Cascia Hall fights for win against Holland
BY KELLY HINES World Sports Writer
Saturday, September 01, 2012
9/01/12 at 5:59 AM
When momentum started shifting toward its archrival, Cascia Hall fought back.
Although the result was a 35-12 victory against Holland Hall, the Commandos had to overcome some tense moments during their season opener Friday night at Siegfried Stadium.
"We play well in big games," coach Joe Medina said. "We're accustomed to pressure situations and it showed tonight."
After building a two-touchdown lead behind ground-game efficiency, Cascia was shaky in the third quarter, losing a fumble and narrowly avoiding disaster after a bad snap on a punt.
"We put our defense in some binds with the turnovers and I wish we could have risen to the occasion, but we're still young at some spots and they took advantage of it," Medina said. "But overall, to give up only 12 points is pretty good."
Holland Hall was able to trim the lead to 14-12 in the third period on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Jake Fox to Pierce Brady one play removed from an incompletion call that Commando coaches believe should have been ruled a fumble.
Boosted by a 40-yard return from McClean Maybrey, Cascia got back to business as quarterback Tate Swab found tight end Hayden Hedrick wide open in the corner of the end zone on a play Medina said he stole from the Dutch several years ago.
The game was still within reach for Holland Hall until tailback Abrm McQuarters surged 83 yards virtually untouched on the first play of the fourth quarter to deliver the knockout punch. McQuarters finished with 202 yards on 22 carries and also had a fumble recovery on defense.
"Abrm looked phenomenal," Medina said. "He was a sledgehammer, hammering away and hammering away and eventually he broke the long one, which I kind of figured he would."
The Commandos scored again late in the game on a 63-yard interception return from Reece Lambert.
For Cascia, the opener was an opportunity for its new starters to get acclimated. Hedrick had two scores in his debut as the replacement for All-Stater Conner Sherwood.
"It was really fun, especially to start out against Holland Hall," Hedrick said. " ... We had great plays called at the right time and our quarterback threw it perfectly."
In defeat, the Dutch showed great signs of improvement coming off a 1-9 season that included a 57-7 loss to Cascia, which leads the series 29-16.
"I knew this game would be a lot different from last year's game," Medina said. "They're a year older and they've added some pieces. When you give up 50 points like they did last year, they had a lot of incentive."
Cascia Hall 35, Holland Hall 12
| Cascia Hall |
7 |
7 |
7 |
14 |
- |
35 |
| Holland Hall |
0 |
6 |
6 |
0 |
- |
12 |
CH: Hedrick 15 pass from Swab (Rosendo kick)
CH: Smith 5 run (Rosendo kick)
HH: Taylor 41 pass from Fox (kick failed)
HH: Brady 18 pass from Fox (conversion failed)
CH: Hedrick 6 pass from Swab (Rosendo kick)
CH: McQuarters 83 run (Rosendo kick)
CH: Lambert 63 INT return (Rosendo kick)
| Holland Hall | Cascia Hall |
|
First Downs | 7 | 12 |
|
Rushes-Yards | 20-36 | 43-279 |
|
Passing Yards | 166 | 92 |
|
Comp-Att-Int | 15-36-1 | 6-11-0 |
|
Punts-Avg | 6-44 | 4-39.5 |
|
Fumbles-Lost | 1-2 | 2-2 |
|
Penalties-Yards | 4-27 | 5-30 |
Kelly Hines 918-581-8452
kelly.hines@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Cascia Hall running back Abrm McQuarters ran for 202 yards on 22 carries and scored a touchdown in the Commandos' win Friday night. JOEY JOHNSON/For the Tulsa World
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