Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - T-M capitalizes for 14-12 victory

Marketplace \| Services \| Contact Us \| Community \| Arts & Entertainment \| Local Guides

Friday, September 17, 1999

T-M capitalizes for 14-12 victory

By George Vondracek
Caller-Times

SAN ANTONIO - It was a perfect setting, presenting a perfect opportunity at redemption for Tuloso-Midway High School's Warriors.
   The football game itself Thursday night against Pleasanton was anything but perfect in front of an estimated 3,000 people at the Alamodome. Yet it was passable enough for Warriors, especially in the second half when they energized themselves for a 14-12 win over the Eagles.
   "I felt like we suffered a major setback last week when we didn't play well against Moody," T-M coach Greg Crawford said of the 41-12 whipping the Trojans applied last Friday at Cabaniss Multipurpose Stadium. "We needed a win, no matter how pretty it was."
   Pretty it wasn't. The teams combined for 13 fumbles on the spongy artificial surface. Pleasanton lost four of its nine, T-M three of its four. With all those opportunities, it was scoreless at halftime when either team easily could have had a double-digit lead.
   "Coach has been telling us we need to play a full game," said T-M tailback and defensive back Mike Favela, who accounted for all of the Warriors' points. "Not just play bad in the first half and then play well in the second, or well in the first and bad in the second. "
   Pleasanton had only 18 rushing yards in the final two periods. But penalties and fumbles by the 2-1 Warriors kept the 0-3 Eagles hanging around.
   "I felt like we were shooting ourselves in the foot," Crawford said. "We'd get the big play then we'd get a penalty and miss a block. We just didn't execute well."
   After Favela's second touchdown, a 20-yard run in which he received a key block from Klint Lamb, a 2-point conversion run gave T-M a 14-6 lead. It capped a 53-yard drive with 7 minutes, 27 seconds to play, but Pleasanton came back.
   Aided by a pass interference penalty on the first play, the Eagles moved 61 yards in seven plays. Quarterback Mike Ortiz scrambled in past Isaiah Vallejo from seven yards out with 4:39 left. But on the 2-point attempt, Vallejo raced around the right side and dropped Ortiz, who was rolling out.
   "I was trying to make up for it. They had scored on me when I fell," Vallejo said. "I just kept running after him until I caught him."
   After only 50 yards of offense in the first half, T-M sparked in the third quarter after Vallejo recovered a fumble at the Eagles' 40. Five plays later, Favela scored from the 10. The point-after kick failed, but T-M had a 6-0 lead.
   "It wasn't necessarily real pretty, but it was a win," Crawford said. "The way we played last week we needed this to get our confidence back."

| Talk about this story | Next Story | Home |