supercentex
11-26-2005, 11:03 AM
Copperas Cove soars on, 30-14
By John Werner Tribune-Herald staff writer
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Before Jack Welch arrived in the mid-1990s, Copperas Cove made the wrong kind of football history.
Since then, the Bulldawgs have kept reaching new levels of success.
With Brent Garner passing for two touchdowns and Donald Buckram running for another, Copperas Cove advanced to the Class 5A Division II region finals for the first time in school history with a 30-14 win over Garland Friday night at WISD Stadium.
With their third straight playoff win, the Bulldawgs (13-0) advanced farther than the 1998 Copperas Cove team that lost to Midland Lee in the third round of the playoffs. The 1998 team broke a 37-year playoff absence for the Bulldawgs.
Copperas Cove will face the winner of today's Lufkin-South Garland game next weekend in the region finals.
“This is a great feeling,” Garner said. “As a team we're playing with unbelievable confidence right now. Everything is coming together – the offense, defense and special teams.”
Garner passed with uncanny accuracy as he hit 14 of 17 passes for 167 yards. Buckram was equally effective running the ball as he picked up 157 yards on 17 carries.
“We can pass the ball 90 percent of the time or run the ball 90 percent of the time,” Welch said. “We like to play versatile offensive football. Brent played a tremendous game at quarterback and got great protection from our offensive line. Donald made a real difference in the running game.”
The Bulldawg defense limited Garland (10-3) to 204 yards total offense. Quarterback Greg Hunter had a tough night as he hit four of 12 passes for 44 yards with an interception.
After the Owls scored two second-quarter touchdowns, Cove shut them out in the second half.
“We made some defensive adjustments at halftime,” Welch said. “We did some things to make them change their blocking assignments and it worked for us. Our defense was lights out.”
On the game's first play, Alphonso Powell recovered a Garland fumble at the 31 and Garner began working his magic for Cove.
On his first pass, Garner rolled right and hit Logan Brock for 10 yards. Garner then rolled to his left on an option and stopped suddenly before drilling a 21-yard touchdown pass to Travis Wheeler for the game's first touchdown.
The Bulldawgs quickly moved back into scoring position when Darrell Armstead caught John Verity's punt and sped down the left sideline for 54 yards to the 7. Kyle Mathews' 28-yard field goal gave the Bulldawgs a 10-0 lead with 9:38 left in the first quarter.
Cove scored on its third straight possession when Buckram took a pitch to the left and cut upfield before diving into the end zone to complete a 14-yard touchdown run to give the Bulldawgs a 17-0 lead with 1:29 left in the first quarter.
Just when it seemed like Cove was headed for a rout, the Owls got a big break when Powell fumbled Verity's punt and David Little recovered for Garland at the 10.
Dante Sloan blasted up the middle for a four-yard touchdown for Garland's first touchdown.
On their next possession, the Owls pieced together their best drive of the game when they moved 91 yards on nine plays for a touchdown.
Voss Williams had the biggest play when he broke loose for 40 yards to the 30. Hunter then hit Little for 12 yards before Sloan rumbled off left guard for a five-yard touchdown to cut Cove's lead to 17-14 with 2:56 left in the first half.
But Garner was on target again on Cove's final drive of the first half as he hit Buckram for 11 yards and Armstead for 12 for his eighth straight completion of the game.
Garner's string was broken when Armstead dropped a perfect pass at the 10. But Garner came back with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Tim Atchison to give Cove a 24-14 lead with 21 seconds left in the first half.
Cove opened the third quarter with a 71-yard drive to the 2 before Mathews kicked a 20-yard field goal. After a 50-yard run by Buckram, Mathews nailed a 19-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
CC (1st): Travis Wheeler 21 pass from Brent Garner (Kyle Mathews kick). CC (1st): Mathews 28 FG. CC (1st): Donald Buckram 14 run (Mathews kick). G (2nd): Dante Sloan 4 run (Mladen Bjelica kick). G (2nd): Sloan 5 run (Bjelica kick). CC (2nd): Tim Atchison 35 pass from Garner (Mathews kick). CC (3rd): Mathews 20 FG. CC (4th): Mathews 19 FG.
