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Maverick, Yes; Roscoe, No
Mistakes Frustrate Plowboys
Weatherford — Two dramatic mistakes were most evident, but Roscoe
Coach Troy Kennedy will always look at a fumble, which didn’t
figure in the scoring, with 3:23 left in the first quarter as the play
that probably cost his Plowboys the Class A football title.
Roscoe lost to the Union Hill Bulldogs, 13-0.
Sure, the 28-yard interception return for a touchdown by Eric Lynn on the third play of the game smarted, and the roughing-the-kicker call on Roscoe linebacker Russell Graham late in the fourth quarter finally defeated the Plowboys. But Kennedy couldn’t help looking back at that fumble.
"That second fumble just took the wind out of us," Kennedy said. "We made two first downs and we were moving the ball and then we laid that silly thing on the ground."
The Plowboys had averted early disaster when they recovered a fumble by Bruce Bolton on their own 15 and then used runs of 15 and seven yards by Rudy Guzman to mount a drive that gave them a first and 10 at their 47. However, on third and three Guzman appeared to have the first down but fumbled, and Rodney Carroll recovered. It was Guzman’s second of three fumbles for the day and the Roscoe offense was to be jilted the rest of the day.
The Bulldogs, 14-0, scored a little more than two minutes into the game when Lynn stepped in front of intended receiver Craig Raughton at the 28, stole a pass from Roscoe quarterback Matt Denman and raced down the left sideline for the touchdown. Lawerence Shepherd kicked the extra point.
Union Hill perhaps missed a chance to make a rout of this game a few minutes later. Tony Brown recovered a Guzman fumble at the Roscoe 27 and in four plays, thanks largely to a 12-yard run by Gaylon Bowser, the Bulldogs had a third and one on the four.
On the next play, Bowser appeared to have scored on a sweep, but a holding penalty moved it back to the 14. On the next play, Greg Althof fell on Bolton’s fumble at the 15.
"That hurt us," said Union Hill Coach Doug Busch, who coached the Bulldogs to a state title in 1978 when they defeated Wheeler 14-7 in Abilene. "I think if we had scored then, it would have been a different game."
That score was never seriously threatened until the end of the game when it appeared the Plowboys would get a final chance to win with 4:31 left in the game.
Raughton returned the punt past his 20, but about 30 yards downfield Graham had tackled punter Tony Brown after Brown had kicked. All of a sudden, instead of punting, the Bulldogs had a first down on the Roscoe 35.
Bowser gained down to the 22 on a 13-yard carry, but it was runs of six and eight yards by quarterback Derrick Stevens that finally decided the game. He scored on the eight-yard run. Shepherd missed the kick, but it really didn’t matter. Roscoe’s offense was more suited to pounding out yardage in a methodical way, not scoring twice in two minutes and six seconds.
"That killed us," said Kennedy of the roughing-the-kicker call. "You just don’t do that. You’re giving them second life."
That isn’t saying the Plowboys weren’t going for the block, because they were.
"We wanted to get the ball back," said Kennedy. "We thought about grabbing one of ours on the sideline and tossing out there and falling on it. Russell had a little bit too deep of an angle. If he hadn’t, he might not have blocked it, but it would have been close. Bat that’s something you can speculate on forever.
"Sure, he was gambling for all he was worth and sometime when you do that, you get the big play against you," Kennedy continued. "We coach a disciplined defense, but sometimes we free them. When, we say sic ‘em, we’re hoping they’ll make the big play."
Big plays were something neither offense was able to come up with. The 1982 Class A state championship game will be remembered for it defense.
"That was the hardest hitting game we’ve been in this year," said Busch. "But that’s the way a state championship game is supposed to be. They’re a great team."
The best drive the Plowboys had all day was a 50-yard march that stalled on the Union Hill 28. Roscoe used 18 plays, but an illegal procedure call when the Plowboys had a first and 10 at the 27 put them in a hole from which they never climbed out.
With a first and 15 at the 32, Guzman ran four yards and then Denman threw three incomplete passes, giving the ball back to the Bulldogs.
"Out receiver didn’t get back to the line of scrimmage and they called us for having six men on the line," said Kennedy. "And they should make that call. The rules say it’s supposed to be first and 10 and that’s a rule Roscoe likes to play by."
