Manvel shocks Angleton; loses coin flip

November 10, 2009

   

MANVEL — After Manvel dropped three of their first four district games -- each week the Mavericks faced elimation from the playoffs. But as long as they won -- they stayed mathmatically in the hunt while knowing that they needed miracle help to be able to slip into the fourth and final playoff slot.

Entering the game against No. 5 state-ranked and No. 1 area-ranked Angleton (9-1, 6-1) - no one was giving the Mavs a chance at winning the final contest of the season. Besides Manvel needing a miracle win - the other teams in the district had to do their part that would favor the Manvel chances to at least get a three-way tie and a coin flip to see who would have a shot.

In the end - Friendswood beat La Marque (27-26) with a miracle finish of their own. Texas City did their part by beating Brazosport. And Dawson did their part in taking out Santa Fe. A win by the Indians would have ended all playoff hopes for the other four teams. But Dawson ambushed the Indians 28-14.

After Manvel shocked the entire state with their unlikely 28-17 win at Alvin Memorial Stadium -- the three coaches from Manvel, Santa Fe, and Texas City met to flip their coins. The odd flip wins.

The coaches all flipped tails requiring another try. The second flip decided the playoff fate for the three teams as Texas City and Manvel flipped heads and Santa Fe (6-4) hit the jackpot with tails sending the Indians to the post-season for only the third time in school history.

"I take away from this that our kids beat the No. 5 team in the state and played their guts out,” Manvel head coach Kirk Martin said. “I’m proud of them and the way we finished the season and the kind of football team we have.”

The never-say-quit Mavericks could have folded the final three games of the season, but they didn't which shows the kind of effort and heart that these kids demonstrated during the 2009 football campaign.

The game looked like it was gong to be a rout as expected as Angleton scored twice in the opening period for a 14-0 lead.

After Angleton's Henry Josey scored on a 78-yard jaunt to put the Wildcats up by two scores with 6:32 left in the first quarter - Manvel answered quickly as Kaylon Melancon returned the kickoff 84-yards that took only 12 ticks off the clock at 6:20. Jimmy Wells added the extra point to cut the lead to 14-7.

Angleton added a field goal covering 21 yards with 11:17 in the second quarter for a 17-14 and then that would be it for the 'Cats as penalties and turnovers spelled their doom by an aggressive Manvel defense.

With 3:51 left before intermission - Saqwan Edwards caught a 27-yard scoring strike from Travaughn Caldwell to cut the Angleton lead to 17-14.

The most shocking play of the game came midway through the third quarter when the Wildcats’ Aaron Davis blocked the Manvel punt, only to see the Mavericks’ Brian Dubose pick the ball up and run 33 yards for the first down.

Two plays later, quarterback Travaughn Colwell broke loose for a 42-yard scoring dash that gave Manvel a 21-17 lead.

The dagger came when linebacker Jeremy Ragland scooped up an Angleton fumble and ran 18 yards for the score and an 11-point lead with 8:58 left in the game.

Angleton still had hope late in the game, but Forrest Jones intercepted an Angleton pass at the Mavericks’ 8 yard line to seal the win.

“We’ve got a good football team and we’ve known all along that we’ve got a good football team,” Martin said. “We’ve had some hiccups along the way but, like I told my players, we were only three plays away from being 5-1 and playing them (Angleton) for the district championship. We lost to Friendswood by one play, we lost to (Pearland) Dawson by one play and we lost to Texas City by one play."

Manvel finished with 307 yards of offense, with 201 coming on the ground.

Angleton ended with 258 yards, with Josey leading the way with 111 rushing yards.

The Wildcats (9-1, 6-1) move on to the post-season while the Mavericks end their season at 5-5. overall and 3-4 in district.

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