Dawgs rally to earn berth in post-season
By JIMMY GALVAN Managing Editor

JASPER'S MALCOLM BRONSON, above, is bottled up by Silsbee's Shane White (80) and Rakeheem Bolton (28) during the Bulldogs 40- 34 victory last Friday night. Bronson scored a touchdown during the crucial victory. Pictured right, Dominique Bailey (15) breaks into the open field following the blocking of Christian Goff (55), Michael Crowell (70) and Kimpton Lewis (51). With the victory, Jasper advances to the playoffs where they will take on Splendora this Saturday, Nov. 17 at 1 p.m. in Humble.

Now we can all breathe.

As Silsbee senior Donovan Harris trotted into the end zone midway through the fourth quarter with a Dominique Bailey interception, the Tigers had apparently completed a rally from a 26-7 halftime deficit to assume a 34-26 lead with little more than eight minutes left in the contest.

With an eight-point lead, the Tigers appeared more than ready to assure a bi-district playoff game with the Splendora Wildcats this week.

Someone forgot to tell Jasper of the Tigers' travel plans.

The true mettle of the Jasper Bulldogs came through in the final eight minutes of the game as the Bulldogs scored twice to retake the lead and clinch a Class 3A playoff berth and bi-district contest with Splendora.

Newsboy photo/Georgia Purdy

"If we would have went ahead and blown them out it would have been great because it would have saved us some stress," said Jasper Head Football Coach Thomas Brooks. "But the way that we did it, we wouldn't have done that earlier in the year so I can tell that they are really growing up and finding out what it is like to play for 48 minutes."

Like last year, Harris once again made his presence known in the ballgame. The talented senior wide receiver and state hurdler scored three touch- -downs against Jasper including two in the second half to rally the Tigers back into the contest.

Jasper led 26-7 at the half but Silsbee showed the Jasper fans their true fighting spirit in the third quarter. The Tigers took the second-half kickoff and drove down the field against Jasper's defense. The key play on the drive occurred when quarterback Jeremy Johnson connected with Chris Rountree on a sideline screenplay. A questionable block freed Rountree down the left sideline down to the Jasper 21.

Newsboy photo/Georgia Purdy JASPER'S MALCOLM BRONSON sheds a Silsbee tackler during Friday's 40-34 victory over the Tigers.

On the next play, Johnson found an opening in Jasper's defense and rambled in from 21 yards out to cut Jasper's lead to 26-13 with 9:46 left in the third quarter.

Jasper needed a time-consuming drive to take back control of the game. Instead, Jasper gave the ball back to Silsbee when Bailey lost the ball as he hit the ground and the play was ruled a fumble and was recovered by Silsbee's Brandon Watts at the Jasper 31.

Silsbee wasted no time finding the end zone once again. Johnson directed the Tigers right down the short field and capped off the drive with a touchdown run from five yards out with 6:46 left in the third quarter.

Jasper held onto a 26-20 lead and the momentum of the contest had clearly shifted to the Tigers. The Bulldogs attempted to gain back control of the contest but once again a turnover appeared to set the stage for Silsbee to take the lead away from Jasper.

Silsbee's Josh Skinner pounced on a William Brooks' fumble at the Jasper 42 with 4:41 left in the third quarter. Silsbee moved down to the Jasper 26 before Malcolm Bronson intercepted a Johnson pass and returned it to the Bulldog 19.

The turnover seemed to motivate Jasper as the Dawgs rode right down the field behind the running of Brooks and Bailey, who finished the night with 196 yards rushing. Jasper drove all the way to the Silsbee 10 before the drive stalled.

The drive failed to yield any points when Jasper's David Beck misfired on a 28- yard field goal attempt with 11:00 left in the fourth quarter.

Silsbee again continued to move the ball against Jasper on the ensuing possession. The Tigers marched right down the field again behind Johnson's right arm. Johnson showed the Jasper fans that Bailey is not the only talented sophomore quarterback in the district this year as he passed for 261 yards and two touchdowns against Jasper.

The Tigers took over the lead when Johnson connected with Harris for a 45-yard scoring connection with 9:42 left in the game. At the time, it was Harris' second score of the night and the score gave Silsbee a 27-26 lead.

"You as a coach have to keep your kids heads up," Brooks said.

The mood in the Bone Yard became a bit quieter four plays later. At least it did on the Jasper side.

Harris caught a deflected Bailey pass and ran down the right sideline for a 40-yard return and touchdown. The score with 8:39 left in the game gave Silsbee a 34-26 lead and with the way Jasper was having trouble moving the ball in the second half, seemed to secure the Tigers berth in the bi-district playoff round.