Roscoe may have had problems moving the ball, but Union Hill had even less success than the Plowboys.
Union Hill had the ball just 19 plays in the first half and made two first downs. The longest gain the Bulldogs - a quick team - could make from the line of scrimmage was 13 yards.
Roscoe was able to match that on occasion, but potential game-breaking plays were halted because of the simple fact that the Plowboys weren’t as fast as the Bulldogs.
"Our kids just don’t have the speed to break the sweeps," said Kennedy. "When we break a long run, it’s because our line did a good job of blocking. I don’t think they have a kid who could pull one of ours down from behind in a footrace."
Therefore, the Roscoe game plan was to wear down the Bulldogs and not make mistakes. The Plowboys’ execution on the second part of the plan kept the first from happening.
"I felt we did a good job of controlling the offensive line of scrimmage," Kennedy said. "But those mistakes killed us. You’re not supposed to make that many turnovers in a state championship game and win."
Meanwhile, Roscoe frustrated the Bulldogs by stunting and blitzing and generally keeping the Union Hill offense guessing what would happen next.
Guzman, who played a brilliant game at linebacker, sacked Stevens on a blitz in the first half on a first-down pass attempt. Then he sacked him in the third quarter for a two-yard loss. On another occasion, he came within a whisker of dropping Bowser for a huge loss, only to have the elusive runner escape for a yard gain.
It wasn’t much of a game for statistics, at least offensively. The Plowboys gained 137 yards on the ground with Guzman gaining 69 and Britt Pieper picking up 63. Denman, a freshman, completed two of 10 passes for 10 yards.
Union Hill had just 109 yards of total offense, all of it coming on the ground. Bowser led the Bulldogs with 67 yards.
Roscoe lost to the Union Hill Bulldogs, 13-0.
Sure, the 28-yard interception return for a touchdown by Eric Lynn on the third play of the game smarted, and the roughing-the-kicker call on Roscoe linebacker Russell Graham late in the fourth quarter finally defeated the Plowboys. But Kennedy couldn’t help looking back at that fumble.
"That second fumble just took the wind out of us," Kennedy said. "We made two first downs and we were moving the ball and then we laid that silly thing on the ground."
The Plowboys had averted early disaster when they recovered a fumble by Bruce Bolton on their own 15 and then used runs of 15 and seven yards by Rudy Guzman to mount a drive that gave them a first and 10 at their 47. However, on third and three Guzman appeared to have the first down but fumbled, and Rodney Carroll recovered. It was Guzman’s second of three fumbles for the day and the Roscoe offense was to be jilted the rest of the day.
The Bulldogs, 14-0, scored a little more than two minutes into the game when Lynn stepped in front of intended receiver Craig Raughton at the 28, stole a pass from Roscoe quarterback Matt Denman and raced down the left sideline for the touchdown. Lawerence Shepherd kicked the extra point.
Union Hill perhaps missed a chance to make a rout of this game a few minutes later. Tony Brown recovered a Guzman fumble at the Roscoe 27 and in four plays, thanks largely to a 12-yard run by Gaylon Bowser, the Bulldogs had a third and one on the four.
On the next play, Bowser appeared to have scored on a sweep, but a holding penalty moved it back to the 14. On the next play, Greg Althof fell on Bolton’s fumble at the 15.
"That hurt us," said Union Hill Coach Doug Busch, who coached the Bulldogs to a state title in 1978 when they defeated Wheeler 14-7 in Abilene. "I think if we had scored then, it would have been a different game."
That score was never seriously threatened until the end of the game when it appeared the Plowboys would get a final chance to win with 4:31 left in the game.
Raughton returned the punt past his 20, but about 30 yards downfield Graham had tackled punter Tony Brown after Brown had kicked. All of a sudden, instead of punting, the Bulldogs had a first down on the Roscoe 35.
Bowser gained down to the 22 on a 13-yard carry, but it was runs of six and eight yards by quarterback Derrick Stevens that finally decided the game. He scored on the eight-yard run. Shepherd missed the kick, but it really didn’t matter. Roscoe’s offense was more suited to pounding out yardage in a methodical way, not scoring twice in two minutes and six seconds.
