Saturday, Oct. 31, 1998

Carroll effort falls short against Victoria

Stingarees kill Tigers' district dreams in second half, 38-14

By STU DUNCAN
Special to the Staff Writer

   Suddenly, Carroll High School's special teams weren't so special.
   And the Tigers' district title hopes faded just as abruptly because of it.
   Three special teams plays led to three Victoria touchdowns during the Stingaress' 38-14 District 28-5A victory against Carroll (7-2 overall, 4-1 district) Friday night at Cabaniss Field.
   Victoria (7-2, 5-0) extended its district unbeaten streak to 38 games and earned at least a share of the district championship for the sixth straight season. The Stings can clinch it outright with a victory Friday against Miller.
   "I told our kids `If you thought it was going to be easy coming in, then you're wrong,'|" Victoria coach Mark Reeve said. "This is what a championship game is all about. The kids did a great job. We came out in the second half and shut their offense down."
   "We needed to play with more emotion (throughout the second half)," Carroll coach Terry Morris said. "We came out and had a good first drive, but we just couldn't come back and battle after that."
   The Tigers seemed ready to dethrone the champs as they held a 7-0 first quarter lead and were tied at 14 heading in the third quarter.
   Persistence or just plain stubbornness by Reeve followed, as the coach gambled twice on fourth-down attempts in the third quarter. The first failed as Stings' running back Cody Cole was denied a first down by Carroll's Carlton Hooper on fourth-and-two from midfield.
   The second was the beginning of the end for the Tigers, as Cole burst through a gaping hole off the right side of the line. The result was a three-yard touchdown run on fourth and two, enabling the Stings to reclaim the lead at 21-14. The drive was aided by a five-yard facemask penalty on Carroll after Cole was stopped for a three-yard loss on third and two.
   "This was the beefed up game. We knew we had a chance to take the district championship away from these guys," Hooper said. "We had a few breakdowns mentally and on special teams and that's hard to overcome."
   The following kickoff proved disastrous for the Tigers, as the short kick bounced backward and was recovered by Victoria's Nick Schott at Carroll's 20-yard line.
   Three plays later, Victoria quarterback Charlie Reeve connected with wide receiver Tim VanZant for an 18-yard TD pass that gave the Stings a 28-14 advantage.
   "This game turned around on big plays," the younger Reeve said. "They were blitzing, we got lucky and Tim made a good play (on the scoring reception)."
   Tigers punter Mike McCuller inadvertantly kneeled down while reaching for a snap at his own two yard line on the Tigers' next possession. Cole took advantage with a two-yard scoring plunge on the next play.
   Terry Derrick kicked a 44-yard field goal to complete the 24 unanswered point swing by the Stings in the second half.
   Jermaine Battle's one-handed catch and 62-yard punt return for a Victoria TD in the first half started Carroll's special teams misery.
   Victoria running back Matt Schelper (5 yards) and the Tigers' Johnny Smith (53) and Daniel Longoria (7) also added first-half touchdown runs.
   Carroll running back Frankie Morales ran for 201 yards on 32 carries in the game, but had just 20 yards on nine attempts in the second half. Victoria's Bo Mallette finished with 147 yards on 16 carries.
   

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