Sports Department

Sunday, August 29 and Thursday, Sept. 2 Editions

Football

Lovelady

Lions drop opener to New Waverly

By Lawanna Monk

NEW WAVERLY— A young Lovelady Lions football team got off to a rough start with a 37-8 loss to class 2A New Waverly in their season opener Friday, Aug. 27.

Lion kicker Carl Heinrich, teed the ball up for the opening kickoff and the Bulldogs took possession on their own 36. Zach Duke intercepted a Bulldog pass on the Lion 23, but the Lions did not retain possession for very long before turning the ball over on a fumble. Despite great defensive play by Cody Kyle, Justis Kelly and Will Yeager to nail a Bulldog running for a 10-yard loss, New Waverly put the ball in the end zone on the next play. The extra point kick was good to put the Dogs up by seven with 5:35 in the first quarter. New Waverly’s next TD came with 1:50 left in the first quarter on a 29-yard tailback run. The kick was good and the Dogs led 14-0. With 10:13 in the second quarter, the Bulldogs connected on a 14-yard touchdown pass and tacked on the extra point for a 21-0 lead. Trent Sulewski fielded the kickoff and, returned it to the Lion 26. Quarterback, Taylor Therwhanger completed a pass to Sulewski moving the lions to the 41. Therwhanger kept the ball for a gain of six, Kelly carried for two, and then Therwhanger went to the air finding Luke Stone at the New Waverly 40.

Another pass to Duke advanced the Lions another six yards. Therwhanger tossed another short pass to Sulewski, who shot up the middle and went in for the touchdown with 6:15 on the clock. Sulewski also carried the ball in for the two-point conversion, trimming New Waverly’s lead to 21-8.

Before time expired in the first half, Therwhanger intercepted a New Waverly pass and a Lion penalty placed the ball on the five yard line. The Bulldogs picked up two more points on a safety, stretching their lead to 23-8. New Waverly fumbled on their next possession and Lion Jonathan Young picked up the ball and made a good return, before the Bulldog defense stopped him.

Early third quarter action saw Lion defender Kyle Veronie, setting the Bulldogs for a 10-yard loss on one running play and Sulewski intercepting a Bulldog pass.

New Waverly stretched its lead with a 6-yard touchdown and extra point with 8:29 left in the third for a 30-8 lead. New Waverly’s final score came on an 87-yard run with 1:55 left in the game

Grapeland

Sandies edge Centerville in season debut

Grapeland Sandies scored a go-ahead touchdown midway through the fourth quarter and then put the game in the hands of the defense to edge Centerville 18-15 in their season opener Friday, Aug. 27.

Playing before a home crowd, the Sandies used a balanced offensive attack as they rolled up 143 yards rushing and 181 passing for a total of 324 total yards.

Quarterback Cameron Boyd was 12 of 19 for 179 yards and two touchdown strikes. Reshawd Shepherd made eight catches for 144 yards and Bailey Walker had two for 27 yards. Donte Brown picked up 114 yards on 14 carries, including one touchdown. Most of Centerville’s 261 yards came on the ground as the Tigers rushed for 203 and threw for just 58. “This was a total team effort. The kids showed a lot of character tonight,” said Sandies head coach Jerry Richards. “After we scored the go-ahead touchdown, our defense rose up to keep Centerville out of the end zone. Our guys found out right before halftime that they could play with them and stop some of the power smash-mouth football that Centerville was running. Our guys put up a great goal line stand right at the end of the game.”

After a scoreless first quarter, Centerville scored on a 30-yard touchdown pass to Seth Mahaffey and kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 8:25 in the second quarter. The quick-striking Sandies answered right back after receiving the kickoff with a 65-yard pass from Boyd to Shepherd. The Sandies unsuccessfully attempted a 2-point conversion and trailed 7-6 with 8:07 left. After forcing Centerville to punt, the Sandies reached the Tiger 24 before being turned away by Centerville on a fourth-down play in the closing seconds of the first half.

Early in the third quarter Grapeland marched to the Tiger 20, only to be stopped again on a fourth down play. Centerville’s offense took over and put together an 80-yard scoring drive that was highlighted by a 52-yard run. The touchdown came on a 14-yard pass, but the extra point was no good, holding the Tigers to a 13-6 lead with 5:28 in the third. After J.T. Wilshusen recovered an onside kick by Centerville at the 47, the Sandies scored on a 22-yard run by Shepherd on fourth down. The two-point conversion failed, keeping the Tigers in front 13-12 with 2:35 in the third. Grapeland took the lead for the first time with 5:42 left in the game when Donte Brown broke through the line, slipped two tackles and scooted 46 yards to the end zone. The Sandies went for two points but settled for an 18-13 lead after fumbling the ball. With Centerville threatening again at the Sandies 16 yard line, Demelius Simpson picked off a pass at the 4 yard line with 2:23 left to kill the Tiger threat.

The Sandies gave up a safety with :08 left and then Boyd punted to Centerville. With :01 left, Centerville lofted a last-gasp pass, but was unable to reach the end zone. This was Grapeland’s third straight victory over Centerville in the non-district series after recording back-to-back shutout the previous two years.

Crockett

Crockett, Newton offenses sizzle in scrimmage

Crockett and Newton lit up the new scoreboard in Driskell Stadium with an explosive offensive display that produced 12 touchdowns in a pre-season scrimmage Thursday, Aug. 26. The Bulldogs had a 38-28 lead at the end of three quarters, but Newton added two touchdowns and a pair of 2-point conversions in the fourth to finish on top 44-38.

The scrimmage featured a game-style format with the exception of kickoff and punt returns. Seven of the 12 touchdown plays were at least 65 yards long. Crockett scored on two 75-yard runs and a 68-yarder, plus a 9-touchdown run. The Bulldogs also threw touchdown strikes of 9 and 38 yards. The No. 2-ranked Eagles struck on touchdown passes of 75 and 65 yards, plus two runs of 76 and 75 yards. Newton’s two fourth-quarter scores came on tosses from 16 and 29 yards out.

“That was two explosive football teams out here tonight,” said Bulldog head coach Paul Parsons. “It was a well-played game and both teams looked pretty good. Newton is supposed to be one of the class 2A powerhouses in the state and we matched them tooth-for-tooth.” Parsons said teams don’t exchange videos for scrimmages, “so it’s hard to prepare your defense for an opponent. This scrimmage definitely showcased the offensive players for both teams.”

The scrimmage provided fans a preview of a possible playoff match-up down the road. “This was about the most exciting scrimmage for spectators I’ve seen. The good thing is this doesn’t go on anybody’s record,” said Parsons.

Volleyball
Lovelady Schedule Crockett Schedule Crockett

Lady Dogs split matches against county rivals

Crockett Lady Bulldogs defeated Latexo, but lost to Grapeland in non-district volleyball matches on the road.

The Lady Dogs prevailed over Latexo in five games 20-25, 25-14, 25-18, 11-25, 15-10 on Friday, Aug. 27. In a match-up Tuesday, Aug. 31, Grapeland defeated the visiting Lady Dogs 18-25,14-25,25-23,13-25.

The Lady Dogs wrapped up non-district play Friday, Sept. 3 at Rusk and will make their home debut Tuesday, Sept. 7 in the district opener against Groveton. The junior varsity game starts at 5 p.m. followed by the varsity match-up.

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