WOLVERINES DROP HEART-BREAKER AGAINST HAPPY

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  • CATCH AND RUN – Springlake-Earth junior, Dereck Rosalez (40), makes a big catch and is able to break away from the defender for extra yards before being brought down, during the Wolverines Bidistrict loss to Happy on Thursday at Anton. (Staff Photo by Derek Lopez)
    CATCH AND RUN – Springlake-Earth junior, Dereck Rosalez (40), makes a big catch and is able to break away from the defender for extra yards before being brought down, during the Wolverines Bidistrict loss to Happy on Thursday at Anton. (Staff Photo by Derek Lopez)
  • FINDING A MAN – Springlake-Earth senior, Evan DeLeon (1), drops back and launches a pass down field for a touchdown, during the Wolverines Bi-district loss to Happy on Thursday at Anton. (Staff Photo by Derek Lopez)
    FINDING A MAN – Springlake-Earth senior, Evan DeLeon (1), drops back and launches a pass down field for a touchdown, during the Wolverines Bi-district loss to Happy on Thursday at Anton. (Staff Photo by Derek Lopez)
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The Springlake-Earth Wolverines’ varsity football team’s season came to an end on Thursday night in the Class 1A Six-man DI Bi-district round of the play-offs, as they dropped a barn burner at Anton against Happy, 48-44.

With the loss, the Wolverines in the season with a mark of 8-2 overall, 4-0 in district play.

Happy won the toss and elected to receive to begin the contest, as Quay Hodges returned the Springlake-Earth onside kick for a short gain, giving the Cowboys the ball at the Wolverines’ 36-yard line to begin their first offensive drive.

They wasted no time getting down the field, as Pace Bressler gashed the defense for a big gain on first down, moving the chains to the 21-yard line for Happy to set them up with a fresh set of downs. Camden Sperry hit Quay Hodges for a 21-yard touchdown pass to put the Cowboys in front, 6-0, after the missed kick by Jimmy Reyes with 9:02 to play in the opening quarter.

Springlake-Earth got the ball back after the Happy kick-off at the 40-yard line, as they took over for their first possession on offense. They were able to take the ball deep into Cowboy territory, but a slew of penalties backed them up to fourth and goal from the 11-yard line and on fourth down, junior, Braxton Ethridge’s, pass was broken up by Tryce Johsnon, looking for senior, Trace Goodman, for a turnover on downs with 7:38 remaining in the first quarter.

The Wolverine’s defense would stiffen on their next outing, as they forced a three-and-out forcing the Cowboys to punt the ball away with 6:25 to play in the quarter.

Springlake-Earth took a time out prior to beginning their next offensive drive and on first down, Ethridge hit senior, Davey Crandall, for a big gain over the middle, taking the ball up to their own 34-yard line. On second down, senior, Evan DeLeon, took the pitch and scrambled around the backfield, before launching a pass across the field that found the waiting hands of Goodman, who carried it into the endzone for the 46-yard touchdown with 5:36 left to play in the first. The kick by senior, Keshan Holmes, was no good, tying the game, 6-6.

The score would stand heading into the second quarter, after both teams turned the ball over on downs.

Happy put together a six-play drive during their next offensive possession, capping it off with a 36-yard touchdown pass, as Sperry found TS Bow on the right side for the score. The kick by Reyes was good, putting the Cowboys back in front, 14-6, with 7:49 remaining in the first half.

Junior, Roel Fuentes, returned the Happy onside kick up to the Springlake-Earth 39 yard line to set up first and 15 for the Wolverine offense.

On first down, Ethridge scrambled down the near sideline for a yard, and on the next play, he overthrew junior, Dereck Rosalez, making it third and 14 from the 40-yard line. On third and long, DeLeon’s pass was dropped by Rosalez to bring up fourth down.

The Wolverines elected to go for it, as DeLeon dropped back and hit junior, Tim Tanaro, for a first down to move the chains for Springlake-Earth. Ethridge picked up a yard on first down, as Springlake-Earth took a time out with 6:29 to play in the half. Out of the break, DeLeon’s pass on second down fell incomplete looking for Goodman, bringing up another third and long situation. However, on the next play, DeLeon hit Tanaro for the 17-yard touchdown pass and Holmes drilled the kick to tie the game, 14-14, with 6:16 remaining in the half.

Happy took over for their next possession after the kick-off at their own 30-yard line, as Bressler ran the ball to the right side, the Wolverines were flagged for a facemask penalty, moving the ball down to the Springlake-Earth 33-yard line to set up first and 15 for Happy.