"When (Harris) ran that it, I looked at the scoreboard and saw it was an eight-point lead and that was a touchdown and a two-point conversion," Brooks said. "We kept telling the players that and they responded."

But Jasper was not about to quit fighting for this game. The Bulldogs had come too far this season to let it slip away with a great fight. And a great finish and fight is just what the Dawgs gave their fans.

Brooks even credit the hometown fans for pulling the Dawgs up just as they were down by eight points.

"The crowd was still encouraging and clapping and still trying to get the kids motivated and the kids fed off of that," Brooks said. "We as coaches were trying to motivate them but we do that all the time.

"It was the loudest as it has been," Brooks said. "Our crowd did a super job in helping the kids. We knew we could do it."

Behind the running of senior Darren Bronson and Bailey, Jasper moved down to the Silsbee 23 with 5:51 left in the game. Silsbee's Head Football Coach Bobby McGallion called a timeout to regroup his defensive squad to stop Jasper's rushing attack. But on the next play, the Dawgs went to the airwaves to light up the scoreboard for the first time in the second half.

Bailey connected with Brooks over the middle and let the talented senior do the rest as he broke through a couple of tackles to score from 23 yards out. The touchdown cut Silsbee's lead to 34- 32 with 5:42 left in the game and remained that way when Jasper's attempt at a twopoint conversion failed.

Silsbee had gotten back into the contest by capitalizing on Jasper turnovers. Now it was the Tigers' turn to cough the ball back up and let Jasper have the chance to show what they would do with a turnover.

Silsbee's Johnson lost the ball only to have Jasper senior Brandon McQueen strip and recover the loose ball at the Tiger 30 with 4:11 left in the game. Two plays later, Jasper made Silsbee pay for the turnover.

Bailey rambled in from 27 yards out to give Jasper a 38- 34 lead with 3:20 left in the game. When Bailey connected with Malcolm Bronson on the two-point conversion, Jasper had pulled out to a 40- 34 lead.

"We had one timeout left but I didn't want to use because I thought we might need it later in the game," Brooks said.

Now it was time for Jasper's defensive squad to step up and play like they had all year long. When Jasper needed a strong defensive stop, this squad gave it to them. With 3:16 left in the game and Jasper holding onto a 40-34 lead, it was time for the defensive stop of the season to date.

The drive started strange as Johnson connected with Rountree to the Jasper 47 when an apparent turnover gave the ball back to Jasper. After signaling it was Jasper's ball, the call was reversed after the officials huddled near the screaming Silsbee bench and the ball was given back to Silsbee much to the dismay of the Jasper crowd.

"The officials told me that they never signaled it was our ball," Brooks said. "It was a clear fumble. Coaches can get excited about calls like that but the kids just kept playing and that showed their character."

The drive and Silsbee's season ended four plays later, when Rountree tossed up a wounded-duck pass that was intercepted by Malcolm Bronson at the Jasper 12 with 1:35 left in the game.

"What an emotional ride that was but to see the kids excited after the game was great," Brooks said.

The first half was all Jasper as the Bulldogs ran out and took control of the contest early. Jasper took the opening kickoff and drove 72 yards on seven plays behind the running of Brooks, who finished the night with 131 yards on the ground.

"That is the most he has carried the ball in a game," Brooks said of William Brooks. "When he first starting playing at running back (against Orangefield), he said the game was moving too fast for him. Now, he says it's slowing down for him."

Bailey capped off the drive when he scored from 14 yards out with 8:32 left in the first quarter and a quick 6-0 Jasper lead.

Silsbee came right back and took the lead away from Jasper as the Tigers drove right down the field and scored when Johnson connected with Harris on a seven-yard score with 4:52 left in the first quarter.

The two squads traded series before Jasper took the lead for good in the first half when Brooks scored from 10 yards out and a 13-7 lead with 5:53 left in the second quarter.

Jasper gained a quick scoring opportunity on the ensuing kickoff when Beck drilled the ball to a front blocker from Silsbee and recovered the loose ball at the Silsbee 47. Two plays later, Brooks found another opening in Silsbee's defense and didn't stop until he reached the end zone for a 20-7 Jasper lead with 4:55 left in the second quarter.

Jasper was not through scoring in the second quarter, though. The Bulldogs added their final points for the first half when Bailey hit Malcolm Bronson on a 23-yard scoring pass with 2:31 left in the second quarter.

"Our offense is very explosive right now," Brooks said. "We knew it was going to be a hard fought game. They have some athletes but we have some too and we just made a few more plays than they did."