I went back to Georgetown to see the Eagles do battle against
their district 19-5A rival, the Connally Cougars. Jason Dean is in his eighth year at
Georgetown. The Eagles are 7-2 on the
season. They are currently in third place in the district at 5-2. Connally is coached by Jason Cecil. The Cougars are in second place in the
district and have an overall record of 8-1.
I have seen both teams earlier in the season as they were ground up by
the machine known as the Cedar Park Timberwolves. Their performances against Cedar Park are not
an accurate reflection of how good these teams truly are.
This is the last game of the regular season. Both of these teams will make the “second
season”, so tonight’s game is a final tune-up before the play-offs begin. It should be a good one.
Before I got to the stadium, I sampled some
barbecue. Let me show you what I got to
eat. . .
The
Barbecue
I stopped off at Branch BBQ for dinner as I made my
way to the stadium. They are located in
a little strip shopping center at 1779 Wells Branch Parkway in Austin. Their web site says they serve the best BBQ
in central Texas. It also says their Friday
special is homemade chicken and dumplings.
I had an inkling of what I would find there, but had to check it out to
be sure.
The moist brisket I was served had no bark on it,
possibly cut off by the young man behind the counter. The meat was not stringy, but sort of just
fell apart. On top of that, it really
did not have a smoky flavor. Pretty much
just “cooked meat”. The pork ribs were
good. They were meaty and tender, the
meat easily biting off the bone. Unlike
the brisket, the ribs did have a smoky flavor.
The sauce was not much more than thin ketchup with no sweetness or
spice.
The young man who served me was friendly and the
restaurant was very clean. It might be a
nice neighborhood place for fast food BBQ, but there are any number of joints
in central Texas serving better barbecue.
Nana would have liked this place (see week 7), but I was
disappointed. I rate Branch BBQ as a
shaky Hook ‘Em.
The
Game
It was an overcast evening as the Eagles entered the
stadium in front of their home crowd. The
Cougars started the game with the ball on their 25 yard line. They moved into Georgetown territory with
short passes and runs by quarterback Robert Patterson. Connally lined up in a “double swinging gate”
formation (linemen and receivers split wide both right and left) that spread
the Eagles defense. Patterson took the
snap and ran up the middle to the Georgetown 7.
On fourth and goal from the 1, Patterson pushed his way into the end
zone for the first touchdown of the night.
 |
| Connally in "double swingig gate" formation |
The Eagles answered with a drive of their own. Quarterback Chandler Herman connected with Beau
Corrales and Caden Leggett to move the chains.
Eric Anderson had a big run to the Cougars 12 yard line. The drive stalled and the Eagles kicked a 22
yard field goal to make it 7-3.
After the ensuing kick-off, Connally once again
started from their 25. Patterson tossed
to Reggie Martin for a big gain, then ran the ball into Georgetown territory. Patterson found Ernest Musue behind the
Eagles defense for a 34 yard touchdown.
The extra point made the score 14-3.
 |
| Patterson finds Ernest Musue behind the defense for a touchdown |
After a poor sky kick and an offside penalty against
Connally, Georgetown took possession at mid field. Runs by Anderson and passes to Colton Knudsen
moved the ball into Connally’s end of the field. Herman threw to Corrales who worked his way
to the Cougars 8 yard line. As the game
moved into the second quarter, Herman connected with Corrales on a fade route
in the back corner of the end zone. The
extra point made the score 14-10.
 |
| Chandler Herman throws to Beau Corrales on a fade route for six |
Here come the Cougars.
Patterson picked up big yardage with his legs. After a holding penalty, Connally was looking
at fourth and 12. Rather than punt, the
Cougars reached into their playbook for a “hook and lateral” play. Patterson threw downfield to Martin who
lateraled the ball to a trailing George Pettus for the first down. Patterson threw to Martin on the goal line,
but he dropped the sure touchdown.
Connally attempted a 35 yard field goal, but the kick was no good.
 |
| Reggie Martin laterals to George Pettus for a first down |
The Eagles got the ball on their 20 after the
touchback. On third and 1, they lined up
in a wildcat formation. Leggett took the
direct snap from center, swept to his left, and ran down the sideline for big
yardage. Herman threw to Corrales on a wide
receiver screen. He turned it into a 36
yard touchdown. The extra point gave the
Eagles their first lead of the game at 17-14.
 |
| Corrales turns a wide receiver screen into a touchdown |
With 3:31 left to play before halftime, Connally took
possession on their 19. The Eagles had
no answer as Patterson picked up huge yardage running the football. He then threw a dart to Martin who spun to
his right and out raced the defenders to the end zone. The Cougars went to the locker room up 17-14
at the half.
 |
| Martin out runs the defenders for a touchdown |
Georgetown returned the third quarter kick-off to
their 35. Erik Anderson moved the chains
with a strong run. Chandler Herman
connected with Beau Corrales on a slant to the Cougars 27, then found him again
with a pass to the Connally 2. Anderson
plowed into the end zone to make it 21-17.
The teams traded possessions. After stopping the Eagles on fourth down, Connally took possession on the Georgetown 45. They picked up good yardage on the ground. Patterson scrambled, then broke up the middle for a 32 yard touchdown run. The Cougars retook the lead at 28-24 with 3:28 remaining in the third quarter.
 |
| Patterson takes off on 32 yard scramble for a score |
The teams traded punts. With just over a minute left in the third quarter,
the Eagles got the ball on the Cougar 41 after a fair catch. Herman dumped the ball Cade Sill who rambled
down to the 25. Herman threw to Corrales
for a first down on the 13, then found Leggett all alone in the end zone for a
touchdown. The Eagles went back in front
31-28.
 |
| Leggett alone in the end zone for touchdown catch |
As the game moved into the fourth quarter, the Eagles
started a drive from their 46. They
picked up a first down when Herman hit Corrales on a slant route to the
Connally 41. A pass interference call
against the Cougars put the ball on the Connally 26. Herman dropped the snap, but had enough time
to find Nic Crombie for a touchdown in the back corner of the end zone. The Eagles missed the extra point, so the
score stood at 37-28.
Connally was unable to sustain any kind of drive in
the fourth quarter. Georgetown bottled
up Patterson and prevented him from making any big runs. His passes missed their mark as he was
pressured by the Eagles defense. With
over 4:30 left to play, Georgetown took possession on their own 32. They ran out the clock and Connally never got
the ball back.
The 37-28 win gave Georgetown the same record as
Connally at 8-2 and moved them into second place in the district. Chandler
Herman threw to five different receivers, completing 21 of his 30 passes for
274 yards and four touchdowns. The
Eagles picked up 157 yards on the ground.
Robert Patterson is a baller and very reminiscent of a quarterback who
played for the Texas Longhorns a few years ago – Vince Young. Patterson connected with five different
receivers. He went 11 for 24 for 165
yards and two touchdowns. He ran for 170
yards on 26 carries and scored twice.
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