By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
KINGSVILLE — Sharyland High had the ball for just four plays during the third quarter Friday. And even though there were 15 minutes left off the clock when Corpus Christi Calallen stripped it away, the Rattlers’ window of opportunity slowly began to close.
The Wildcats provided few chances for any type of comeback, given their ball-control style of play. And Sharyland struggled to match their offensive firepower as it was dealt a 42-21 loss in the Class 5A, Division II area round at Javelina Stadium.
The Rattlers (7-5) returned to the site where they trounced Calallen almost a year ago to the day in the second round of the postseason. With only three starters back from that 2014 team on Friday, though, the Rattlers yielded 503 yards, including 436 rushing, and saw a 7-0 first-quarter lead turn into a 28-14 deficit by halftime.
“Their M.O. when they get into their ground-and-pound game was to play keep-away, and they did a darn good job of that,” Sharyland coach Ron Adame said. “Of course, it didn’t help that when we did get the ball, we turned it right back over. But you got to take the good with the good, and the bad with the bad, and we just met our match tonight. They were a much better team.”
Calallen drove the ball 67 yards on 15 plays before a missed field goal gave Sharyland possession with 4:29 left in the third quarter. It was the team’s first possession of the second half, and the Rattlers lost it shortly thereafter.
The Wildcats (10-2) scored on the ensuing drive to stretch it 35-14, and Sharyland followed with a 3-and-out.
“I would say mistakes made the difference,” Sharyland’s Seth Carter said. “I mean, they made mistakes too, but we didn’t capitalize on them. I’m proud of this team. We gave 100 percent, but I think sometimes you play too hard and mistakes are going to happen.”
RUN, RUN, RUN
Sharyland would have to go back to a 55-35 loss to Laredo United in Week 2 to point to a similarly potent rushing opponent.
Calallen threw the ball only six times Friday, and five of its six TDs came on the ground, with Alec Brown (32 carries, 195 yards) and Gaige Lamb (19 carries, 175 yards) carrying the load. Lamb threw for a touchdown and had two rushing touchdowns, and Reece Barrett (10 attempts, 51 yards) added three scores.
“They just ran it, ran it, ran it,” Sharyland linebacker Jorge Mendoza said. “We tried to stop it but we couldn’t.”
ROUGH NIGHT
Sharyland entered the game having won four straight, including a 45-35 bi-district victory over Mercedes. Throughout the regular season, it averaged 413.9 yards per game. On Friday, it mustered 254, with 207 coming in the air.
Quarterback Manny Campos completed 13 of 23 passes for 207 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He connected with Carter (4 catches, 49 yards) on a 16-yard TD to open the game, in addition to rushing 15 times for 43 yards. Campos scored twice on ran to bring the Rattlers to within 21-14 late in the opening half, and then 35-21 with 6:11 left to play.
OVERACHIEVING
Despite graduating 46 seniors, the Rattlers qualified for the playoffs for an eighth straight It marked the first time since 2011 that Sharyland had not won the district title after three straight crowns and three consecutive trips to the third round of the playoffs.
“I think, honestly, our boys overachieved this year,” Adame said. “Not very many people were giving us very much hope or chances of getting this far, let alone making the playoffs. If you look at our season, we’re one point away from (Edinburg) Vela. Roma, you’ve got to give credit to them. They took it to us.
“But our boys answered that call and they rose to the challenge. I think we got the most our of our kids. And as coaches, that’s what we look for. Let’s squeeze as much talent out of them as we can, and I think that’s what we accomplished this year.”