This week I chose to attend the game between the
Hendrickson Hawks and the Cedar Ridge Raiders.
Both teams had a record of 7-1 and are headed into the play-offs. This game would help decide who would claim
the title in district 13-6A. Because of
forecasts of potentially heavy thunderstorms in central Texas, many games were
moved up to Thursday night and they were smart to do so. The skies did indeed open up Friday, with the Austin
airport receiving over 14.5 inches of rain in twenty-four hours. (The previous record had been over 8
inches.) There was wide spread flooding across
the area and four poor souls tragically lost their lives. The Hendrickson game was moved to 2:00 PM
Saturday afternoon. Luckily for me, I
had time to get some BBQ before heading over to the stadium.
The
Barbeque
Johnny T’s BBQ is located at 1202 FM 685 in
Pflugerville, just a stone’s throw from Hawk Stadium. As I left the house, I called them to make
sure they were open after all the storms.
They were, but the rains had caused them problems with their smoker and
they had no brisket or pulled pork to serve that Saturday. I was not in the mood to search for another
BBQ joint on short notice (not another Smokey Mo experience for me), so I headed
on over.
Johnny T’s is tucked into the corner of a little
shopping center, down the road from a great big shopping center. Their menu is full of various kinds of BBQ
sandwiches (sammiches), but I decided to get the pork ribs and some turkey and
sausage in place of my usual half pound of brisket. The ribs were very good – meaty, tender, and
juicy with the meat falling off the bone.
The turkey was moist and smoky.
The sausage was store bought, probably some common brand you can buy at
any super market, and could have been cooked longer. They offered three types of sauces: regular
(ketchup based, not bad), spicy (regular with additional pepper), and Carolina. The Carolina sauce was mustard based. I liked it the best of the three probably
because it was different.
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| Turkey, ribs, sausage, and 3 kinds of sauce at Johnny T's |
The people were friendly and the place was clean. Overall it was a good experience, but I need
to go back some time to test out their brisket.
They said their brisket is really good, but then again, don’t all Texas
pit masters brag about their brisket?
The
Game
Overcast skies, a pretty good breeze out of the north,
and the temperature at 72 degrees at kick-off.
There were no bands or drill teams for either school at the game. I overheard a lady saying they were all at
some kind of competition that conflicted with the game being rescheduled for
Saturday afternoon. The gentleman who
announced the game from the press box sang the National Anthem acapella before
the game and did a tremendous job. When
he finished, the crowds on both sides of the stadium gave him a huge ovation.
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| Hawk Stadium |
The Cedar Ridge Raiders took the opening kick-off and
moved down the field. Aided by a pass interference
penalty against the Hawks, they set up shop on the Hendrickson 22. A pass from quarterback Garrett Sharp moved
the ball to the 14. Facing third and 2,
Sharp’s pass was incomplete. The Raiders
attempted a 31 yard field goal that was no good, but the Hawks were offsides
giving the Raiders a first and goal from the 9.
Sharp connected with Kadarius Daniels on the next play to draw first
blood. The Raiders lined up in a “swinging
gate” formation for the point-after-touchdown conversion. The Hawk defense was spread all over the
field trying to cover it. Sharp took a
quick snap from center and walked into the end zone to make it 8-0 with 8:55
left in the first quarter.
After the two teams traded punts, the Hawks took
possession on their 49 yard line.
Quarterback Carrington Kearney had to scramble when he dropped back to
pass, but was able to pick up a couple of first downs with his legs. Facing second and 9 from the Raiders 21,
Kearney scampered down the left sideline for a touchdown. The extra point made the score 8-7.
The two teams again traded possessions into the second
quarter as the sun tried to break through the clouds. The Raiders were once again forced to
punt. They tried to draw the Hawks offsides
again, but were called for illegal procedure.
The Raider punt rolled to the Hawk 15 where Jordan Williams grabbed the
ball and returned it 27 yards.
The Hawks were set up on their 42 yard line. Kearney was forced to scramble and his pass
attempt was picked off at the Raider 35.
After a holding penalty, Sharp found Daniels on a long pass down to the
Hawk 28. On first down from the Hawk 15,
Sharp threw a strike to Daniels again for their second touchdown of the
day. The extra point extended the
Raiders lead to 15-7 with 8:37 to go in the first half.
