to pass.  He tried to throw the ball away, but was called for intentional grounding.  Needing 18 yards on second down, Robinson hit Darrell Peterkine for a gain of 15.  Peterkine picked up 2 on third down.  Rather than kick another field goal, the Eagles went for it on fourth and 1.  Peterkine ran up the middle to the 7 for a first and goal as the first quarter ended.  The Eagles kept pounding the Mav defense with runs by Peterkine.  On third and 1, Peterkine scored.  The extra point gave Ellison a 10-7 lead.

The Mavs got a good return on the kick-off.  The returner fumbled, but McNeil recovered on their own 36 to start their next drive.  The Mavs had great success with quarterback draw plays as Cooper had runs of 15 and 20 yards.  The Mavs drove to the Ellison 9 where they had first and goal.  On second down, Cooper again ran a draw play and scored, but the touchdown was wiped out by a holding penalty.  With the ball on the Eagle 12, Cooper passed to Jonathan Boozer in the end zone for the go ahead score.  With 5:36 left in the second quarter, the Mavs led 14-10.

Both teams traded possessions and punts.  With under two minutes to play, the Eagles got the ball on the McNeil 41.  A screen pass to Peterkine gained 12 to the Mav 29 for a first down.  On third and 7, Robinson was sacked.  Button came in to attempt his second field goal of the game.  Kicking into a slight breeze, Button’s kick was good from 45 yards to cut the McNeil lead to one. 

The Mavs got the ball back with 38 seconds left and two time outs.  Copper ran for 16 to the Mav 40, then hit a pass to the Ellison 48 with 20 seconds left.  After another quarterback draw, Cooper’s pass was incomplete as time expired in the second quarter.  Half time score McNeil 14, Ellison 13.

McNeil got the kick-off to start the second half.  Cooper continued to make good plays with his feet, running for a big first down on third and 10 and later scrambling before flipping a pass to Boozer for a big gain.  The Mavs mixed in wide receiver screens and jet sweeps to move the ball to the Ellison 26.  Facing third and 12 from the Ellison 28, Cooper hit Boozer on a post pattern for his second touchdown of the night.  The Mavs had driven the ball 87 yards on their first possession of the third quarter to push their lead to 21-13.

Starting from the own 21 yard line, the Eagles began their first drive of the third quarter.  Robinson hit Peterkine on a middle screen good for 20 yards.  On third and 13, a wide receiver screen was good for 11.  Peterkine picked up the first down on fourth and 2.  A personal foul after the play put the ball on the Mav 49.  On third and 5, the Mavs were guilty of pass interference which gave the Eagles a first down on the Mav 29.  A false start penalty on the Eagles made it first and 15.  Peterkine was able to pick up 12 yards on runs up the middle.  On fourth and 3, the Eagles brought in Button for another field goal.  This time he missed from 39 yards, so the score remained 21-13.

Neither team did much for the remainder of the third quarter and into the fourth.  They traded possessions, penalties, and punts.  With 6:11 left in the game, McNeil got the ball on their own 16.  After a holding penalty made it first and 18, Cooper ran for 13.  His pass was good for a first down as McNeil tried to milk the clock.  On third and 2, Cooper’s pass was incomplete.  Cooper shanked the punt for only 16 yards.

Down by 8, the Eagles took possession on their 45 with 3:04 left on the clock.  On third and 10, Robinson scrambled for a big gain and a first down on the McNeil 39.  On second and 14, Robinson’s potential TD pass was dropped by a wide open receiver.  Peterkine ran for 13, then picked up the first down on fourth and 1.  With only 1:43 left and the clock moving, Robinson’s pass into the end zone was broken up by a good play by the Mav secondary.  Robinson scrambled on second and 10, flipped a pass to X’Zavier Green who is knocked out of bounds on the Mav 6 yard line.  A false start by the Eagles moves the ball back to the 11.  Peterkine blasted his way up the middle for a touchdown that made the score 21-19 with only 1:06 left to play.  Needing to make a two point conversion to tie the game, Robinson rolled to his right and passed to Nygree Poole.  He caught the pass and dove across the goal line to tie the score at 21.  The Ellison fans were going nuts.

Now the game got really interesting. . .  Ellison attempted an onside kick, but it was recovered by McNeil on the 50.  Cooper ran a quarterback draw good for 5 yards.  On the next play, Cooper passed to Isaiah White streaking down the sideline for the go ahead TD.  But the Eagle defense stripped him of the ball and recovered the fumble on their own 9 yard line. 

Instead of taking a knee to run out the clock and go to overtime, the Eagles throw a pass with 20 seconds left.  The pass is picked off by Isaiah Lavert giving the Mavs the ball on the Ellison 20.  After a false start penalty, McNeil moves the ball to the 13.  On second and 2, the Mav ball carrier is tackled for a loss.  McNeil calls time out with 9 seconds left and sends in their kicker to try a 39 yard field goal to win the game.  When the Mavs line up for the kick, the Eagles call a time out to ice the kicker.  Then they do it again.  It worked as the field goal sailed wide right.  We’re going to overtime!

The rules for overtime for Texas high schools are basically the same as they are for college.  Each team gets a possession from the opposing team’s 25 yard line and one time out.  The team that goes first tries to move the ball and score, a touchdown or a field goal.  When the second team gets their turn, they need to match or beat the first team’s score.  If the score is tied after each team gets a turn, then they do it all over again, except they change the order of their possessions (first team goes second, second team goes first).  The two teams go back and forth like this until one of them has more points than the other after the same number of possessions.  To start the first overtime, there is a coin flip to determine which team goes first.  Conventional wisdom is that a team wants to play defense first.  That way they know what the other team did on their first possession.  Pretty simple, right?

The Mavs get to go on offense first from the Eagle 25.  A false start penalty makes it first and 15 from the 30.  Cooper gets a bad snap and falls on the ball on the 36.  Facing second and 21, Cooper’s pass is good to the 24.  On third and 9, Cooper’s pass is broken up.  The Mavs are forced to try a 41 yard field goal, but they are called for delay of game and are pushed back another 5 yards.  The kid that had missed from 39 yards out in regulation misses again from 46. 

Now it is the Eagles turn.  Having held McNeil scoreless, any points they make will win the game.  After a pass interference penalty against the Mavs, the Eagles have the ball on the 16.  After two runs, the Eagles have the ball on the Mav 10.  The Eagles line up for a 27 yard field goal, but the Mavs use their time out to ice the kicker.  The tactic worked against them in regulation and it worked for them in overtime as the Eagles miss.  Score still tied 21-21 after the first overtime, so let’s do it again.

This time the Eagles go first from the Mav 25.  On first down, Robinson is pressured and has to scramble.  He throws a desperation pass to the 5.  Jayden Smith hauls it in, spins away from the defender and scores.  The extra point is good to give Ellison their first lead of the night at 28-21.

Now the Mavs get their second turn.  They must get a touchdown and make an extra point to tie the game at 28 to send it to a third overtime or a two point conversion to win.  All night long, their most successful play had been to run Cooper.  He got the snap and swept to his left.  Cooper was hit hard and fumbled.  The Eagles land on the bouncing ball to win the game.

With the win, Ellison improved their record to 3-0 and McNeil fell to 1-2.  Both teams committed a lot of penalties.  The Mavs losing five yards to start their first overtime being the worst.  Darrell Peterkine and Carl Robinson had big games for Ellison.  Hayden Cooper threw for nearly 200 yards and two touchdowns, but his fumble in the second overtime was the clincher for Ellison.  At least he can take solace from the fact he was named Homecoming King.