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November 7, 2009

Tigers are back in playoffs

Corsicana beats Cleburne, 29-13, to end two-year drought

By Todd Wills

Boot camp. Accountability to your teammates. Wearing blue blazers to school on game day.

Buying into new coach Phil Castles and his way of doing things paid off for the Corsicana Tigers on Friday night.

The Tigers ended a two-season playoff drought on the final night of the regular season, dominating Cleburne, 29-13, in a win-and-your-in showdown on Friday night at Tiger Stadium.

The Tigers (5-5, 4-3 in 16-4A) will get a rematch against West Mesquite (7-3) in a Class 4A Division II bi-district playoff game at 7:30 p.m. Friday at DeSoto High School. The Wranglers rallied to beat the Tigers, 40-29, in the season opener back in August at Tiger Stadium.

Castles arrived in March and emphasized the weight room and discipline with a near month-long boot camp that didn’t end until the entire team reached the top level.

The Tigers went through an intense two-a-days schedule that included two scrimmages.

They have had long practices during the season, and Castles has shown zero reluctance to disciplining players, even seniors, if necessary.

The Tigers tied for third place in 16-4A with Waco University. They had a key regular season win over No. 3 Waco Midway and nearly upset No. 4 Waxahachie to make the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

“It paid off,” said senior running back Cody Evans, who rushed for 143 yards and finished the regular season at 16-4A’s leading rusher. “I know that it must have been since we’re going to the playoffs for the first time in two years.”

The Tigers were shell-shocked by an early fake punt that led to a touchdown, then an onside kick by the Yellow Jackets. The Tigers never panicked, trailing 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Quarterback Cameron Cutrer scored on a sneak to cut the lead to 7-6. The Tigers then used a two-point play they practiced for the first time this week and scored, giving them the lead and a huge momentum boost with 5:15 left in the second quarter.

“That added a little momentum for us and it was salt in the wound for them,” Castles said. “It was a trick play, we fooled them and it really lifted us up.”

The Tigers scored late in the first half to take control of the game. The defense responded by forcing Cleburne to punt from deep in its own territory, and Castles made a shrewd move, using the first of his three timeouts to stop the clock with 3:26 left in the first half.

That allowed his offense to relax getting the ball back around midfield, and the Tigers moved the ball down the field methodically and Cutrer scored again on a quarterback sneak for a 15-7 halftime lead.

“That was a big stop and big score,” Castles said. “We had the momentum at the half.”

The Tigers used that positive feeling to open the third quarter with a 6 minute, 20 second drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Evans.

“That was a big drive,” Castles said. “We’ve had some long drives in the last few games that stalled out in the red zone.”

The Tigers didn’t stop there. Sophomore Johnathan Anderson scored on a 35-yard run with 2:08 left in the third quarter for a 29-7 lead, giving Corsicana complete control of the game.

The Tiger defense bottled up the Yellow Jackets in the second half, allowing just 85 yards, including 55 yards on 14 carries.

Martin Davis had 15 tackles, and Cameron Washington, playing linebacker, had his best game of the season with 13 tackles, including four tackles for a loss and a sack.

Defensive tackle Shane Fletcher was all over the place with nine tackles and two sacks. Middle linebacker Matt Speed continued his stellar play to end the season with seven tackles and a sack.

The Tigers finished with two 100-yard rushers — Evans had his 143 yards and Anderson had 120 yards on 13 carries.

The last time the Tigers were in the playoffs they played Waco High at Tiger Stadium in 2006.

They’re back now after a coaching change and an attitude adjustment.

“I can’t ask for anything more,” Castles said. “We’ve played tough and the kids have bought into what we’re trying to do.”

—————

Back in playoffs

Sports Editor Todd Wills gives three reasons why the Tigers beat Cleburne on Friday night to clinch Corsicana’s first playoff berth since 2006:



1.No panic here. The first quarter didn’t go the Tigers way as Cleburne used a fake punt to take a 7-0 lead. The Tigers still had a 15-7 halftime lead.

2. Second-half start. The Tigers got the ball to start the second half and scored on a long drive capped by Cody Evans’ 1-yard TD run.

3. 100-yard rushers. The Tigers had two 100-yard rushers — Cody Evans had 143 yards and Johnathan Anderson had 120.

----------------

Corsicana 29, Cleburne 13



Cleburne 7 0 0 6 — 13

Corsicana 0 15 14 0 — 29



First Quarter

CL: L.J. Holmes 2 run (Joel Salinas kick), 4:13

Second Quarter

CO: Cameron Cutrer 1 run (Cody Evans run), 5:15

CO: Cutrer 2 run (Grant Gibson kick), :38

Third Quarter

CO: Evans 1 run (Johnathan Anderson run), 5:40

CO: Anderson 35 run (run failed), 2:08

Fourth Quarter

CL: Broderick Martin 9 pass from Holmes (kick failed), 7:41



CL CO

First downs 12 18

Rushes-yards 36-117 45-300

Passing yards 63 15

C-A-I 10-20-0 1-4-1

Fumbles-lost 3-0 1-1

Punts-avg 2-39 1-33

Penalties 5-33 5-50



INDIVIDUALS

Rushing — CL: L.J. Holmes 12-63, Cody Hicks 9-60, Robert White 7-22, Brodrick Martin 1-(-2), Taylor Calahan 7-(-26). CO: Cody Evans 23-143, Johnathan Anderson 13-120, Dominic Kelly 3-28, Timothy Solomon 1-6, Cameron Cutrer 3-2, Javonti Hines 2-1.

Passing — CL: Calahan 7-16-0-42, Holmes 3-4-0-21. CO: Cutrer 1-4-1-15.

Receiving — CL: Martin 2-16, White 2-12, Bubba Oakes 1-11, Hicks 1-9, Jose Martinez 1-7, Holmes 1-5, Logan Nunn 2-3. CO: Christian Hines 1-15.

—————

Click here to e-mail Todd Wills.

Click here to Sound Off on this story.



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