Aquinas keeps cool, thumps Skyline

Herbstreit Kickoff Classic - Texas
Scores: Trinity 80, Shiloh Christian 26 (game story); Aquinas 31, Skyline 3; Cedar Hill 42, Guyer 41; DeSoto 49, Bowie 14.
Game MVPs: Entire offensive line (Trinity), Jacob Rudock (Aquinas), Driphus Jackson (Cedar Hill), J.W. Walsh (Guyer), Ryan Polite (DeSoto).
Total yards: Trinity 706, DeSoto 543, Guyer 443, Cedar 423, Aquinas 384, Bowie 371, Shiloh 326, Skyline 132.
Preview of game


ARLINGTON, Texas - As the football team at St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) walked from its dressing room to the large, auspicious tunnel heading into Cowboys Stadium, a bus carrying one of the Texas teams drove slowly by.

“You’re in Texas,” a voice yelled from the bus. “This is our house. Go back to Florida.”

Rather than unraveling, senior defensive lineman Kenneth Hankerson made sure his team stayed focus.

“Ignore all that,” he yelled out to his team. “We’re here to play a game.”

And a strong one they did.

The perennial national powers put on something of an offensive and defensive clinic during a 31-3 victory over Skyline Dallas in the Herbstreit Kickoff Classic’s second of a four-game set on Monday afternoon.

An inexperienced offensive line and a smallish defense made an impressive debut to the 2010 season, limiting Skyline to 132 yards and no touchdowns, while Aquinas protected Iowa-bound quarterback Jake Rudock effective and paved the way to 384 total yards.

“We played pretty sharp,” Aquinas legendary coach George Smith said. “”I was very impressed with our defense and once we settled down, I though our offensive line do a good job. “

Rudock, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound senior, was efficient completing 10 of 14 passes for 230 yards, including touchdown passes of 8 yards to Jamal Wilson and 44 yards to Florida State-bound wideout Rashad Greene.

The latter touchdown closed out the scoring midway through the fourth quarter and couldn’t have been prettier. Rudock read the defense, sat back confidently in the pocket, his running backs picked up a couple blitzers and the high-lofting pass dropped right into the arms of a streaking Greene.

“It looked great,” Rudock said. “I read the defense, the line and running backs gave me lots of time and (Greene) made the catch. Just like practice but faster.”

It was the first game for Smith against a Texas opponent. He’s now won 347 games overall, along with five state titles in his 34 seasons.

What were his impressions of Texas?

“Everybody has been great to us and it’s been extremely organized,” Smith said. “Obviously the two states are very similar (in play). There’s a lot of Division I guys who have been produced in both states. It was a good experience for everyone.”

Rudock, a very low-key sort on the field normally, seemed very excited. That’s probably because Aquinas has been sitting with a bitter semifinal defeat from last year, 28-20. The Raiders were after their second straight mythical national championship.

“We’ve used that loss as motivation throughout the offseason,” Rudock said. “We don’t want to feel that again. We want to get back on top.”

With weapons like Greene and Miami-bound Phillip Dorsett at wideout and Dami Ayoola and Jamal Wilson at running back, Aquinas could get back to the state- and national-championship picture.

Dorsett made the play of the game, taking a punt, just avoiding a defender, scooting down the left side 70 yards before being caught at the 10. A play later, Rudock found Wilson on his 8-yard TD grab.

“We’re a young team,” Smith said. “We obviously lost a lot of good guys last year but we have a lot of good guys coming back. We’re a work in progress, but so far, so good.”

Cedar Hill (Cedar Hill, Texas) 42, Guyer (Denton, Texas) 41 (OT)

Driphus Jackson has been to nearby Six Flags amusement park countless times, but never, said the Cedar Hill quarterback, has he ever had so much fun as Monday's roller-coaster ride of a game with Guyer at Cowboys Stadium.

The athletic and scholarly 6-1, 205-pound senior threw for 270 yards and four scores and rushed for a team-high 62 yards as his Longhorns won one of the more entertaining games in Herbstreit history.

A missed Denton extra point in the first possession of overtime, set up a beautifully-designed 9-yard reverse for a touchdown by Andre Anderson and Ryan Sparkman added the game-ending extra point kick to end a wild affair that featured 846 yards, 44 first downs, four lead changes and six ties.

The contest was tied at 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 and 41. Nobody ever led by more than seven points. Sparkman's extra point broke the last tie and put to an end one of the best quarterback duels imaginable.

Oklahoma State-bound J.W. Walsh was a beast for Guyer, rushing for 184 yards and five touchdowns. He also threw for 135 yards and a score.

"You're not going to see two better quarterbacks in the state of Texas than those two guys,"  Cedar Hill coach Joe McGuire said.

Said Jackson: "Bar none, hands down the best game I've ever been a part of. I've never had so much fun doing anything."