"That killed us," said Kennedy of the roughing-the-kicker call. "You just don’t do that. You’re giving them second life."
That isn’t saying the Plowboys weren’t going for the block, because they were.
"We wanted to get the ball back," said Kennedy. "We thought about grabbing one of ours on the sideline and tossing out there and falling on it. Russell had a little bit too deep of an angle. If he hadn’t, he might not have blocked it, but it would have been close. Bat that’s something you can speculate on forever.
"Sure, he was gambling for all he was worth and sometime when you do that, you get the big play against you," Kennedy continued. "We coach a disciplined defense, but sometimes we free them. When, we say sic ‘em, we’re hoping they’ll make the big play."
Big plays were something neither offense was able to come up with. The 1982 Class A state championship game will be remembered for it defense.
"That was the hardest hitting game we’ve been in this year," said Busch. "But that’s the way a state championship game is supposed to be. They’re a great team."
The best drive the Plowboys had all day was a 50-yard march that stalled on the Union Hill 28. Roscoe used 18 plays, but an illegal procedure call when the Plowboys had a first and 10 at the 27 put them in a hole from which they never climbed out.
With a first and 15 at the 32, Guzman ran four yards and then Denman threw three incomplete passes, giving the ball back to the Bulldogs.
"Out receiver didn’t get back to the line of scrimmage and they called us for having six men on the line," said Kennedy. "And they should make that call. The rules say it’s supposed to be first and 10 and that’s a rule Roscoe likes to play by."
Roscoe may have had problems moving the ball, but Union Hill had even less success than the Plowboys.
Union Hill had the ball just 19 plays in the first half and made two first downs. The longest gain the Bulldogs - a quick team - could make from the line of scrimmage was 13 yards.
Roscoe was able to match that on occasion, but potential game-breaking plays were halted because of the simple fact that the Plowboys weren’t as fast as the Bulldogs.
"Our kids just don’t have the speed to break the sweeps," said Kennedy. "When we break a long run, it’s because our line did a good job of blocking. I don’t think they have a kid who could pull one of ours down from behind in a footrace."
Therefore, the Roscoe game plan was to wear down the Bulldogs and not make mistakes. The Plowboys’ execution on the second part of the plan kept the first from happening.
"I felt we did a good job of controlling the offensive line of scrimmage," Kennedy said. "But those mistakes killed us. You’re not supposed to make that many turnovers in a state championship game and win."
Meanwhile, Roscoe frustrated the Bulldogs by stunting and blitzing and generally keeping the Union Hill offense guessing what would happen next.
Guzman, who played a brilliant game at linebacker, sacked Stevens on a blitz in the first half on a first-down pass attempt. Then he sacked him in the third quarter for a two-yard loss. On another occasion, he came within a whisker of dropping Bowser for a huge loss, only to have the elusive runner escape for a yard gain.
It wasn’t much of a game for statistics, at least offensively. The Plowboys gained 137 yards on the ground with Guzman gaining 69 and Britt Pieper picking up 63. Denman, a freshman, completed two of 10 passes for 10 yards.
Union Hill had just 109 yards of total offense, all of it coming on the ground. Bowser led the Bulldogs with 67 yards.
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Roscoe 0 0 0 0 - 0
Union Hill 7 0 0 6 - 13
First Quarter
UH - Eric Lynn 28 INT return (Lawerence Shepherd kick)
Fourth Quarter
UH - Derrick Stevens 8 run (kick failed)
Ros UH
First downs 9 8
Rushes-yards 45-143 39-116
Passing yards 10 0
Passes 2-10-1 0-1-0
Punts 2-31 4-40
Fumbles-lost 4-3 2-2
Penalties-yards 2-20 4-25
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING- Roscoe - Rudy Guzman 18-69, Britt Pieper 19-67, Matt Denman
6-5. Union Hill - Gaylon Bowser 18-67, Tony Isome 10-38, Derrick
Stevens 7-9, Bonnie Noble 1-3, Bruce Bolton 2-(-3), Eric Lynn
1-(-5).
PASSING- Roscoe - Denman 2-10-10, 1 interception, 0 TD. Union Hill -
Stevens 0-1-0.
RECEIVING- Roscoe - Pieper 2-10.
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