San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
RIDING FORTH
Late touchdown drive, capitalizing on Rockets’ mistakes lead to first postseason victory since 2012
Dewayne Coleman faced the gaggle of cameramen with surprise.
“My God,” Coleman said with a chuckle.
When he was asked to remove his helmet, he politely declined. Roosevelt’s senior quarterback elected to keep on his battle gear to conduct interviews while Rough Riders fans cheered, “MVP! MVP!”
Any why not?
Coleman engineered a late drive to cap a stunning 28-21 victory against Judson in a Class 6A Division II firstround playoff game Saturday afternoon at Rutledge Stadium.
“I’m so excited for these guys and this community,” said Roosevelt coach Matt Carroll, whose team won a playoff game for the first time since 2012. “This is such a rivalry game and to have the opportunity to come over to this field and do this is huge … God’s been good to us, and we’ll continue to take it and keep on riding as long as we can.”
The Rough Riders (7-3) next face Austin Vandegrift (7-2) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Bob Shelton Stadium in Buda.
The last time the Rockets (6-3) lost in the first round was 2011, when Madison won 25-24.
Coleman accounted for all four of the Rough Riders’ touchdowns, passing for two and rushing for two, in
cluding the game-winner, a 2yarder with 2:07 left.
Coleman threw for 311 yards on 25-of-40 passing. The yardage and attempts were season highs.
“We felt to come out there, we were going to have to do something different,” Carroll said. “We threw the ball more today than we’ve thrown all year long, so these guys stepped up to the plate and got it done.”
He was at his best on the Rough Riders’ drive that led to his rushing score. He had some help, too.
Luis Siller’s 15-yard diving scoop catch on third-and-11 kept it going. Later, on third-and-11, he dropped a 26-yard pass to Antonio Redmon to the Rockets’ 7. Coleman scored two plays later to put the Rough Riders in the lead, 28-21.
The drive was set up when Jayden Witter picked off Judson quarterback Michael Burroughs and returned it 18 yards to the Rockets 47.
Roosevelt sealed it on the drive following Coleman’s scoring run when Lavon Williams picked off Burroughs and fell to the ground on Judson’s 32. The Rough Rider ran out the clock with the final play in victory formation.
“That felt great,” Coleman said. “It hasn’t hit me yet that this could have been my last game. But it will probably hit me on that bus.”
The Rockets had three turnovers, and the Rough Riders turned them into 14 points. They also had a costly bad snap on a punt that led to points.
The Rockets’ mistakes overshadowed a strong effort by senior running back De’Anthony Lewis who had 173 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.
The Rough Riders held a 14-7 halftime lead thanks largely to two of those Judson miscues.
The first was a fumble by Lewis on Roosevelt’s 7 that negated a promising drive. Lewis was stripped from the ball after running for 16 and 52 on his previous two carries to get the Rockets to the Rough Riders’ 5-yard-line.
Roosevelt turned it into score when Coleman connected with senior Brandon Armelin for 42 yards to make the score 7-0 with 4:04 in the first quarter.
Judson tied it up on the next drive when Lewis rushed into the end zone from 8 yards on the first play of the second quarter. Lewis caught a 7-yard pass on fourth-and-4 the play before to set it up.
A miscue on special teams led to Roosevelt’s second touchdown. Punter Jason Bratcher scooped up a bad snap on a punt and tried to escape but was swarmed to the ground on the Rockets’ 10. Three plays later, Coleman scooted into the end zone from three yards to put the Rough Riders in the lead 14-7 with 3:54 in the second quarter.
Judson tied it up on a 5-yard run by Lewis on the Rockets’ first possession of the second half.
The Rockets missed a 26-yard field goal attempt on their next possession, which was set up by Jeffery Bondoc’s interception.
Coleman tossed a 28-yard score to Jaylen Dears to make it 21-14 late in the third quarter. The Rockets matched it with a 17-yard scoring run by Isaiah Washington early in the fourth quarter.