Jul 30, 2010
Dawson pounds Westbury to advance to region semifinals
November 24, 2009
ANGLETON — When the final buzzers sounded this past weekend at area football stadiums - there were only four teams left standing in the Class 4A Region III Division I playoffs. Two of those teams come from District 24-4A and they are the Pearland Dawson Eagles and the Friendswood Mustangs.
This coming Saturday, November 28 - Dawson (10-2) will play the Crosby Cougars (9-3) at Deer Park's Abshier Stadium at 2:00 p.m.
Friendswood (9-3) will face the Beaumont Central Jaguars (9-3) at Baytown's Stallworth Stadium on Saturday, November 28 at 2:00 p.m. Friendswood edged Central last year 20-19 to win the 4A Region III Division I championship to advance to the 4A state semifinals.
The scenario is a little different. If Dawson and Friendswood both win -- then they will face one another again with the winner advancing to the state semifinals. And both have an excellent chance of disposing of this week's playoff opponents to force a showdown for the Region III title.
But you can rest assured that neither team is looking beyond their games this coming Saturday. Dawson faced Houston Westbury in the area round and came away with a strong showing in their 42-28 win at Wildcat Stadium in Angleton.
The score was much closer than the game as Westbury trailed 42-7 at the 6:30 mark of the third quarter. But head coach Eric Wells began to substitute for the starters to not risk a needless injury.
Westbury (7-5) scored the game's final 21 points with the final score coming with only 58 seconds left in the contest that was already decided.
Once the Eagles got over the opening game jitters - scoring came easy and often. Dawson started out their opening possession with three straight flags that forced a punt.
But the Dawson defense stood their ground and forced a punt which was blocked giving the Eagles great field position at the Westbury 28.
It took only two plays for quarterback Darian Lazard, who got great blocking, to score on a 20-yard dash with 8:19 left in the opening period. The extra point by Sascha Martinelli hit the mark for a 7-0 lead.
That set the tone for the rest of the first half as Dawson scored 28 more points for a 35-7 halftime lead.
Xavier Brown scored on a beautiful 64-yard jaunt. Marcus Vaughn caught a perfect pass from Lazard to complete a dazzling 62-yard scoring pass play. Akeem Blackshire ran through a huge hole for a 5-yard scoring dash and Vaughn caught his scoring pass from Lazard covering 32 yards to post the 35-7 halftime advantage.
The remarkable statistic in the first half was that Dawson only ran 16 plays for 276 total yards and 35 points.
With 6:30 left in the third quarter - Payton Jones had a remarkable run where he broke through four tacklers including a spin move that set him free for a 12-yard scoring run. Martinelli added his fourth extra point of the game before Westbury went on their late-game scoring spree against the reserves.
The Eagles had 358 total yards on 40 plays while Westbury had 454 total yards on 55 plays.
Lazard continued his amazing dual role on the ground and through the air as he had 21 yards rushing and one score on four carries and was 4-of-8 passing for 126 yards and two more TDs. Brown had five carries for 118 yards and one score while Akeem Blackshire had four totes for 32 yards and one score. Vaughn had two catches for 94 yards and two scores.
The Eagles will face a Crosby team that won the District 19-4A title with a perfect 7-0 mark.
Quarterback Dominic Merka has hit 95-of-208 passing for 1,215 yards and nine touchdowns with 4 INTs.
Running back Jacacy Evans (220 carries - 1,168 yards - 24 TDs) and Merka (126 carries - 897 yards - 8 TDs) are a one-two punch on offense.
Dawson will need to stop these two players and if they can limit their offensive output - then the Cougars don't have any other players who have stepped up with big numbers on offense.
The Crosby defense has allowed 20.9 points per game.
The one common opponent that Crosby shares with Dawson is a 28-10 win over Baytown Goose Creek Memorial.
Dawson beat Memorial 40-26, but led 40-6 late in the third quarter before Wells called off the dogs in a very lopsided win that could have been much worse.
The two losses that Crosby suffered were against Ennis (62-16) and Port Neches-Groves (37-7).
For Dawson - Crosby's defense will have to have a multitude of answers for Lazard (1,890 passing, 981 rushing, 27 TDs), Brown (683 rushing, 6 TDs), Blackshire (377 rushing, 10 TDs), Jones (227 rushing, 3 TDs).
The Eagles also have a talented receiving corps led by Vaughn (819 yards, 7 TDs), Micah Tillotson (316 yards, 1 TD), Randall Weeks (305 yards, 2 TDs), Piaget Gauthier 144 yards, 1 TD).
If you can't make the game - go to: www.reporternewssports.com and click on LiveBlog at 1:55 p.m. to keep up with the game. You can add your thoughts and shoutouts!