Tigers look back with pride
After first-round loss, Klein Collins already focusing on 2016
Atascocita-Klein Collins was the marquee matchup in the Houston area last week.
It wasn’t the only meeting of ranked teams. Dawson and La Porte collided in Class 6A Division II. And it wasn’t the only great game. Bellaire, Eisenhower and Friendswood all pulled off thrilling upsets.
But it was the only collision of one-loss locals both ranked in the Chronicle’s top 11.
“Two teams ranked this high, it’s a shame we had to place each other in the first round, but that’s just the way the brackets work,” Collins coach Drew Svoboda said.
Svoboda’s Tigers came up on the short end of the yardage marker last Friday, falling 32-27 in the 6A Division I Region II bracket.
They ended their season at 9-2 overall, 6-1 in District 15-6A.
Svoboda lamented his team’s slow start – they trailed 18-0 mid-second quarter – while carefully crediting the Eagles.
“Take nothing away from them,” Svoboda said. “They’ve got a great football team.”
The Tigers were great this season, too.
They won their first eight games, handing Westfield its first district loss in four years in the process – 24-19 at George Stadium.
It also rolled Bellaire (48-22) – which shocked Cinco Ranch in the first round of the playoffs last week – and Klein Oak (537), and won 31-21 in a key late-season road game at Montgomery.
But they weren’t great last week, at least in the first half.
After falling behind 180, partially due to back-toback safeties they gave up, the Tigers trailed 25-7 at halftime.
Nate Edmonds’ interception led to an Eagles touchdown 49 seconds before halftime.
“We just put ourselves in such a hole,” Svoboda said. “We started two drives on the 1-foot line. We fell behind early, and we fought back into position to win the game, (but) we just had a lot of setbacks.
“We were fighting ourselves for a while.
“But they’ve got a great football team, and you can’t beat good football teams with that many selfinflicted wounds.”
The Tigers didn’t beat themselves in the second half, making Atascocita earn the win.
Behind standout running back Justin Pratt, they scored their first three possessions of the second half, with Pratt rushing for touchdowns of 42, 55 and 13 yards to cut the deficit to 32-27 entering the fourth.
“Our kids are so resilient,” Svoboda said “This was very similar to the Spring game a couple weeks ago – fighting back, not giving up. These kids never quit.
“It speaks volumes for their character and their heart, and the desire to never quit.
“They push, they push, they push, and they weren’t going to roll over. It was 25-7 at halftime, and they fought back and made it a game.”
Pratt finished with 193 yards and four TDs – but just like with Spring, it wasn’t enough.
Aaron Buckley intercepted Daveon Boyd early in the fourth, but Collins punted after reaching midfield.
It moved to Atascocita’s 15 with 35 seconds to play, but Edmonds was sacked on fourth down.
The fierce comeback, which narrowly fell short, was enough to get Atascocita coach Craig Stump’s blood pumping.
“That’s why I’m 50 years old and still doing it – because of the competitive nature of the game,” Stump said. “It can’t get any better.”
Now the Tigers have work to do in the offseason in preparation for another run at the district title and a return to the playoffs.
They’re graduating Edmonds, Pratt, RB Javon Richardson, DBs Earnest Watts and Jake Hume.
Key returners include Buckley, WR Quinton Newton, punter Scott Bazemore, LB Jonathon Bucio, and DLs Grayson Strawn and J’waun Adams.