Bulldogs top Wildcats in first district win
Sometimes it’s not your quarter, your half, your game or even your year.
That’s certainly been Summer Creek’s starcrossed case, as the Bulldogs have battled numerous injuries and bad breaks, all while navigating a pandemic that hasn’t left Humble ISD unscathed.
Other times it’s not your day— and things still go your way.
The Bulldogs committed five turnovers on a soggy Saturday at Turner Stadium, andthe fifth left the min a fourth-quarter hole against Humble. But receiver Andrew Alexander responded with his second score, and the Bulldogs recovered to beat Humble and the odds for amuch-needed 30-26 win.
“It was a difficult situation with theweather conditions, and I knew that would be a factor,” Summer Creek coach Kenny Harrison said. “But our kids continued to fight and that’s huge, especially bouncing back after theway last week went with Beaumont West Brook (in a 54-48 setback).
“So I’m just excited and happy for our kids.”
Harrison’s happy to have a reason for his kids to feel excited.
The second-year coach didn’t expect his squad to be searching for its first District 21-6Avictory five games into district play. But he also didn’t anticipate the rash of injuries that has left his roster decimated, especially at offensive line, where team captain Luke Lapeze is out for the season.
“We lost three starting offensive linemen, and at one point we were out there without eight or nine starters, and in adistrict like this, that’s tough,” Harrison said. “I said going into the season you have to be lucky, and what I meant by that is you have to be healthy. It’s always going to be difficult to win games in this district if you’re not healthy, and you’re not executing. But our kids have kept fighting, and working extremely hard, so I’m excited about them getting a win (Saturday).”
They had to fight four quarters to improve to 3-5 overall, 1-4 in district.
Humble (3-6, 0-5), after failing to find any points fromits first four takeaways, finally turned Paul Burgess’ recovery of a muffed punt into a touchdown when Trevonn McCray collected a 12yard pass from quarterback Jeremiah Price Knott, giving the Wildcats a 26-23 advantage with 7:52 remaining.
McCray finished with eight receptions for 147 yards and two second-half TDs.
But Alexander refused to be upstaged.
On the third play of Summer Creek’s ensuing series, the junior hauled in a 59yard scoring pass from QB Bryan Bush, putting the Bulldogs up 30-26with 6:50 left. Alexander notched four catches for 104 yards and two scores.
Then Myles Thomas sealed the win with an interception with 18 seconds to go.
“Our goal coming into this one was to go 2-0 for our seniors, and send them out on a winning streak,” Harrison said.
Bush led Summer Creek with 149 yards and two TDs on 8-of-19 passing, with two interceptions, and 132 yards and one score on 19 rushes. Summer Creek amassed 346 total yards and 15 first downs.
Humble produced 260 yards, with only 25 on 28 rushes.
“It feels great,” Harrison said. “I feel good about our kids. They’ve worked hard. We’ve had some bad things happen to us throughout district play, so for them to come back from the holiday and get a victory is huge.”