Weather may have been the best player in the contest between Klein Collins and Westfield Friday night. Heavy rain, along with a steady 15 mph wind reported and cooler temperatures down into the low-50’s, proved to effect the play calling on both Collins’ and Westfield’s offense.
In the end, Klein Collins made the key plays when they needed them to pull out a 21-18 victory over former district rival Westfield.
Collins started the game with the ball but before they could even get a snap off, they had already been flagged for two penalties. That turned into a trend for both teams, as the two combined for nine penalties in the first half and only eight first downs.
Taking advantage of the conditions on the field, Westfield utilized senior running back Daniel Young, a University of Houston commit, as he rumbled on the ground for 84 yards on 19 carries in the first half along with two goal line touchdowns.
Collins would answer back late in the second after being set up in great field position following a nice kickoff return to their own 46 yard line. On the first play of that drive, senior quarterback Brett Bridges dumped a pass off to a wide open Zach Skrehot in the middle of the field. Skrehot turned on the jets and took it 36 yards to just inside the red zone at the 18 yard line. On the next play, senior running back D’Anthony Doyle made a rumblin’, stumblin’ (but not fumblin’) rush straight up the middle of the field for an easy six points with 3:35 left to go.
“We were only down five points [at the half] but it felt like fifty,” said Klein Collins head coach Drew Svoboda. “We had self-inflicted so many things, just mistakes, fumbles, penalties, stuff that was uncharacteristic of us and for us to be able to bounce back after the half was great,”
The five point deficit could have been bigger had it not been for the extra point woes for Westfield, as both of the Mustangs’ PAT’s had been blocked in the first half.
“The wind was probably a little bit of a factor and they had had troubles early on with their PAT’s,” Svoboda said on the weather played a role in Westfield’s special teams issues.
Westfield looked to expand their lead but the Mustangs offensive prowess in the first half did not translate to the second half of play. They failed to score in the third quarter, much less make a drive that came close to being near scoring position.
Punt after punt ensued in this quarter for both teams until around the two-minute mark. Collins began driving down the field and would score again on a 1-yard QB sneak by Bridges. The Tigers got creative and tried a trick play for the two-point conversion following the score, but they failed to convert, making it 13-12 with 11:24 remaining in the game.
Westfield would score nearly two minutes later on a Jaylon Garrett receiving touchdown. Due to the last two PAT attempts, Mustangs head coach Matt Meekins made the tough decision to go for two and his squad failed to convert making it 18-13 with 9:45 left.
Less than ten seconds later, Collins found their moment of of the game. Starting at their own 20-yard line, Bridges connected with his favorite target of the night, senior Quinton Newton, on an 80-yard catch-and-go to put the Tigers up 19-18. Bryson Powers, the Tigers original starter this season, made an appearance for the first time in the game as he converted a QB sneak for the two-point conversion— 21-18 Collins and 9:34 to go.
Westfield would get the ball back and drive the length of the field to the 16 yard line. A score appeared imminent as Young pounded up the middle of the field, nearly scoring before having the rock stripped from him by Tigers senior defensive lineman Grayson Strawn, who had been a definitive playmaker all game long. Tate Thomlinson would recover the fumble and with less than 7:00 minutes to go, Klein Collins would have the ball, the lead, and the chance to end the game with another score.
Collins would kill about five minutes on the clock before having to punt the ball back to the Mustangs, giving them another shot to score. Westfield made it a nail-biter, converting two fourth downs, the latter being a 21-yard pass to junior Ali Walter to the Tigers 21-yard line with less than a minute to go. Failing to get the first, Westfield was forced to attempt the game-tying field goal and missed it with :28 left on the clock.
“Klein Collins and Westfield have such a good, healthy rivalry—you know it’s special, but being a regional champion is special regardless of who you play,” Svoboda said.
The Tigers will play the winner of an exciting rematch today between DeSoto and Cedar Hill, next Saturday 4PM at NRG Stadium.
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