COLLEGE STATION — A “Come And Take It” flag got stolen twice during a 10-minute stretch of the College Station and A&M Consolidated game Friday night. The flag started the game in College Station’s student section before a Consol trooper waded into enemy territory and downright “took it.” Not long after, the Cougars took it back.
The new, but crazy, rivalry between the two schools reached a fever pitch through three quarters at Tiger Stadium. A&M Consolidated took an 11-point lead by halftime, but College Station scored 22 unanswered points to win by 11 in a 28-17 game that was more of a defensive battle than anything.
Other than two big offensive plays, the College Station offense seemed rather pedestrian. Trailing 7-0, the Cougars finally got on the board in the second quarter when its punt block team scooped and scored. A missed extra point left Consolidated’s lead at 7-6.
Kevin Leonard booted a field goal to give the Consolidated Tigers a 10-6 lead. The Tigers then intercepted their second pass of the first half to set up good field position. They capitalized when Charles Williams took an option pitch into the end zone to give the Tigers a 17-6 lead they would take into halftime.
“That first half we were all out of sorts,” College Station coach Steve Huff said. “Our intensity picked up in the second half.”
Consolidated mounted a decent drive to start the third quarter but eventually went backwards and had to punt. On the second play of the ensuing drive, College Station senior quarterback Marquez Perez heaved a pass downfield where two receivers had gotten behind the Tigers defense. Jaelin Campbell came caught the ball in stride and raced to an 84-yard touchdown. Perez’s run on the two-point conversion made it 17-14.
The teams twice traded punts and College Station needed just one play — a 52-yard pass from Perez to Azarian Foght down the right sideline — to give the Cougars their first lead of the night.
College Station appeared to put the dagger in the game when Harrison Wellman returned a punt 55 yards to give the Cougars a 28-17 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
The College Station offense that piles up points and yards mustered just two touchdowns — the two long passes — against a rather stingy Consolidated defense.
“They’re good, that’s all I have to say,” Huff said referring to Consol’s defense that put the brakes on College Station’s vaunted running game.
College Station played lights out defense in the second half, holding the Tigers to just six first downs in the final two quarters. The Cougar defense sacked Consolidated sophomore quarterback Gage Pahl seven times in the second half and forced Pahl to scramble on nearly every play. Defensive linemen Marquise Conchola and Matthew Rusk seemed to be in on most of those sacks and pressures.
College Station improves to 5-2 overall and 3-0 in District 18-5A. The Cougars will host winless Bryan Rudder next Friday (Oct. 20). A clash with Temple looms Nov. 3 in College Station for the potential district championship.
Consolidated (5-2, 1-2) travels to face Bryan on Friday. The Vikings are 3-3 overall and 1-0 in district, including Friday’s 58-14 win at Waco University.
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