Just how even was this one? Both teams ended with exactly the same yardage: 423. Walsh opened the scoring with a 66-yard TD run after dropping back to pass. He added TD runs of 3, 13, 12 and 9 yards, the later coming on the first possession of overtime.

But Josh King, who made five early PATs, hit this one low into the Cedar Hill line.

The Longhorns responded after opening from Guyer's 25 with a prodecure call, followed by Jackson scrambling for 19 yards. Then he flipped the ball to Anderson on the reverse. "Great play call," McGuire said, praising offensive coordinator Michael Glaze.

Glaze also had a fantastic call in the final minute of regulation, a double-pass from Davonte Wade to a wide open John Abercrombie who could have walked into the end zone from the Guyer 35. But Abercrombie, who earlier scored on runs of 39 and 13 yard completions, dropped the ball.

"I just told him to make the next play," Jackson said. "He's a gamer. I think that made us even more determined to win. We didn't want (Abercrombie) to take it on himself."

McGuire wasn't particularly worried about losing in overtime. His team hasn't lost any overtimes games since he took over which he estimated at five. Some have been downright remarkable. The Longhorns overcame a 28-0 deficit in one game and a 30-6 in the fourth quarter to win both in overtime.

"We have a way of making things interesting," McGuire said.

Even in defeat, Walsh, a gifted 6-2, 200-pounder, said the game was enjoyable. It was played in front of the largest crowd he's ever played in front of and he constantly got his student body cheering wildly by egging them on to jump to their feet.

"Yes, it was fun, lots of fun," Walsh said. "You hate to lose and we'd like nothing more than another shot at these guys. Hopefully we'll see them in the playoffs."

DeSoto (De Soto, Texas) 49, Bowie (Arlington, Texas) 21

DeSoto coach Claude Mathis wasn't being polite about it. His quarterback Ryan Polite, he says, is the best-kept secret in America. Or at least in Texas.

"I'd take him over any quarterback in the state," he said after Polite completed 18 of 30 passes for 313 yards and five touchdowns in the Herbstreit finale that finished three minutes short of midnight. "He's our guy."

Polite, a 6-2, 200-pound senior, is in his fourth year as a starter and holds every school passing record. He came into the year with 6,593 career yards after firing for 4,056 yards and 39 TDs last year.

He threw touchdown passes to Antoinne Jimerson (42 yards), Austin Vincent (19 yards), Contre Wilson (47) and two to his new big target Cameron White (32 and 12 yards) and led an offense that piled up 543 yards.

White's touchdowns were noteworthy considering he played for Bowie last season and is childhood friends with many of the Volunteers.

"It was definitely weird playing out there against my brothers," said White, a TCU recruit. "I just had to suck it up and play with my new family. I love my new family, my new quarterback, my new brothers."

Jimmerson, a 5-9, 215-pound scatback, DeSoto up 14-0 in the first quarter, taking a swing pass from Polite, making a super cut back at about the 20 and racing untouched to complete a 42-yard touchdown. He followed that up with a 40-yard touchdown run on the last play of the quarter.

Polite went to work in the second quarter, firing three touchdown passes. It sure didn't look like he was nervous playing in Cowboys Stadium, a place he had never even entered until this week.

"I still had some ooos and ahhhs when I walked in," Polite said. "But once the game started, I really focused on the game."

And when DeSoto took command, the Eagles didn't let up.

"My guys are like like Sharks," Mathis said. "When they smell blood they go after it." 

Polite thinks with such weapons as Jimmerson, White, TCU-commit David Porter, Vincent, Wilson and Demarcus Thompson, the sky is the limit.

"I think I have the best receivers in the state," he said. "I think we're capable of anything. It's amazing to think of what we can do."

NOTES: More than 67,000 tickets were sold for the four games and 20,102 attended the opening game, Trinity's remarkable 80-26 victory over Shiloh Christian.

Aquinas 31, Skyline 3

Aquinas 0 14 10 7 - 31
Skyline 0 3 0 0 - 3

Second quarter
A – Dami Ayoola 1 run (James Lagamma kick), 10:19
S – FG, Saldana 30, 7:30
A – Jamal Wilson 8 pass from Rudock (Lagamma kick), 1:40

Third quarter
A – Rudock 1 run (Lagamma kick), 7:41
A – FG, Lagamma 31, 0:05

Fourth quarter
A – Rashad Greene 44 pass from Rudock (Lagamma kick), 5:23

TEAM STATISTICS
First downs: A 17, Skyline 11
Rushes-yards: A 34-154, S 29-28
Passing: A 10-14-0-230, Skyline 10-24-0-104
Total plays/offense: A 48-384, S 53-132
Turnovers: A 1, S 0
Penalties: A 14-101, S 5-40
Time of possession: A 22:26, S 25:34

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
A – Ayoola 11-96, Wilson 10-43, Coppet 7-27, Tucker 2-7. S – Kincade 22-33, Wilkins 3-3, Jinkens 2-1, Hill 2-(-9).

