Email article
Print article
Digg
Del.icio.us
Newsvine
The immediate impact of that play was that it sent Temple senior Quentin Tuck into the end zone for what proved to be a game-winning 9-yard touchdown run with 39 seconds left against College Station A&M Consolidated on Friday night at Tigerland Stadium.
The lasting impact of that play might be that the Wildcats proved to themselves and anyone else paying attention that they can succeed under pressure and beat a good football team - even on the road and even if they have to come back from three different deficits.
Tuck rushed for 156 yards and three touchdowns in a breakthrough performance, Temple blocked a crucial extra point with four minutes remaining, and A&M Consolidated’s 46-yard field goal attempt with 10 seconds left fell well short as the Wildcats seized a 35-34 victory to remain atop the District 13-5A standings.
“The Wildcats earned that win – it was not given to them,” said Temple coach Bryce Monsen, who a week after declaring Temple’s 21-13 win over Bryan the biggest victory in his three years was happy to replace it with the conquest at Consol. “It was perseverance and just believing in ourselves, and the win the week before helped us tonight.
“That was a great football game, probably one of the best I’ve ever been involved with. It was a tremendous effort by both teams.”
“This tells us what we can do if we focus and execute,” said Tuck, who in the season’s first five games was a solid contributor as senior Adrian Reaves-Brown and sophomore Lache Seastrunk got most of the carries. “This feels really good to have a big game and I’m very grateful.
“We’ve been waiting for this since we were freshmen. Now we’re 2-0 and we know we can be district champions.”
Temple rushed for 318 yards – Seastrunk had 112, including a 50-yard touchdown - in winning its second straight game to improve to 3-3 overall and 2-0 in 13-5A entering next Friday’s home clash with rival Belton (3-3, 1-1). The Wildcats overcame deficits of 14-0, 21-7, 28-21 and 34-28.
They survived a huge performance by Tigers running back Marshall Cashion, who carried 32 times for 203 yards and four touchdowns. Dominic Preston passed for 186 yards as defending district champ Consolidated (1-5, 1-1) racked up 447 yards total offense, but the Tigers had no answers for Tuck, Seastrunk and the Wildcat offense.
“We had a hard time stopping them all night - they were mashing us,” said Consol coach Jim Slaughter, whose squad had defeated Temple the last three seasons by a combined score of 99-24, including 45-7 a year ago at Wildcat Stadium. “I’m not surprised. We knew what they could do. It was their blocking in front that did it.”
The first of Cashion’s three 1-yard touchdown runs gave Consolidated a 21-7 lead 2½ minutes before halftime, but Reaves-Brown scored on a 2-yard rumble a minute before the break to make it 21-14 and Seastrunk’s 50-yard TD sprint 2½ minutes into the third quarter created a 21-21 tie.
Another 1-yard touchdown plunge by Cashion put the Tigers back up at 28-21 late in the third, but on the first play of the final period Tuck blasted off right tackle and went 15 yards untouched to produce a 28-28 deadlock.
Temple blocked Barron Bennett’s 32-yard field goal try three minutes later, but on Consol’s next possession it drove down and grabbed a 34-28 advantage with 4:14 left on Cashion’s fourth and final touchdown, another 1-yarder.
However, a Wildcats player charged through the middle of the line and blocked Bennett’s extra-point bid, keeping Temple’s deficit at six points.
“Finally,” Monsen said of Temple’s flawless execution on special teams. “It was great to block that extra point.”
Beginning the ensuing possession from its 31-yard line with 4:02 remaining, Temple got Tuck runs of 6, 12 and 4 yards before Seastrunk dashed down the right sideline for a 20-yard gain to the Consol 27. Reaves-Brown ran hard for 7 yards, and on third-and-1 Tuck powered for 6.
On second-and-7 from the 9 with 44 seconds left, the Wildcats decided to go with what Monsen called “an old staple of Temple football” - Roger Tight Zip 34 Belly Bum.
Quarterback Chase Moore faked a handoff to the right side and turned his back to the defense, and after a slight pause he gave the ball to Tuck, who easily sprinted back to the left against Consol’s unaware defense for an easy 9-yard TD and a 34-34 tie. Chris Winkler provided the all-important extra point, with his kick giving the Wildcats their first lead of the night with 39 seconds left.
Said Monsen: “That last drive was an awfully big drive for us.”
A short kickoff and a 15-yard personal foul set up Consol at its 47, and Preston’s 19-yard pass to Wes Schill got the Tigers to the Temple 34. After calling its final timeout with 10 ticks left, Consol went for a 46-yard Bennett field goal but it came off his foot low and wobbled to the turf, setting off a wild celebration by the first-place Wildcats and their appreciative fans.
“All the credit goes to our kids and our assistant coaches,” Monsen said. “We’re 2-0 in district with two good wins, and we’re learning to do it every week.”
ngwille@temple-telegram.com
TEMPLE 35,
A&M CONSOLIDATED 34
Temple 0 14 7 14 - 35
Consolidated 7 14 7 6 -34
Con - Marshall Cashion 19 run (Barron Bennett kick)
Con - Wes Schill 77 pass from Dominic Preston (Bennett kick)
Tem -Quentin Tuck 6 run (Chris Winkler kick)
Con - Cashion 1 run (Bennett kick)
Tem - Adrian Reaves-Brown 2 run (Winkler kick)
Tem - Lache Seastrunk 50 run (Winkler kick)
Con - Cashion 1 run (Bennett kick)
Tem - Tuck 15 run (Winkler kick)
Con - Cashion 1 run (kick blocked)
Tem - Tuck 9 run (Winkler kick)
TEAM STATISTICS
Tem Con
First downs 18 21
Rushes-yards 45-318 50-261
Passing yards 41 186
Comp.-Att.-Int. 2-6-0 6-15-0
Punts-average 4-45.8 1-38
Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties-yards 3-25 2-10
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING - Temple: Quentin Tuck 23-156, Lach Seastrunk 9-112, Daniel Carr 3-20, Derek Marshall 1-15, Adrian Reaves-Brown 7-11, Chase Moore 1-6, Team 1-(-2); Consolidated: Marshall Cashion 32-203, Curtis Jackson 8-23, Wes Schill 3-20, Cy Perry 3-10, Dominic Preston 4-5.
PASSING - Temple: Chase Moore 2-6-0-41 Consolidated: Dominic Preston 6-15-0-186.
RECEIVING - Temple: Daniel Carr 1-25, A.J. Coulter 1-16; Consolidated: Wes Schill 3-104, Curtis Jackson 2-71, Timmie Fisher 1-11.