Franklin carries Comanches
to Class 1A area playoff win
Friday, November 23, 2001
by Jeff Webb, Advocate Sports Writer
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VICTORIA -- Bryan Franklin's first carry went for a loss of 5 yards, but he was patient. On his next touch, on third-and-11 from Shiner's 24-yard line, Franklin raced left and outran two Agua Dulce safeties for a 76-yard touchdown.
"You have to just keep going and not let anything get you down," said Franklin, who gained 174 yards on 13 carries after being limited by minor injuries to his right wrist and left knee. "The line did the job tonight."
Shiner running back Bryan Franklin fights an Agua Dulce defender for a few of his 174 yards on Friday night at Victoria's Memorial Stadium. The Comanches ran to a 36-6 victory over the Longhorns in a Class 1A area playoff game. T.C. Baker
Advocate Staff Photographer
There was little Shiner could get down about after taking a 36-6 area playoff win over Agua Dulce at Memorial Stadium on Friday night.
The Comanches, who had only three other plays out of their 57 go for negative yardage, outgained the Longhorns 377 yards to 113, and Shiner's defense smothered any comeback attempt aspirations by Agua Dulce by limiting the Longhorns to two second-half first downs and no rushing yardage in the third and fourth quarters.
"Defensively, we played excellent except the long drive that they scored on," said Shiner head coach Billy Turek. "They broke some plays, but I think we had too much speed."
The Comanches (8-3) will face Burkeville, a 40-8 winner over Granger, in the regional round of the Class 1A playoffs next week. Agua Dulce fell to 5-5 with the loss.
Burkeville is the team that eliminated Shiner from the playoffs last year in a 41-8 romp that is still fresh on the minds of many Comanches.
"We want payback for that last game," Franklin said. Shiner didn't look past Agua Dulce, however, before heading to the next round.
After jumping out to an early 6-0 lead n Franklin's touchdown and a failed extra point run, the Comanches stopped Agua Dulce and scored on their next drive.
After a 12-yard gain by Franklin from the Longhorns' 33, quarterback Garet Pustka fake a handoff to the right and ran left for 21 yards and a touchdown. Franklin's 2-point conversion run made the score 14-0.
After the teams traded punts, Shiner was driving when its Achilles heel struck as it had during the season: a crucial fumble. Shiner had a second-and-goal from the 1, and Franklin lost the ball before Justin Jurecek recovered for Agua Dulce at the 5. "Fumbles have stopped us in the past," Turek said.
The mistake was rectified on the next play, however, as quarterback Josh Jurecek fumbled and Shiner lineman Robbie Pavelka recovered in the end zone for a touchdown. Eric Murphy added the extra point for a 21-0 lead.
A Comanche defender (Shawn Flores) goes after a fumble by Agua Dulce quarterback Josh Jurecek in the second quarter of Friday night's playoff game at Victoria's Memorial Stadium. Shiner's Robbie Pavelka eventually recovered the ball for a touchdown. T.C. Baker
Advocate Staff Photographer
The Longhorns came back to answer, however, on a six-play, 76-yard drive keyed by Josh Jurecek's 40-yard scramble and resulting in Justin Jurecek's 16-yard touchdown run. The kick was woefully off the mark, bringing the score to 21-6, where it would remain until halftime.
"Nobody knew a lot about a team like this from the south, but we knew if you didn't bring your best game, the could make it a game," Turek said. "We looked up and all of a sudden it was 21-6."
But it was the Shiner defense that clamped down for the rest of the contest and didn't allow Agua Dulce to sniff another score. Of the Longhorns' 13 drives, nine resulted in punts, one in a safety, one in a fumble and another ended the half.
Agua Dulce ended the half with 99 yards rushing, while Franklin had 113 on nine carries. Shiner outgained the Longhorns 180-99 in the first half.
The Comanches, who averaged 7.1 yards per rush and gained 326 yards on the ground, limited Agua Dulce to 14 second-half yards, all in the air, and scored on a safety in the fourth quarter when defensive end Shawn Flores sacked Josh Jurecek in the end zone.
Pustka had a hand in the other two Shiner touchdowns in the second half, scoring on a 1-yard run in the third and throwing a 22-yard scoring strike to tight end Todd Wenske with 6:47 to go in the game. It was one of only three completions for Pustka, who passed for 51 yards in the second half, matching his 51 yards rushing, and no interceptions.
Junior Eric Murphy got the bulk of the carries for the Comanches, gaining 77 yards on 17 rushes.
Josh Jurecek was the leading ground-gainer for Agua Dulce, gaining 49 yards on 13 carries, but being limited to three carries for a loss of a yard in the second half.GAME STATISTICS Shiner Agua Dulce First Downs 14 7 Yards Rushing 46-326 31-99 Yards Passing 51 14 Passes 3-11-0 2-12-0 Punts 5-40.6 9-29 Fumbles-lost 6-2 1-1 Penalties-yards 4-30 3-15 SCORING DETAILS Shiner 14 7 6 9 -- 36 Agua Dulce 0 6 0 0 -- 6 First Quarter S - Bryan Franklin 76 run (run failed), 10:34 S - Garet Pustka 21 run (Franklin run), 6:52 Second Quarter S - Robbie Pavelka fumble recovery in end zone (Eric Murphy kick), 6:23 A - Justin Jurecek 16 run (kick failed), 3:16 Third Quarter S - Pustka 1 run (run failed), 2:07 Fourth Quarter S - Shawn Flores tackles Jurecek for safety, 10:35 S - Todd Wenske 22 pass from Pustka (Murphy kick), 6:47 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING - Agua Dulce: Josh Jurecek 13-49, Justin Jurecek 10-26, Jimmy Mireles 5-24, Blaine Allison 1-4, Sammy Ramos 2-(-4) Shiner: Bryan Franklin 13-174, Eric Murphy 17-77, Garet Pustka 11-51, Chris Baer 3-18, Adron Price 1-5, Quentin Wright 1-1. PASSING - Agua Dulce: Josh Jurecek 1-9-0 (-4), Ramos 1-3-0 18 Shiner: Pustka 3-11-0 51. RECEIVING - Agua Dulce: Sam Ortiz 1-18, Mireles 1-(-4) Shiner: Wright 2-29, Todd Wenske 1-22.
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