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| Cedar Ridge on the move during the first half |
The ensuing kick-of sailed through the end zone, so
Hendriskson started their next drive from their 25 yard line. The Hawks managed to pick up a first down,
but Kearney was sacked on third and 7 to force a Hawk punt. The Raiders rushed the kicker and blocked the
punt, taking possession on the Hawk 14.
Sharp connected with Grant McCartney on a seam route
for a 15 yard touchdown, but the score was negated by a person foul. On second and 25, Sharp scrambled down the
right sideline to set up first and goal from the 4. Two quarterback keepers by Sharp resulted in
a gain of only 1 yard. On third and 3,
Sharp again looked for McCartney in the end zone, but the Hawk defensive back
made a big hit on the receiver causing him to drop the pass. The Raiders lined up to kick a 20 yard field
goal. The Hawks blocked the kick, but
were again drawn offsides to give the Raiders another chance. Sharp threw into the end zone for McCartney,
but the pass fell incomplete. McCartney
was called for offensive pass interference when he pushed off the Hawk
defensive back. Hendrickson declined the
penalty at took over with 3:30 left in the second quarter.
From his own 2 yard line, Kearney ran the ball up the
middle for 5 yards, but fumbled when he was hit. The Raiders recovered on the Hawks 8 yard
line. It took the Raiders just one play
to score as Sharp ran up the middle for a touchdown. That pushed the score to 22-7 with 3:23 left
before half time.
The Hawks started from their 25 yard line after the
touchback. They were able to pick up a
couple of first downs, mainly on runs by Kearney. He was sacked on third and 12 as the final
seconds of the first half ticked down.
It is no secret that I don’t much like the half time
shows at high school football games. All
the girls in the drill teams looking like a bunch of clones, especially with
those silly hats they wear. All of the
drill team officers called out by name, along with the spirit girl or angel of
the week. The bands playing the Love
Theme from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre or doing a tribute to pick-up trucks. But I have to admit this game had an unusual
vibe to it with the bands and drill teams not there. Sort of like the missing feeling you get when
the tooth ache you’ve had for a week is gone.
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| The sun makes an appearance during the third quarter |
The two teams traded punts to begin the third
quarter. The sun had come out when the
Hawks began their second possession. Kearney was able to complete a couple of passes and
made good yardage on quarterback keepers.
In Raider territory and facing third and 15 after a holding call,
Kearney scrambled for 9. The Hawks set
up to punt with Kearney as the kicker.
The center snapped the ball to the blocking back who started to run
around the left end. As the defense
closed in on him, he pitched the ball back to Kearney who was trailing the
play. The Raider defense stopped him
short of the first down.
Cedar Ridge took possession and moved the ball to the
Hawks 12 yard line. The Hendrickson
defense stiffened and forced the Raiders to settle for a 34 yard field
goal. That made the score 25-7 with 3:40
left in the third quarter.
The Hawks returned a deep kick-off to their own
38. Kearney hit a long pass to Jaylon
Taylor to set the Hawks up on the Raider 28.
As the third quarter ended, Kearney had moved the ball to the Raider 4
for first and goal. On second and five,
Dana Jackson ran a sweep and scored making the score 25-14 with 11:12 left to
play.
The two teams traded possessions and punts for the
remainder of the game. The Raider
offense trying to eat up as much clock as possible when they had the ball and
their defense keeping the Hawks from scoring.
The Raiders did move the ball to the Hawk 11. Sharp’s pass on fourth and 5 was too high and
the Hawks took over. Kearney completed a
couple of passes and made some runs to move the ball. But with 1:46 left in the game, his pass was
intercepted at midfield. The Raiders
lined up in the victory formation as Sharp took a knee to end the game.
The final score was 25-14 as Cedar Ridge moved their
record to 8-1 and set up a three way tie for first place in district 13-6A (with
Hendrickson and Round Rock). Garrett
Sharp threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns.
He ran for another touchdown and a two point conversion. The Raider defense limited the Hawks to 253
total yards for the game, most of those generated by Carrington Kearney. The Hawks had their chances, but three turnovers,
a blocked punt, and defensive penalties that gave the Raiders new life were
fatal.
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