Corsicana —
Three things showed up at the regular season finale at Tiger Stadium on Friday night: character, special teams and an aerial threat.
Needing some momentum heading into the playoffs, the Tigers closed their beautiful stadium’s seventh season with a victory over playoff-bound Jacksonville.
Helping to seal the deal was junior kicker Ryan Condley. Condley hit Tiger field goals No. 1 and No. 2 of the season and they came at a fitting time.
Facing a menacing wind, Phil Castles called on Condley to kick a 36-yard field goal into the wind with: 01 left on the first half clock. A tall order for Condley, but his kick crawled over the cross bar to give the Tigers an 18-17 lead at halftime and momentum heading into the locker room.
Condley’s second kick almost didn’t happen. In the fourth quarter, the Tigers needed to finish off a drive with something to show for it. Again, Castles called Condley’s number.
This time the wind wasn’t the issue, but getting the snap off almost was. With time running down on the play clock and holder/quarterback Zach Rash pounding the turf so hard to call the snap that I thought he was going to damage his throwing hand, long snapper Cedric Weaver snapped the ball with: 01 on the clock.
“We had a delayed snap called,” Weaver said. “But I didn’t know there was only one second on the clock when I snapped it.”
Condley nailed the kick and the Tigers clung to a 28-25 lead.
“The first one gave me some confidence,” Condley said. “I just had to focus on the next one and hope we got the snap off.”
The Tigers were put in the position to allow Condley to come through in part because of the arm of Rash. Rash had his best game of the season, and continued to master the art of throwing the fade in the end zone. Rash hit Ashton Newsome in the left corner of the south end zone for a critical third quarter touchdown.
On the night Rash was an efficient 11 of 18 for 138 yards with one touchdown and zero interceptions.
What shouldn’t get lost is the effectiveness of the big fellas up front that allow for all the good offensive things to happen. If I were giving out an award for MVP of the season, I’d hand it to the offensive line. The group up front is incredible.
Following the game, Castles thanked the kids on the field for their character and for the ability to tough it out during a season filled with adversity.
“To all of you sitting here, your character has showed all season, and your character showed up tonight in the fourth quarter,” Castles said. “I’m proud of the kids that fought through the adversity and stuck it out this season.”
Sports
Related Photos
-
Tigers kicker Ryan Condley (4), shown with holder Zach Rash, made his first two field goals of the season in Corsicana’s 34-24 victory over Jacksonville on Friday night at Tiger Stadium. Daily Sun Photo/Ron Farmer
Discussion
Point After: Condley, Tigers come up big with perfect timing
Now on to playoffs, rematch with Red Oak
- Sports
-
-
Melton collects two more hits, but Aggies fall to Miss. St., 6-4
Adam Frazier went 4 for 5 with an RBI and Mississippi State beat Texas A&M 6-4 Thursday night in the Southeastern Conference tournament. Hunter Melton was 2 for 4 with an RBI single in the first.
-
GC Baseball: Unbelievable - Windthorst plates 6 in seventh to stun Dawson
Bo Moore lives by the run. He likes to put pressure on the opponent. A three-run seventh looked like just enough cushion in a five-run game. But it wasn’t. Windthorst scored six runs, five with two outs, to steal a 7-6 win from Dawson in Game 1 of the Region II-1A seminfinals at Weatherford College.
-
NC Baseball: Bloodlines run deep for top hurler
Lukas Schiraldi will likely be drafted in the first five to six rounds in June’s Major League Baseball draft. Navarro’s right-hander already has signed with the University of Texas. His baseball career will continue at the next level after the JUCO World Series.
-
Melton homers again as A&M tops Vanderbilt, 5-0
Parker Ray pitched eight-plus innings to lead Texas A&M to a 5-0 victory over top-seeded Vanderbilt on Wednesday in the second round of the Southeastern Conference baseball tournament. Hunter Melton of Corsicana homered for the second straight day.
-
GC Softball: Single focus - Hubbard has sights set on steady Sam Rayburn
When Tuesday’s rains blew through Hubbard, blowing up the last half of practice, the Lady Jags loaded up, and went home. They can only hope to be loading up and going south next week. Hubbard (24-6-1) has a chance to set GPS devices for Austin if the Lady Jags can get past Sam Rayburn (28-2) Friday in the Region II-1A championship.
-
Area Schedule: Updated to correct Navarro's game time Saturday
Here is an updated schedule for this week's three remaining Golden Circle sports teams: Navarro baseball, Dawson baseball and Hubbard softball. It corrects the game time for Navarro, which is playing in the JUCO World Series in Colorado, on Mountain Time.
-
Melton powers Texas A&M past Florida, 6-3
Hunter Melton hit a three-run homer and had an RBI single to help Texas A&M defeat Florida 6-3 on Tuesday in the Aggies' first appearance in the SEC baseball tournament.
-
GC Baseball: ’Dogs want more - Windthorst next up for surging Dawson
At this point, it might be easy to classify the rest of the baseball season for Dawson as gravy. But hold on a minute, coach Bo Moore said. The Bulldogs (20-7) are in the Region II-1A semifinals, the club’s deepest trek in many, many moons. To do that, they beat a Dodd City team that ousted them last year in the area round.
-
NC Baseball: Multi-tooled, Reeves has brought offense, defense
Navarro catcher John Clay Reeves is back in the World Series. Only this year it’s the JUCO World Series and Grand Junction, Colo., and not the NCAA Division I College World Series and famed Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb. like it was in 2012.
-
Lindblom loses 1st start, Rangers fall to A's 9-2
Josh Lindblom pitched out of trouble several times early in his debut as a major league starter. The Texas right-hander couldn't do it in the fifth inning. Seth Smith homered and scored three times, Bartolo Colon pitched seven strong innings for his first win in a month and the Oakland A's beat the Rangers 9-2 on Monday night.
- More Sports Headlines
-
Melton collects two more hits, but Aggies fall to Miss. St., 6-4
Officials: Truck Hit Bridge Before Collapse
Sheriff: No Sign Killing of 2 Kids Was Planned
Obama Defends Drone Strikes, With Limits
Raw: Jurors Deadlock on Jodi Arias Penalty
Boy Scouts Decision "First Step" Say Activists
Raw: Utah Teen Arrested in Death of His Brothers
Closer Look at Okla. School Where Children Died
Two Suspects in Murder Known to London Police
Boy Scouts Mom Supports Gay Inclusiveness
"Be Ready": NOAA Warns of Busy Hurricane Season
SeaWorld: Penguins Are Coolest Thing in Florida
Obama Renews Call to Close Gitmo
Obama Offers Drone Strike Defense
Raw: Heckler Interrupts Obama on Guantanamo
A Slice of Apple History Up for Grabs