The Wolverines were flagged again on first down, this time for being offsides, making it first and 10 for the Cowboys. Bressler ran again to the right, but this time it was called back for a holding penalty on the Cowboys, making it first and 16 from the Wolverines’ 34-yard line. Bressler ran the ball on back-to-back downs for the Cowboys to set up first and goal from the 12-yard line and on first and goal, Sperry rolled out on a naked bootleg and found Kyton Johnson over the middle for the 12-yard score. The kick by Reyes was good, putting the Cowboys in front, 22-14, with 4:12 remaining in the half.

Happy’s kick-off bounced out of bounds, giving the Wolverines the ball at their own 30-yard line, where Cain Tovar ran the ball on first down, but was stopped for a loss of one. Ethridge dropped back and heaved a pass towards Rosalez that was dropped on the left side, bringing up third and long. On third down, DeLeon’s pass to Rosalez was broken up by Reyes, bringing up fourth down.

The Wolverines elected to go on fourth down, as DeLeon scrambled to keep the play alive, before hitting Rosalez for a first down at the Cowboy’s 24-yard line. Happy took a time out with 2:53 remaining in the half, and out of the break, Holmes carried the ball on a dive up the middle, but it was called back on a holding penalty, making it first and 25 for Springlake-Earth. On first and long, Ethridge dropped back and found Goodman on the near sideline for the 34-yard touchdown pass. The kick by Holmes was good, making the score, 22-22, with 2:36 to play in the first half.

Happy would put one more score up just before halftime, as Sperry hit Kyton Johnson on a throwback play for the 13-yard touchdown, making the score, 28-22, after the missed kick by Reyes, going into the locker room at halftime.

Springlake-Earth got the ball to begin the second half, but disaster struck on first down, when Ethridge fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Tryce Johnson at the Springlake-Earth 30-yard line with just under 10 minutes to play in the third quarter.

The Cowboys would turn the turnover in to points a few plays later, as Bow rushed for a 13-yard touchdown with 8:07 to play in the quarter. The kick by Reyes was blocked by the Wolverines, leaving the score, 34-22.

The Wolverines would answer, as they put together a five-play drive that was capped off with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Ethridge to Goodman. Holmes’ kick was good, trimming the lead to, 34-30, with 6:47 to play in the third.

Happy needed just three plays to find the endzone on their next possession as they capped off the drive with a six-yard rushing touchdown by Bow. The Reyes kick was good, stretching their lead back out to, 42-30, with 6:26 to play in the quarter.

Misfortune struck again on the Wolverines next possession, as Holmes fumbled the ball inside the Happy six-yard line and it was recovered by Sperry with 3:21 to play in the quarter.

The Cowboys took over at their own four-yard line, but the Wolverine defense tightened up and forced a three-and-out, as Reyes punted the ball out of the back of his endzone. He shanked the punt, giving Springlake-Earth the ball at the Cowboy’s 15-yard line.

The Wolverines would not let the opportunity go to waste, as DeLeon dropped back on first down and found Goodman, for the 15-yard score with 1:29 to play in the quarter. The kick by Holmes was good, making the score, 42-38

Ḣappy’s next possession took the game into the fourth quarter, but they were again forced to punt from their own 19-yard line with 9:44 left to play in the game. This time, Reyes flipped the field, giving the Wolverines the ball at their own 17-yard line.

The Wolverines would come up empty, though, as DeLeon was sacked on fourth down by Quay Hodges for a turnover on downs with just over eight minutes remaining in the game.

The turnover would not cost the Wolverines as the Cowboys offense stalled. On fourth and seven, Sperry overthrew Kyton Johnson for a turnover on downs, giving the Wolverines the ball at their own 11-yard line with 6:29 to play in the game.

Springlake-Earth would turn the ball over on downs with 3:29 to play, but during Happy’s next drive a high snap on third and long rolled into the endzone and was recovered by Fuentes for a touchdown to put the Wolverines on top, 44-42, after the missed kick from Holmes with 1:37 to play in the game.

Happy got a huge return on the kick-off to set them up with first and 15 from the Springlake-Earth 29-yard line. Bow ran the ball on three consecutive plays, taking it down to the one-yard line to set up first and goal for Happy, as they took a time out with 16 seconds left to play in the game.

On second down, Sperry’s pass fell incomplete looking for Bressler, but on the next play, he hit Kyton Johnson for the two-yard score with :3 seconds remaining. The one-point conversion pass by Sperry was good, making the score, 48-44.

Springlake-Earth got the ball back at their own 36-yard line, but on first down, Ethridge scrambled around the backfield before trying to dump the ball off to Crandall, but the pass fell incomplete, as they Wolverines fell to the Cowboys, 48-44.