Shiner goes to air for 35-7 victory
Friday, September 20, 2002
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SHINER - Legend has it, when a full moon was in the sky the Comanches would swoop down from the hills and conduct raids on local settlements.
Thus,a full moon has become known as a "Comanche Raiding Moon," in parts of South Central Texas.
Shiner lived up to the legend of its namesakes on Friday night at Comanche Stadium, pillaging Weimar for a 35-7 homecoming victory.
The Comanches improved to 3-1 on the season with their third win over a Class 2A school in four tries. The Wildcats dropped to 1-3.
Shiner spotted Weimar a 7-0 lead before scoring on four of its final five possessions of the first half.
Perhaps befitting a game played under a full moon, traditionally run-oriented Shiner did most of its damage out of its veer offense through the air.
Quarterback R.J. Lester completed seven of his 11 passes for l30 yards and two touchdowns, and running back Chris Baer also threw a touchdown pass. Desmond Brooks caught two touchdown passes and Casey Coleman caught another.
"They were geared up to stop the run," said Shiner coach Steve Cerny. "We knew if we let them do that we would be in trouble. We had some big catches. You have to give our receivers credit because they were fighting for the ball."
Lester started the scoring spurge when he connected with Brooks for a 19-yard touchdown with 3:11 remaining in the first quarter.
The touchdown came two plays after a bad snap on a punt attempt had set the Comanches up at the Weimar 20-yard line.
Shiner came right back the next time it had the ball and scored on a 57-yard pass from Lester to Coleman.
"We were trying to get something new," Lester said. "We tried a lot of play-action passes and were able to move down the field."
After punting on its next possession, Shiner took advantage of a 16-yard Weimar punt and drove 32 yards in six plays and scored on a 7-yard run by Lester.
Shiner extended its lead to 27-7 at halftime on an 18-yard halfback pass from Baer to Brooks, who outfought a Weimar defender for the ball in the end zone with 22 seconds left in the second quarter.
The completion, which came on a fourth-and-six attempt, completed a nine-play, 60-yard drive.
"I’m very disappointed," said Weimar coach Wayne Zimmerhanzel. "We came out like a house on fire, executing both the run and the pass. We needed to get Shiner down when we could and didn't do it. They played on the short end of the field and with their offense, you want them to have to drive the length of the field."
Weimar had Shiner down after the game’s opening possession, which began with a 32-yard kickoff return by DeOlan Ellison that set the Wildcats up at the Shiner 35.
Weimar used a 23-yard pass from Cody Emanis to Clay Bittner to reach the 6, and scored on a 1-yard run by Emanis three plays later.
"We seemed a little soft on defense on that first possession," Cerny said. "We were letting them come to us and that’s not like us. After that, we began to take it to them."
Weimar had three first downs on its first possession and two on its second, and didn't make another until 5:26 was left in the third quarter.
By that time, Shiner had built its lead to four touchdowns on a 23-yard run by Baer, who carried 10 times for 59 yards, and a two-point conversion run by Lester.
"We wanted to take it to them for the last one," Lester said of last season’s 6-2 loss to Weimar. "This game showed what we can do."
Lester, who carried 17 times for 77 yards, has shown what he can do at quarterback in the last three games. He is likely to move to running back or wide receiver and strong safety, if starting quarterback Garet Pustka returns from a broken leg when Shiner plays again against Nixon-Smiley on October 4 as expected.
"R.J. has done a good job and we've also been working Quentin (Wright) there," Cerny said. "We knew quarterback was going to be one of our strengths and that’s a big plus for us."
Shiner senior Santanna Molnoskey was named homecoming queen at halftime.
GAME STATISTICS Weimar Shiner First Downs 10 14 Yards Rushing 35-111 41-168 Yards Passing 50 148 Passes 4-16-1 8-12-0 Punts 5-27.8 4-41.3 Fumbles-lost 3-1 0-0 Penalties-yards 4-40 5-40 SCORING DETAILS Weimar 7 0 0 0 -- 7 Shiner 6 21 8 0 -- 35 First Quarter W - Cody Emanis 1 run (Andre McMillian kick),8:08 S - Desmond Brooks 19 pass from R.J. Lester (kick failed), 3:11 Second Quarter S - Casey Coleman 57 pass from Lester (Steven Evans pass from Lester). 11:51 S - Lester 7 run (Lester kick), 4:37 S - Brooks 18 pass from Chris Baer (kick failed), 0:22 Third Quarter S - Baer 23 run (Lester run), 6:22 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing - Weimar, Andre McMillian 5-54; DeOlan Ellison 15-52; Cody Emanis 6-12; Johnny Hadash 3-11; Sam Muras 3-4; Lamont Johnson 1-2; Kyle Mueller 1-(-5); Team 1-(-19). Shiner. R.J. Lester 17-77; Chris Baer 10-59; Steven Evans 6-22; Quentin Wright 4-7; Adron Price 2-2; Eric Blair 2-1. Passing - Weimar, Emanis 2-11-0 29; McMillian 2-5-1 21. Shiner, Lester 7-11-0 130; Baer 1-1-0 18. Receiving - Weimar, Stuart Antosh 2-14; Clay Bittner 1-23; Jason Syrinek 1-13. Shiner, Wright 3-42; Desmond Brooks 2-37; Evans 2-12; Casey Coleman 1-57.
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