While the words “monster statement” might initially come to mind, though, the Angleton Wildcats may have felt they were receiving a “shark statement” for 48 minutes.
The Shadow Creek Sharks jumped out to a quick two-touchdown lead and provided answers for everything Angleton threw out at them in a sparkling 35-14 Homecoming triumph in the District 10- 5A Division I football opener for both teams Friday night at AISD's Freedom Field.
Shadow Creek, who improved to a perfect 4-0 for the season, also gave the home fans a fantastic finish on Kaymen St. Junious’ 99-yard interception scoring return in the closing seconds. Angleton was handed its first loss in four games for 2018, as well.
“Let me tell you what, I’m really excited for our kids,” Sharks’ head coach Brad Butler said following the game. “The ending there was enough to make your heart skip a beat. We were talking to the kids about trying to finish. We turned the ball over late, but the defense never quit and made a great play at the end to ice it.”
“As was the case with the Wildcats’ state semifinal encounter with another AISD school, Manvel, last December, Angleton encountered several problems trying to handle the Sharks’ speed on both sides of the ball.
SC signal caller Jamarian George (11 completions in 18 attempts) threw for 276 yards and three touchdowns, while Kealon Jackson grabbed six receptions for 162 yards and two TD’s. The Sharks’ defense also limited Angleton’s vaunted Wing-T ground attack to only 131 yards and forced them to uncork an uncharacteristic 28 passes in the contest.
“It was all the hard work and dedication we put in all summer,” George said. “That’s all we’ve been working for. We have been proving that we can do it every week.”
The Sharks proved it from the opening kickoff on Friday, driving 67 yards in eight plays with the game’s first possession.
George hooked up with Greg Hancock for 18 yards to convert a key fourth-and-nine situation and then nailed Jackson with a 13-yard TD strike on the next play with 9:55 left in the opening period.
Ian Hart booted the extra point through the uprights for a 7-0 Sharks’ lead.
After holding the Wildcats to one first down in their next series, George and company overcame a holding call with the senior quarterback finding Axel Cruz from 51 yards out with 5:50 left. Hart’s PAT made it 14-0.
“Those first two drives, we just wanted to come out strong,” George said. “They run a lot of man free, so hey we got the athletes. We wanted to put the ball in the air and let our guys make a play.”
Angleton finally made a play in the last few minutes of the second quarter, as Cameron Stone thwarted SC’s attempt to increase the gap to 21-0 with an interception at own goal line. Stone returned the pick to the Angleton 47-yard line and the Wildcats reached the end zone five plays later with Seth Cosme hitting Jason Williams with a 22-yard TD toss.
Eduardo Rosales’ PAT cut the margin in half at 14-7 at the break.
However, the Sharks refused to let Angleton immediately maintain that momentum into the third quarter. SC’s defense forced a quick three-and-out on the period’s opening series, while the Sharks drove 55 yards in nine plays, capped by reserve QB Kyron Drones’ six-yard keeper on fourth-and-one with 6:23 remaining to make it 21-7.
“We thought we were fixing to make a play and it ended up being an interception in the end zone,” Butler said. “Then they went down and scored and I knew the momentum was trying to flip.
“We talked at halftime about coming out and trying to re-establish ourselves. It was tough sledding for both offenses.”
The Wildcats drew closer again, thanks to Kendal Archie’s 45-yard dash early in the final period. SC quickly responded, though, as George hit Jackson in stride with a 62-yard bomb to regain a two-touchdown cushion for the Sharks at 28-14 with 10 minutes left in the contest.
Xavion Alford picked off a Cosme fling in the end zone with a little more than a minute left and despite Angleton getting the ball back on a fumble, Junious’ long interception return put the capper on a memorable evening.
“We weren’t nervous at halftime when they made a little... Click here to read full article
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