BY GREG SELBER
MCALLEN – They bombard the scales at 616 pounds between them, do Scott Inskeep and Cody Mullvain, but don’t be fooled; these dudes can move. They comprise two-fifths of the offensive line for McAllen High and together with the other 60 percent (784 more total pounds of beef) were the dominant factor in the Bulldogs’ smashing 34-9 win over Donna here Thursday night.
That, and a little ol’ thing called the wind.
McAllen’s Victor Barrera illustrated how strong the wind was midway through this one, as he fielded a speeding hot dog wrapper on a hop, then tossed the debris to the side to prepare to make a play on a man instead of paper.
McHigh forced the Redskins to play a tough first period versus a strong gust and got two scores off short drives as a result. In the third period, the massive offensive was so consistent in crunching downfield over and around the smaller Donna squad that the Redskins could only snap off five plays with the wind advantage in the quarter. It all added up to a very important victory for Coach Tony Harris and the ‘Dogs, putting them at 2-1 in District 30-5A and 4-2 overall. It shoves the powerful Mac back into the race, tied with Donna (also 2-1, 4-2) as the league fight gets really cranking.
After the ‘Dogs took a 14-9 halftime lead and produced three scores after the break, Harris, with a newfound love for the ground attack after having been a Spread True Believer for some time, spoke about the night’s work.
“The offense did a great job in the second half, we were determined to come out and drive the ball, we made that decision after deferring in the first half,” noted the fiery leader who has driven his charges to six playoff trips this decade and four in a row heading into 2009. “We wanted to come out and take it to the house against the wind. The defense stepped up when we needed it, and overall, I think the kids played real well tonight.”
As for the team’s switchover to a run-based attack this season, Harris just smiled.
“The older I get, I’m diggin’ this running thing,” he quipped. “Heck, we can go home early, it’s not even 9:30 yet, none of this 11 p.m. stuff anymore.”
And with sure-fire college prospect Inskeep leading the way up front, McAllen can drive it with precision. He weighs 285, good for just fourth most on a line of gargantuans including the 331-pound Mullvain plus junior Robert Delgado (287), senior Mario Villarreal (287) and center Sam Welch, a hard-hitting shrimp of merely 212 notches on the scale.
Quarterback Austin Griffith was the main workhorse and beneficiary Thursday, running for 143 yards and the first two touchdowns of the night. Though he sustained a knee injury of unknown severity in the fourth period, the lanky 6-foot-5 senior was able to take his time on the zone read, picking holes in the Redskin defense and setting sail for open territory. Donna did not penetrate to reach him and force early decisions, and Griffith surely did reach the secondary frequently.
He also threw effectively, completing 11 of 15 balls for 137 yards with a 13-yard touchdown to Nick Garza in the second-half scoring barrage.
In all, it was an impressive night for the Bulldogs, who punished the Redskins with their size and strength. Donna got the short end of the stick in the field-position battle, and never really got any offensive flow established.
“They were a pretty tough team, and strong, though they didn’t have a lot of size,” commented Inskeep afterward. “It was hard to get a push up front against them because they had some short but strong linemen. But we were able to come out and make the good drive, and that set the tone for the second half.”
Asked if he were going to check out a ballgame Friday, since the ‘Dogs played a night before the usual Friday Night Lights pageant (they will do so five times in all this year), Inskeep delivered the perfect offensive lineman response.
“I don’t know…nah, I think I’ll go bird hunting.”
TOP TEAMS STRAP IT ON
It was a win that The Mac needed, after having already suffered a district loss, against Sharyland. Donna, meanwhile, was riding high at 4-1, its only blemish a narrow defeat at the hands of a Pharr North club that goes into tonight’s action unbeaten at 5-0. The Redskins, like McAllen, have changed their stripes somewhat, as Coach Manny Moreno has aired it out with alacrity in 2009, led by sharp passing quarter Alahn Yanez, who had thrown for 768 yards and a 56-percent completion clip through the campaign’s first half.
Traditionally, Donna has been a smashmouth group with a bunch of mean hitters, but this time around, the squad has been more finesse than brawler. That’s why having to play against a 30 MPH wind in the first period was not what the doctor ordered.
On the second play of the contest, the ‘Skins fumbled the football, with McAllen’s Patrick Snelling, a promising sophomore, coming up with it at the Donna 17.
But the Bulldogs squandered the first opportunity of the night, as Trey Dube carried on 4th and goal from the 5, only to be cracked hard by senior DB Jose Garcia and senior LB Nelson Umanzor to force a turnover on downs at 8:00 of the first.
That’s when it got dicey for the visiting ‘Skins. They drove out to the 40, converting two third-down tries and getting a couple of flips from Yanez into the breeze. However, a holding penalty gummed up the works and on came senior star Fernando Sanchez, odds-on favorite for All-Valley kicker.
He managed a 21-yard punt into the gale, leaving the Bulldogs at their own 49 for the second possession. On the first play, Griffith went up top and was incomplete, but Donna safety Alex “Peanut” Moreno, who had a great game with 11 licks, popped the receiver a step early, resulting in a Mac first down at the Donna 36. Wasting little time, Griffith fooled everyone except himself on a superb fake inside, keeping around left end and riding a tunnel of open green for a 36-yard TD scoot with 0:48 left in the quarter.
It was 7-0 and Donna then went three and out, the key to the drive besides two tackles from junior secondary man Jon Solis (seven sticks) being Harris’ decision to call two time-outs in the waning seconds of the period.
