Chargers stun Gators with 35-point fourth quarter
CLEAR SPRINGS 35, DICKINSON 28
DICKINSON — Kirk Collins cleared many hurdles in advancing to the state meet last spring, but those he conquered Friday night will make his track and field exploits pale in comparison.
Collins intercepted two passes and recovered two fumbles in helping lead a 35-point fourthquarter comeback, resulting in Clear Springs’ stunning 35-28 victory over Dickinson.
The Gators led 28-0 in the District 24-6A game entering the final period, but the Chargers exploded in the closing 12 minutes.
“We never gave up,” said Collins, a first-year defensive back. “We knew going into halftime that we were going to have to play hard to win this game.
“That was the whole mentality. We trusted each other and we talked more. We worked on that all week. We circled this game on the calendar coming in. We knew we had to win it, and we did.”
When running back Todd Hudson scored with 2:23 left on a 39yard run, it capped a shocking turn of events for Clear Springs.
Climbing out of 28-point hole
All the Chargers (4-3, 3-0 in 24-6A) had to do was shut down Dickinson one final time and did that, culminating it with a Reese Box sack.
As a result, the Gators (7-1, 3-1) lost a game in which they were in the driver’s seat for three quarters.
“We slowed down on offense and tried to take some time off the clock and couldn’t convert on third down,” Dickinson coach John Snelson said. “Six turnovers.
“We have been winning games playing great defense and being explosive on offense and not turning the football over. Clear Springs just kept on plugging along. Never seen anything like it.”
The first Chargers score came at 11:53 of the final period, and that was a 5-yard run by Hudson.
The rest of their fourth-quarter touchdowns:
Isaiah Bibb with a 14-yard TD catch from Garrett Rooker with 6:23 left.
Collins with a 48-yard fumble return with 3:18 left.
Lionel Frederick with a 33yard interception return with 2:47 left.
Hudson’s 39-yard run just 24 seconds later.
“Against Katy, a lot of things went bad,” Clear Springs coach Craig Dailey said. “We learned something from that game. That non-district schedule we had was to prepare for things like this. Sometimes you’re not going to play your best and you’ll have to play from behind. Our kids just kept fighting. That’s a testament to our kids.”
Dickinson led 21-0 at halftime despite committing three turnovers to none for Clear Springs.
The Gators’ first touchdown came on their second possession, moving 80 yards in just six plays.
Quarterback Mike Welch ran three times for 23 yards in the march, but it was his effectiveness through the air that hurt the Chargers.
Welch connected on a 26-yard pass to 6-5 tight end Jalen Wydermeyer before eventually hooking up with a wide-open Cameron Galliher down the middle on a 24yard touchdown pass at 5:35 of the opening period.
87-yard run for naught
Dickinson expanded the margin to 13-0 with 4:57 left in the second quarter, marching 76 yards for a touchdown after stopping Clear Springs on downs.
Once again, Welch did his damage through the air, teaming up with Wydermeyer for gains of 20 and 36 yards before delivering a touchdown strike to Darryl Harris from 20 yards out.
A huge turning point in the opening half came when Charger running back Todd Hudson’s subsequent 87-yard TD run was negated by a delay-of-game penalty.
Instead of trimming Dickinson’s lead to one touchdown, the call led to a punt by Clear Springs, giving the ball back to the Gators at their 42 yard line with 28 seconds remaining.
From there, Dickinson struck quickly, covering 58 yards in three plays to open a 21-0 lead.
Welch gained 20 yards on first down, found Harris for 8 yards on second down and then fired a 30yard scoring pass to Kai German with 8.7 seconds left in the half.
Welch and German teamed up again for the two-point conversion.
In the first half alone, Clear Springs missed field-goal attempts of 31 and 32 yards, and was stopped on downs deep in Gator territory on another occasion in addition to having Hudson’s scoring sprint nullified.