CONROE --
Turnovers, missed tackles and the big play were the demise of the
Shiner Comanches last Friday in Conroe in the Region IV Class 1A
regional playoff.
Shiner had six turnovers - five fumbles and one interception - in a
38-22 loss to the Burkeville Mustangs. And as was the case last year,
the Mustangs capitalized and turned Shiner mistakes into touchdowns.
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Adron Price puts the pressure on quarterback Brandon Lewis. The
Comanches played good pass defense as the Mustangs completed no passes.
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(all photos by Shiner Gazette)
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In addition, the Comanches gave up the big plays, including an 80-yard
punt return, a 94-yard touchdown run and a 38 and 48 yard TD run.
"I said before the game, and all along; we can't have turnovers and
we can't give up the long run. We did both tonight," said Shiner coach
Billy Turek. "But our kids hung in there and fought back. I'm proud of them."
Offensive coordinator, Steve Cerny, said the mistakes hurt and "we couldn't
contend with their speed early. We were in better condition and once we wore
them down we had a chance in the second half but we just didn't do it."
Burkeville's speedster, Jonathan Lewis rushed for 220 yards on 15 carries
while teammate Eric Spearman carried 22 times for 101 yards. Lewis broke the
big plays, while Spearman and quarterback Brandon Lewis, who ran for 80 yards,
led the ground offensive from the line of scrimmage.
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Garet Pustka finds running room around Phillip Perkins for good
yardage on this play.
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Eric Murphy led Shiner with 130 yards on 18 carries. Bryan Franklin had 97
and Garet Pustka 30. Pustka was 7-13 with one interception for 90 yards.
Franklin caught four passes, including a fourth quarter TD toss, while Steven
Evans and Eric Murphy pulled in one apiece.
Shiner kicked off to open the game, but a short kick gave Burkeville the ball
on their 49-yard line. Aided by a Shiner off side penalty, the Mustangs got a
first down to the Comanche 38 from where Jonathan Lewis got free after a
missed tackle and rambled 38 yards for the score.
Less than two minutes later, Lewis returned a Comanche punt 80 yards for a
Mustang TD. Both extra point attempts failed but Burkeville had a 12-0 lead
with 8:47 still left in the first period.
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Shawn Flores wraps up the runner for a loss in regional action against Burkeville
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The Comanches got their first down on their next possession but a sack and
fumble forced a Shiner punt. The Comanche defense then held and the Mustangs
were force to punt. Shiner had to punt back and on Burkeville's first play,
a holding penalty sent the Mustangs back to the 12.
The Comanches then got their only break of the game when Adron Price recovered
a Brandon Lewis fumble on the Mustang 7-yard line. The Comanches were on the
verge of scoring but on Franklin's second carry of the series, the ball
popped loose and the Mustangs recovered as the quarter ended.
On the second play from scrimmage, J. Lewis closed the door another notch on
Shiner's hopes as he eluded several tacklers and raced 94 yards for his third
touchdown of the game and an 18-0 Mustang lead.
A fumble on Shiner's next possession set up another opportunity for Burkeville
on the Comanche 46. After an incomplete pass, quarterback Brandon Lewis set the
Comanches further into a hole with a 46-yard TD scamper. Shiner was down 24-0
at the half.
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Eric Murphy sidesteps would be tacklers in fourth quarter action
against the Burkeville Mustangs.
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The Comanches came out in the second half all fired up. Eric Murphy returned
the kick off 14 yards to the 33. A quick pass to Steven Evans picked up 27 yards
to Burkeville's 40-yard line. Franklin then broke loose up the middle for Shiner's
first touchdown.
Good defensive work, high-lighted by a Shawn Flores sack on fourth down put Shiner
in business on their 38-yard line. But only for a few seconds as Brandon Lewis
picked off a Pustka pass on the Comanche 32.
The Mustangs used three plays to move to the Comanche eight and despite excellent
defense by Robbie Pavelka and Flores and the Shiner line on two downs, Spearman
scored on a sweep from 8-yards out. Lewis' pass to Matt Smithson upped the
Mustang lead to 32-6.
Another Comanche fumb!e, plus a 15-yard penalty set Burkeville on the Comanche 14.
A holding penalty backed the Mustangs to the 19. Kelsey Pohler broke up a pass
in the end zone, but Spearman then picked up 14 yards to the five from where
J. Lewis bulled in for the final touchdown and a 38-6 lead.
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Bryan Franklin is all alone in the end zone to pull down this pass
for a touchdown in fourth quarter action.
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Following the kick off Shiner used a 3:20, 10-play drive to cut the lead to 38-14.
Good blocking by Franklin opened up running room for Murphy on the 69-yard drive.
Murphy rushed for 51 yards on the drive. Pustka finished the drive on a 6-yard
TD run and then tacked on the 2-point run to close the margin to 38-14 with :20
left in the third period.
The Comanches held the Mustangs on downs on the first possession of the final
quarter and set up shop on the Comanche 40. After an incomplete pass to Franklin,
Pustka handed to Murphy on three consecutive plays to the 25. Pustka then hit
Franklin in the end zone for the score. Murphy ran in the 2-point conversion
for a 38-22 score.
Shiner's onside kick worked as Quentin Wright recovered on the Mustang 44. The
Comanches gave the baIl right back on a muffed exchange between Pustka and Murphy.
The Comanches got the ball back on downs with 5:38 left in the game. Shiner put
together a 45-yard drive to the Mustang 26 where Shiner lost its fifth fumble and
any hope of a comeback.
Burkeville then ran out the clock and savored a 38-22 win to advance to the
quarterfinals against Sabine Pass, a 46-34 winner over Falls City.
GAME STATISTICS
Shiner Burkeville
First Downs 18 16
Yards Rushing 29-246 49-409
Yards Passing 90 0
Passes 7-13-1 0-4-0
Punts 4-38.5 3-28.6
Fumbles-lost 6-5 1-1
Penalties-yards 3-25 5-45
SCORING DETAILS
Shiner 0 0 14 8 -- 22
Burkeville 12 12 14 0 -- 38
First Quarter
B - Jonathan Lewis 38 run (kick failed), 10:30
B - J. Lewis 80 punt return (run failed), 8:47
Second Quarter
B - J. Lewis 94 run (run failed), 11:06
B - Brandon Lewis 46 run (run failed), 10:16
Third Quarter
S - Bryan Franklin 41 run (pass failed), 11:26
B - Eric Spearman 8 run (B. Lewis pass to Matt Smithson) 5:40
B - J. Lewis 5 run (run failed), 3:51
S - Garet Pustka 6 run (Pustka run), 0:20
Fourth Quarter
S - Franklin 25 pass from Pustka (Eric Murphy run), 7:53