“That’s what you gotta do,” said Harris of the attempt to make the Redskins try a second punt against the ill wind blowin’ no good. “I don’t have too many jobs around here, but making that call is one of them.”
Sure enough, Donna’s next offering traveled a mere 27 yards, and the Bulldogs set up shop at the enemy 43 as the period turned.
Though they suffered a holding call, Griffith was on the money to Garza for 14 and Adam Ramos for 19 to place the ball 17 yards away from a two-score bulge. The senior passer did the legwork himself with a 15-yard keeper behind the Bigs at 9:36.
Having been stunted thus far, the Redskin offense got it going in the second, as Yanez (13 of 26 for 158 yards) completed passes of 11 yards to tight end Matt Chavez and 24 to senior Estevan Garcia. The latter toss carried to the Bulldog 17, and after quick-footed senior Joey Chapa zig-zagged 10 yards to the 7, it was looking good for Donna.
But Barrera and Ryan Serna combined to throw Gabe Martinez for a 3-yard loss and after two incompletes, Sanchez booted a field goal for a 14-3 count at 6:30. One of the misses had looked like a TD, but Garcia could not hang on to a ball thrown behind him a step past the goal-line.
On the next Mac series, Harris reached into the trick bag again with a quick kick by Griffith that would have made Darrell Royal grin. It went just 34 yards but put the Bulldogs out of immediate danger.
Donna came from the ‘Dog 45 to reach the 24, with a Yanez run and his pass to Garcia the engines. But again McAllen held, with a 7-yard sack by Snelling forcing a 48-yard three-pointer by Sanchez, his second of the game and also second of the year from that extended distance. It was 14-6 at 2:29, though Donna was not finished.
Griffith spurred his club to the Redskin 38 but was picked off by Garcia, and from their own 21, the ‘Skins got a huge 35-yard breakout from Martinez (42 yards in 10 carries, the team gained just 81 on 27 tries) and then a 19-yard pass from Yanez to Erin Perez (three for 49 but a drop on a possible TD) to set up Sanchez’ third FG, from 44 yards, at the second-period gun. After his connection with Perez, Yanez had raced downfield to spike the ball with 0:04 left, setting the scene for the field goal.
They were down 14-9, but the Redskins trotted off the field to the strains of the familiar “Cherokee” chant-song wafting down from the visitors’ stands. With them seemed to go the momentum.
TRIED AND TRUE FORMULA
Long-time McAllen athletic director Poppy Rodriguez commented after the game that the minutes after halftime fashioned the determining fulcrum for The Mac.
“They won it in the third quarter,” said the former All-State running back from the P-SJ-A glory days of the early 1960s. “They got field position on their side.”
Poppy is right, and should know, as he set a Valley record for carries in a season with 351 back in 1962, also breaking the bank with 44 trips in one game and a brutal 13 in a row the same night, against Mercedes. The man knows ball-control football.
The Bulldogs would eventually grind 88 yards in 14 bone-jarring plays for a 20-9 lead, but first they had to overcome the turnover bug. After taking the opening kickoff and marching to the Donna 8 in five plays thanks to 20- and 40-yard runs from Griffith behind his Pachyderm Pals, they lost it on a fumble by Griffith which senior Robert Saenz ended up with to stop the possession.
Though Yanez would then team with Perez on a 27-yard gain, linebacker Sam Mangum, playing valiantly with a broken hand, combined with Barrera for a key stop of Martinez on third down, Donna having to punt thereafter. Sanchez pinned the home side back on its 12 with a 41-yarder, finally enjoying an opportunity to kick with the wind.
At 5:48, the clinching cruncher began, as The Mac moved downfield against a tiring ‘Skin front. Despite some hard sticks by senior linebacker Ernie Sarmiento (11 tackles, he’s an active hitter with range), the Bulldogs were on a roll.
Griffith went for 7 and 8, Dube for 9 and then Garza, who has been running the ball his fair share these days both on the end-around and from the trendy Wildcat, zoomed for 10. It was like that, as the Purple neared the prize. Dube went for 8 off a shuttle pass and later crashed for 11 down to the 25. On his 11-yard scoring jaunt at 11:20 of the fourth, the junior back flat ran over a Donna defender on his way to the end zone and a 20-9 lead.
Donna could not move the ball on its next try, and in fact gained just 239 total yards all night, 107 less than its 346-yard average coming in. Sanchez’ next punt was just 16 yards into the old nemesis, the wind, and McAllen put this one away with a 45-yard drive ended by a nifty 13-yard catch on the sidelines by Garza at 5:12.
The big end would add a 33-yard TD later in the fourth, but on the same drive, Griffith was felled on a keeper, spending the rest of the night on the training table with a knee encased in ice. He’d sat out his sophomore season with a knee injury, and his healthy return to the lineup is a definite must if the Bulldogs are to continue their drive to a fifth postseason venture in as many seasons. McHigh gets a struggling La Joya on the road Thursday and then girds for the supreme test of 2009, against McAllen Memorial Oct. 23.
It was a disappointing night for Donna, on a roll itself lately as far as the playoffs go, with nine trips in the last 11 years. The Redskins will look to rebound next week against league-leading Sharyland, but the matchup with the Rattlers might be more fortuitous for the Indians than the oddsmakers think. In Shary, Moreno’s band will square off with a medium-size bunch, meaning that the huge size discrepancy that spelled doom versus McAllen will not present itself two weeks running.
Tags: bulldogs, donna, Football, mchi, nick garza
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