Shiner rallies from 15-point deficit to beat Goliad
Friday, September 12, 2014
by Mike Forman, Advocate Sports Reporter
AdvoSports.com Article | Shiner Comanche Football
GOLIAD - Blake Michalec was making his third start at quarterback against Goliad.
Shiner quarterback Blake Michalec gets taken down by Goliad’s Justin Thomas as he rushes the ball during Friday night’s game at Tiger Stadium in Goliad.
[ NOTE: click any photo to enlarge ]all photos by Angeli Wright, Victoria Advocate
But the senior was well-versed in the Shiner offense.
"My sophomore year I was the quarterback on JV and last year I was a backup behind Jacob (Stafford) trying to follow him," Michalec said. "I just picked up the ropes. Coach (Steven) Cerny has taught me everything he knows and I'm trying to go from there."
Michalec showed he has blossomed quickly by rallying the Comanches from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit and leading them to a 34-29 win Friday night at Tiger Stadium.
"I was just proud of Blake," Cerny said. "He made some good decisions. He threw a ball away one time, he tucked and ran under pressure and acted like he had been doing it before. I was really proud of the way he handled himself."
Michalec passed for 161 yards and three touchdowns, rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns and added a two-point conversion run as Shiner ranked No. 7 in Class 2A improved to 3-0.
Class 3A Goliad dropped to 2-1, despite 369 passing yards from quarterback Nate Kowalik.
Michalec threw touchdown passes of 20, 45 and 49 yards to Dadrian Taylor, who had six receptions for 156 yards, and had touchdown runs of 25 and 36 yards.
"We knew they were a good team coming in," Michalec said. "They were going to throw the ball around and get us ready for district. We figured we were going to come out here and give it our best shot and we came out of here with a W."
Shiner fell behind 29-14 when Kowalik threw his third touchdown pass - 27 yards to Akil Ellis - with 1:37 left in the third quarter.
But after Michalec's pass to Taylor pulled the Comanches within nine points with 11:50 left, Chad Neubauer recovered his onside kick to set up Michalec's third touchdown pass to Taylor with 10:20 remaining.
Shiner receiver Dadrian Taylor looks for some running room to avoid a Goliad defender during Friday night’s game at Tiger Stadium in Goliad.
"We had to gamble right there," Cerny said. "I want to give credit to Chad. That was a good job with it right there and good hustle down there. He stuck his nose in there and that was a nice play."
Shiner also took advantage of three Goliad turnovers - fumble recoveries by Ty Boedeker and Taylor and an interception by Micah Morkovsky.
"You can't make mistakes against a good football team," said Goliad coach John Mares. "You can't take anything away from Shiner. We've just got to make up for those mistakes."
Goliad also committed 10 penalties for 70 yards, but was able to stay in the game behind Kowalik.
Kowalik completed 28 of 37 passes and also threw touchdown passes of 17 yards to Joseph Burns and 11 yards to Desmond Perry.
But Shiner countered with 275 rushing yards and 187 yards of passing, including 26 on a halfback pass by Neubauer.
"They were one-on-one and when you've got (Justin) Stovall and Taylor, you've got to utilize them," Cerny said. "There were some big plays and some good throws by Blake."
The Comanches limited Goliad to just six net rushing yards, and sacked Kowalik twice in the second half.
Michalec ran for the decisive touchdown with 7:51 on the clock.
"I knew we were tired at halftime, but we've played four quarters," Cerny said. "I don't think they had really been tested. They looked a little tired going into halftime too. That's what I told them. I said, 'Guys, this is no different that what we've been going through every week.' We've just got to see who can go four quarters."
GAME STATISTICSGAME SUMMARY: Shiner 34, Goliad 29 Goliad Tiger Stadium TEAM STATISTICS: Shiner Goliad First Downs 25 18 Yards Rushing 53-275 6-6 Yards Passing 187 369 Passes 16-9-3-2 38-28-3-1 Punts 40.0 45.5 Fumbles-lost 2-0 2-2 Penalties-yards 1-5 10-70 SCORING SUMMARY: 1 2 3 4 -- Final Shiner 6 8 0 20 -- 34 Goliad 14 8 7 0 –- 29 SCORING DETAILS: First Quarter G: Joseph Burns 17 pass from Nate Kowalik (Ty Ross run) 6:59 S: Blake Michalec 25 run (run failed) 5:58 G: Desmond Perry 11 pass from Kowalik (kick failed) 3:40 Second Quarter S: Dadrian Taylor 20 pass from Michalec (Michalec run) 9:58 G: Burns 4 run (Mac Wimberly pass from Justin Thomas) 2:14 Third Quarter G: Akil Ellis 27 pass from Kowalik (Burns kick) 1:37 Fourth Quarter S: Taylor 49 pass from Michalec (kick failed) 11:50 S: Taylor 45 pass from Michalec (Ernie Egan pass from Brandon Cerny) 10:20 S: Michalec 36 run (run failed) 7:51 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS: Rushing Shiner: Blake Michalec 28-139, Chad Neubauer 13-50, Dadrian Taylor 2-13, Justin Stein 8-68, Justin Stovall 1-4, Tyler Patek 1-1. Goliad: Joseph Burns 1-8, Nate Kowalik 3-(-4), Ty Ross 2-2. Passing Shiner: Blake Michalec 15-8-161-2, Chad Neubauer 1-1-26-0. Goliad: Nate Kowalik 37-28-369-1. Receiving Shiner: Dadrian Taylor 6-156. Goliad: Akil Ellis 3-34, Colby Zamzow 1-12, Desmond Perry 6-77, Joseph Burns 6-76, Justin Thomas 9-97, Mac Wimberly 3-73.Mike Forman is a sports writer for The Victoria Advocate.
Contact him at 361-580-6588, or by e-mail at mforman@vicad.com.
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