Rams beat Cavs, take control ofMAC Bronze
It was a tale of two halves for SouthLake inaMACBronze showdown with Lamphere on Thursday night. Unfortunately for the Cavs, the second half proved to be the difference, as they were kept off the scoreboard in a 29-24 loss in whatwas a de facto football league championship game on their home field.
Things started fast for South Lake in the opening half, as the Cavaliers scored touchdowns on their first four possessions against a Rams team that had not given up a single point through the first three weeks of the season.
“I knewwe had a couple guys up front that we could do some things against them to play against their aggressiveness,” said South Lake’s first-year head coach Vince Phillips. “We tried to pop a couple runs in there, and once we did that, we knew things would open up for us.”
South Lake senior quarterback Kawon Robertson was the best player on the field for either team in the first half, accounting for all four South Lake scores. He connected with seniorMalcome Smith for a pair of first half touchdowns through the air, while also scoring on runs of 40 and 39 yards in a half
that sawsix lead changes. The Cavs took a 24-21 lead into halftime.
“He’s a great kid,” Phillips said of Robertson. “He’s our leader. He knows what everybody is supposed to be doing. He’s the guy we ride all year.”
On the other side of the ball, Lamphere junior Nico Hernandez gave the Cavalier defense all they could handle, scoring on touch
down runs of four and 14 yards. Senior JaVarie Johnson added a kickoff return for a touchdown to keep Lamphere in the game during a back-and-forth first half.
“He’s physical, man,” Phillips said of Hernandez. “He’s a great runner. He gave us problems.”
Hernandez scored his third touchdown of the game on the third play of the fourth quarter,
Online: For more high school sports coverage, see DAILYTRIBUNE. COM/SPORTS/ MIPREPZONE. taking the ball eight yards for the score. That proved to be the gamewinner and the only points for either team in the second half. The Rams were able to limit the Cavaliers to three second-half possessions.
“First half, we put a pretty good game plan together and we came out and executed,” Robertson said. “The second half, we just came up short. They made adjustments. They started blitzing more.”
What proved to be key, however, was South Lake going scoreless on four extra point tries, while Lamphere added extra points on all four of their touchdowns, providing the difference on the scoreboard.
For Lamphere and coach Art Maisano, the win guarantees the Rams a MAC Bronze title.
“One of the things we emphasized is no oneman is bigger than the team,” Maisano said, “and they bought into it. It’s been a lot of fun. We’re going to win as a team, and we’re going to lose as a team.”