By John Werner Tribune-Herald staff writer
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Before Jack Welch arrived in the mid-1990s, Copperas Cove made the wrong kind of football history.
Since then, the Bulldawgs have kept reaching new levels of success.
With Brent Garner passing for two touchdowns and Donald Buckram running for another, Copperas Cove advanced to the Class 5A Division II region finals for the first time in school history with a 30-14 win over Garland Friday night at WISD Stadium.
With their third straight playoff win, the Bulldawgs (13-0) advanced farther than the 1998 Copperas Cove team that lost to Midland Lee in the third round of the playoffs. The 1998 team broke a 37-year playoff absence for the Bulldawgs.
Copperas Cove will face the winner of today's Lufkin-South Garland game next weekend in the region finals.
“This is a great feeling,” Garner said. “As a team we're playing with unbelievable confidence right now. Everything is coming together – the offense, defense and special teams.”
Garner passed with uncanny accuracy as he hit 14 of 17 passes for 167 yards. Buckram was equally effective running the ball as he picked up 157 yards on 17 carries.
“We can pass the ball 90 percent of the time or run the ball 90 percent of the time,” Welch said. “We like to play versatile offensive football. Brent played a tremendous game at quarterback and got great protection from our offensive line. Donald made a real difference in the running game.”
The Bulldawg defense limited Garland (10-3) to 204 yards total offense. Quarterback Greg Hunter had a tough night as he hit four of 12 passes for 44 yards with an interception.
After the Owls scored two second-quarter touchdowns, Cove shut them out in the second half.
“We made some defensive adjustments at halftime,” Welch said. “We did some things to make them change their blocking assignments and it worked for us. Our defense was lights out.”
On the game's first play, Alphonso Powell recovered a Garland fumble at the 31 and Garner began working his magic for Cove.
On his first pass, Garner rolled right and hit Logan Brock for 10 yards. Garner then rolled to his left on an option and stopped suddenly before drilling a 21-yard touchdown pass to Travis Wheeler for the game's first touchdown.
The Bulldawgs quickly moved back into scoring position when Darrell Armstead caught John Verity's punt and sped down the left sideline for 54 yards to the 7. Kyle Mathews' 28-yard field goal gave the Bulldawgs a 10-0 lead with 9:38 left in the first quarter.
Cove scored on its third straight possession when Buckram took a pitch to the left and cut upfield before diving into the end zone to complete a 14-yard touchdown run to give the Bulldawgs a 17-0 lead with 1:29 left in the first quarter.
Just when it seemed like Cove was headed for a rout, the Owls got a big break when Powell fumbled Verity's punt and David Little recovered for Garland at the 10.
Dante Sloan blasted up the middle for a four-yard touchdown for Garland's first touchdown.
On their next possession, the Owls pieced together their best drive of the game when they moved 91 yards on nine plays for a touchdown.
Voss Williams had the biggest play when he broke loose for 40 yards to the 30. Hunter then hit Little for 12 yards before Sloan rumbled off left guard for a five-yard touchdown to cut Cove's lead to 17-14 with 2:56 left in the first half.
But Garner was on target again on Cove's final drive of the first half as he hit Buckram for 11 yards and Armstead for 12 for his eighth straight completion of the game.
Garner's string was broken when Armstead dropped a perfect pass at the 10. But Garner came back with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Tim Atchison to give Cove a 24-14 lead with 21 seconds left in the first half.
Cove opened the third quarter with a 71-yard drive to the 2 before Mathews kicked a 20-yard field goal. After a 50-yard run by Buckram, Mathews nailed a 19-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
CC (1st): Travis Wheeler 21 pass from Brent Garner (Kyle Mathews kick). CC (1st): Mathews 28 FG. CC (1st): Donald Buckram 14 run (Mathews kick). G (2nd): Dante Sloan 4 run (Mladen Bjelica kick). G (2nd): Sloan 5 run (Bjelica kick). CC (2nd): Tim Atchison 35 pass from Garner (Mathews kick). CC (3rd): Mathews 20 FG. CC (4th): Mathews 19 FG.