Border Battle to La Porte
Upshaw sparks offense as Bulldogs take down neighboring Deer for third consecutive season
LA PORTE — La Porte’s border still is secure.
Quarterback Austin Upshaw ran for 160 yards and two touchdowns and threw for another TD, leading the Bulldogs to their third consecutive victory over Deer Park 35-21 on Friday night at Bulldog Stadium.
“This is huge,” said Upshaw, who switched uniform shirts in the third quarter, going from 5 to 81 after the Deer shredded his regular jersey. “We just hit the three-peat on them.”
La Porte leaped to 6-2, 4-0 in District 22-6A with its 30th win in the Border Battle, which dates to 1946. It leads the all-time series 30-25-1. The Bulldogs, who are in the playoffs — they’ll go the Class 6A Division II route — also moved closer to clinching a district title. The Deer, guaranteed to go 6A Division I, dropped to 6-3, 4-1.
The Deer, guaranteed to be in 6A Division I, dropped to 6-3 and 4-1.
La Porte scored 21 unanswered points in the second half, turning a 14-all halftime score into a 35-14 lead with 4:17 remaining.
Upshaw capped a dominant drive to start the third quarter with a 1-yard TD run.
“We lost the momentum going into halftime, so it was important for us to come out and be strong on our opening drive, and we did what we had to do,” Upshaw said.
Running back Cobra Jones gave the Bulldogs a 28-14 lead with a 13yard scoring run with 2:18 left in the third quarter, and Upshaw’s 23-yard TD run late in the fourth created a deficit the Deer couldn’t erase.
Keeping up with Jones
Upshaw was 4-of-9 passing for 57 yards and one TD. Jones added 91 yards and two TDs on 13 carries.
“(Upshaw) and Cobra just did a number on them in the second half,” La Porte coach Jeff LaReau said.
But the Bulldogs rose and fell on special teams in the first half. They deflected a Deer Park punt on the game’s opening possession, secured the ball at the Deer 49 and then scored six plays later on a 4-yard run by Jones for a quick 7-0 advantage.
Deer Park punted again on its second series, and Terrel Bernard blocked it. He recovered the ball and returned it to the Deer 19, setting up Upshaw’s 15-yard TD pass to Kevrin Busby.
That score gave La Porte a 14-0 edge with 4:38 left in the first quarter — to the delight of its roaring home crowd. But the delight didn’t endure. Deer Park used a 13-play, 80yard march to cut the lead to 14-7 on quarterback Hunter Becton’s 1-yard keeper. Becton also completed a 22-yard pass to Ethan Plunkett on fourth-and-4 to keep the drive alive.
Then a high snap sailed over La Porte punter Sergio Calvillo’s head. Calvillo recovered in his end zone and got the punt off, but it went for negative yardage.
The Deer took over at the Bulldogs’ 20, and four Angel Vargas runs later, it was tied at 14 with 5:16 left in the first half.
“(Special teams) are a big part of this game, always,” LaReau said.
Vargas (37 rushes, 134 yards) carried on 15 consecutive plays at one point, giving Deer Park another scoring chance.
Deer fizzle after half
But after all those runs, the Deer passed on fourth-and-goal from the 2, and Becton threw incomplete.
La Porte defensive back Daveion Crawford sealed the win by intercepting Becton with 49 seconds left.
“The second quarter we let down on defense,” La-Reau said. “And we made a few tweaks, but it wasn’t scheme. It was the kids stepping up and playing.”
The Bulldogs produced 335 yards (43 attempts for 278 rushing yards) and 17 first downs.
Becton was 18-of-32 passing for 194 yards, with one rushing touchdown. Plunkett recorded eight receptions for 107 yards.
“They came out and ran the football well (in the second half ), and we did a poor job of tackling,” Deer Park coach Chris Massey said. “We didn’t take advantage of the opportunities we had.
“They did, and you see the results of it.”