KFDM COOP Posted October 11, 2008 Report Posted October 11, 2008 Gander commander salutes Rangers’ win By Dave Rogers Published October 12, 2008 When it comes to congratulating Sterling coaches and players for their Friday night 21-20 win over Robert E. Lee, you can put Dick Olin at the front of the line. As painful as it must be for the Lee head football coach to see his team lose “The Game†against its crosstown rival for the first time since 1999 and only the second time in 16 years. “They did a nice job,†he said. “Sterling threw the ball deep and they pushed it downfield. Keagan (quarterback Keagan Kogut) won the game for them. They have a quarterback that can take over a game. “There’s no excuses or anything like that. They won the game, and that’s that. They’re 1-0 in district and we’re 0-1.†Things won’t be getting any easier for the Ganders. They must travel to Beaumont Friday to play West Brook. The Bruins are coming off a 61-20 win over Channelview in their District 21-5A opener. Sterling hosts Port Arthur Memorial Friday. North Shore beat Port Arthur 66-7 Friday. Kogut ran or passed for all three of Sterling’s touchdowns, including the go-ahead score, a 38-yard pass to Daniel Rougely in the fourth quarter, and had a hand in 225 of the Rangers’ 243 total yards. But just as important was a solid second-half stand by Sterling’s defense. Lee’s offense dominated the first half, outgaining Sterling 272 yards to 88. But the Rangers allowed just 63 yards and two first downs after a Stallworth Stadium crowd estimated at 12,500 returned to its seats from halftime runs to the concession stands. “We’re built on speed and they’re bigger up front than us,†Sterling defensive coordinator Chad Haynes said. “They were mashing us up front. “So we adjusted up front. We had to start cutting their linemen, and they don’t like to be cut, so they quit firing off the ball.†Olin said the defensive change was important. “They started to submarine, cutting the linemen. We zone block,†he said. “They just eliminated those linemen.†But the Lee coach also said penalties were important, too. The Ganders were assessed 13 walk-offs for 100 negative yards. Three of those penalties gave the Rangers first downs. “They started to move the ball on us in the second half and we started to have a lot of penalties, offensively,†he said. “But that’s coaching. “We’ll have to go back and look at it.†While Kogut completed 10 of 19 passes for 117 yards, Lee quarterbacks Tim Jirrels and Jarrett Havins combined to go 1 for 9 for 17 yards. But these Ganders, as hard as it is to believe, aren’t the high-flying type the pass-happy Olin is famous for. “We were in an I and we were in two-backs and we never intended to throw the football. We intended to run,†Olin said. “We had (318) yards running, which was actually a pretty good night.†While Lee scored on drives of 65, 57 and 44 yards with Dandrick Jackson notching six-pointers running and receiving, Sterling’s two first-half scores were set up by two big plays. Malcolm Zeno blocked a punt and Lesroy Clarke zigged and zagged his way for 62 yards on a screen pass. “There’s no excuses,†Olin said. “All the things that happen in a football game, happen. When you lose a game, people say ‘Aw well, it’s because we fumbled,’ or ‘Aw well, we didn’t catch a pass.’ “It all comes down to coaching. We need to do a better job of coaching and put our players in position to be successful.â€
sahen Posted October 11, 2008 Report Posted October 11, 2008 was a great game...i guessout of 12,500 fans im the only one on here....ha go figure
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