Shiner beats Poth, loses quarterback
Friday, August 30, 2002
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The Shiner Comanches turned a third quarter field goal attempt into a 7-point lead and a 14-7 win over the Poth Pirates in Poth last Friday. The Comanches faked the field goal and got the ball to Quentin Wright who tossed a 6-yard touchdown pass to Desmond Brooks for the winning score.
Quarterback Garet Pustka rolls to his left for a good gain. (all photos by Shiner Gazette)
The pass was Shiner's only completion of the game and it turned out to be a winning call in the season opener.
The win was dampened by news that quarterback Garet Pustka, who had 71 yards on 20 carries, suffered a hairline leg fracture and will be out for about six weeks.
"That is a big blow to us and we'll just have to wait to see what the doctor's say as to how long he'll be out," said Shiner coach Steven Cerny.
Cerny added that R.J. Lester will take over at the quarterback position. "He's been practicing at that position since the beginning of the season so we think he will do OK."
The Comanches took a 7-0 lead on the first play from scrimmage on a 54-yard scamper by Chris Baer. Baer had returned the opening kick off to the Comanche 46 setting up the Comanches in good field posi-tion. R.J. Lester tacked on the PAT for a 7-0 lead.
Baer rushed for a total of 135 yards on 17 carries.
Chris Baer (10) eludes the reach of Adam Sekula (32) on his way to a 54-yard touchdown in Friday's win against Poth. Shiner's Steven Evans (7) follows the play, while Sherman Posey (8) watches after being blocked out of the play.
The Pirates responded with a 45-yard drive to the Comanche 30-yard line only to lose the ball on a fumble. Eric Grosenbacher pounced on the loose ball to recover for Shiner and break Poth's momentum.
Shiner was forced to punt and Poth took over on their 26. Two first downs and three minutes later Jason Weed broke loose and scored on a 38-yard run. Weed added the extra point and knotted the score at 7-7 with 1:35 left in in the first quarter. The second period was a defensive battle with both teams punting three times.
Shiner's entire defensive unit, played well in the quarter, containing the run and getting good pass coverage.
"Our defense played well the entire game. It was a hard fought physical game on a very hot night," said Cerny.
Shiner's game-winning drive began on their 30 with 10:24 left in the third quarter. The Comanches stayed on the ground using eight plays to the Poth 1-yard line. Baer had four carries for 66 yards in the drive.
A procedure penalty and a stiff Pirate defense forced Shiner into a fourth- and-goal. Shiner coach Steven Cerny sent out the field goal unit but the call was the fake with the Wright-Brooks combination resulting in a touchdown with 4:56 left in the third. Lester split the uprights for the PAT and Shiner led 14-7.
"The penalty set us back and with the incomplete pass on third down it just seemed like a good time to try the play," said Cerny.
Adron Price and R.J. Lester wrap up Pirate's leading rusher, Anthony Weed for no gain on this play.
Poth threatened on their first drive of the final period. Despite good defense by Shiner, preventing the big play, the Pirates drove to the Comanche 5-yard line. On fourth-and-two, Baer broke through the line and sacked the quarterback on the 19 and Shiner took possession with 8:03 left on the clock.
Pustka then guided a 12-play drive with 10 carries of his own to the Poth 18-yard line using up six and one-half minutes.
The Shiner quarterback got hit by several players on his last carry which resulted in his injury. Three plays later the Comanches had to give up the ball on the Poth 16 but had run the clock down to 18 seconds.
The Pirates managed to reach their 24-yard line but time expired. The game was pretty even with Shiner having 10 first downs and Poth nine. Shiner ran 50 plays, while Poth had 49. Both teams punted five times. Shiner had one turnover, while Poth had two.
Chris Baer was chosen Offensive MVP for the week, while Quentin Wright who had an interception and six tackles was named Defensive MVP. Cerny also cited Steven Evans for a good job in punting. Evans had a 40.2 average on five punts.
Shiner will travel to Schulenburg this Friday for a 7:30 p.m. game against the Shorthorns.
GAME STATISTICS Shiner Poth First Downs 10 9 Yards Rushing 46-224 33-192 Yards Passing 6 86 Passes 1-4-1 4-16-1 Punts 5-40.2 5-35.2 Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1 Penalties-yards 5-25 4-30 SCORING DETAILS Shiner 7 0 7 0 -- 14 Poth 7 0 0 0 -- 7 First Quarter S - Chris Baer 54 run (R.J. Lester kick), 11:35 P - Jason Weed 38 run (Week kick), 1:32 Third Quarter S - Desmond Brooks 6 pass from Quentin Wright (Lester kick), 4:56
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