Passing
A – Rudock 10-14-0-230, S – Kincade 9-19-0-97, Seward 1-5 -0-7.

Receiving
A – Greene 4-114, Wilson 3-30, Dorsett 1-67, Sinclair 1-15. S – Dawson 5-59, Hill 4-34, team 1-11.

Tackles
A – Champion 10, Hamilton 6, Kelleher 4.5. S – Barrows 8, Anthony 7, Bryan 4.5.

Cedar Hill 42, Guyer 41 (OT)

Guyer          7  0   14  14  6  -  41
Cedar Hill    7  7     7  14  7  -  42

First quarter
G - Walsh 66 run (Josh King kick), 4:56
CH - Abercrombie 39 pass from Jackson (Sparkman kick), 2:59

Second quarter
CH - Abercrombie 13 pass from Jackson (Sparkman kick), 2:53

Third quarter
G - Cameron Hunter 61 pass from Walsh (King kick), 10:43
CH - Ronnie Green 1 run (Sparkman kick), 9:48
G - Walsh 3 run (King kick), 6:11

Fourth quarter
G - Walsh 13 run (King kick), 11:36
CH - Lovett Gibson 14 pass from Jackson (Sparkman kick), 9:40
G - Walsh 12 run (King kick), 5:18
CH - Green 1 pass from Jackson (Sparkman kick), 2:35

OT
G - Walsh 9 run (kick failed)
CH - Andre Anderson 9 run (Sparkman kick)

TEAM STATISTICS
First downs, G 25, CH 19
Rushes-yards: G 45-308, CH 33-153
Passing: G 8-16-0-135, CH 17-27-0-270
Total plays-yards: G 61-443, CH 60-423
Turnovers: G 1, CH 0
Penalties G 9-58, Cedar 9-71
Time of possession: G 26:33, CH 21:27

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
G - Walsh 21-184, Walton 22-115, Williams 1-7, Hunter 1-2. CH - Jackson 9-62, Green 10-43, Abercrombie 8-41, Anderson 3-8.

PASSING
G - Walsh 8-16-135-0. CH - Jackson 17-25-0-270, Anderson 0-2-0-0.

RECEIVING
G - Gardnerer 3-34, Stewart 3-19, Hunter 1-61, Walton 1-21.
CH - Gipson 7-116, Abercrombie 4-77, Anderson 3-54, Specks 1-15.

TACKLES
G - Zach Bush 7, Jake Smith 6. CH - Dashaune Barlow 9.5, Robinson 6.

DeSoto 49, Bowie 21

DeSoto     14  21   7   7  -  49
Bowie         0    7   7   0  - 21

First quarter
D - Jimmerson 42 pass from Polite (Contreras kick), 5:24
D - Jimmerson 40 run (Contreras kick), 0:00

Second quarter
B - Turner-Green 1 run (Jose Jara kick), 8:49
D - Cameron White 32 pass from Polite (Contreras kick), 4:35
D - Austin Vincent 19 pass from Polite (Contreras kick), 1:54
B - Elgin Long 91 pass from Sergio Cantu (Jara kick), 1:31
D - Dontre Wilson 47 pass from Polite (Contreras kick), 0:44

Third quarter
D - White 12 pass from Polite (Contreras kick), 5:20
B - Reynolds 33 pass from Cantu (Jara kick), 3:08

Fourth quarter
D - Rushing 12 run (Contreras kick), 7:58

TEAM STATISTICS
First downs: D 26, B 15
Rushes-yards: D 36-221, B 30-102
Passing D 20-32-0-322, B 15-22-2-269
Total plays-yards: D 68-543, B 52-371
Turnovers: D 2, B 1
Penalties-yards: D 7-69, B 4-34
Possession: D 23:37, B 24:33

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
D - Jimmerson 13-99, Rushing 8-50, R. Wilson 4-26, D. Wilson 2-16
B - Turner-Green 13-51, Listenbee 5-14, Hansbrough 3-11, Bradford 1-9.

Passing
D - Polite 18-30-0-313, R. Wilson 2-2-0-9.
B - Cantu 12-18-2-246, Listenbee 3-4-0-23.

Receiving
D - White 4-54, D. Thompson 3-76, D. Wilson 3-59, Vincent 3-43.
B - Reynolds 4-118, Long 4-107, McGee 3-31, Hansbrough 2-10.

Tackles
D - Lyons 8, Seay 6.5, Smith 4.5, Hull 3.5.
B - Walton 8, Hood 5.5, Walls 5.5, White 3.5.