Game 10: Kempner, November 6, 2009

Varsity

Friday, November 6:  The Clements Rangers Varsity team lost to Kempner 11-14 and finished the season with a 7-3 record.

A good football season came to an abrupt end for the Clements Varsity Rangers Friday night in a heart-breaking 11-14 loss to Kempner.

Trailing by 14 early in the game, the Rangers never gave up.  They fought back, played great defense, scored 11 points, and late in the fourth quarter drove the ball down to the Kempner 6-yard line with seconds remaining.  Victory seemed near, but despite the valiant effort, the Rangers did not score, and Kempner came away with the victory and a spot in the playoffs.

Players and coaches: the fans love you!  Thank you for your hard work, your dedication, and your passion for the game.  You are champions in our eyes!

Photographs:

Varsity team kneeling on the sidelines near the end of the Kempner game. (Composited by L. Zolondek from photos by F. Danesh. Click once on the photo to zoom in, and then use the scroll bar to scroll right and left.)

JV

Thursday, Nov 5: The JV White team ... Rangers 0, Hightower 18

The JV White team ended the year with an 18-0 setback at the hands of the Hightower Hurricanes. Despite battling the entire game, the Rangers came up just a bit short on the scoreboard. The JV coaching staff wishes to thank all players and their parents for their support all year long and are hoping for a productive and dedicated off-season from all of the players.

Thursday, Nov 5: The JV Blue team ... Rangers 27, Cougars 21

After trading 3 and outs to start the game Max “The Punisher” Harnicher re-invigorated the Rangers with a big punt return down inside the 10 yard line.  Jacob Khalil then scampered around the edge on a pitch put the Rangers up 7-0.  Kempner fumbled the ensuing kickoff and after Kurtis Beck took a nice counter inside the 5 yard line, Charlie Carroll slipped into the endzone to put the Rangers out to a quick 14-0 lead.  Kempner answered with a touchdown of their own but Charlie Carroll got his second touchdown of the night on a beautiful 30 yard run where he bounced it the outside and outraced the Kempner defenders to the corner of the endzone.  After a couple of electrifying Max Harnicher runs got the Rangers to about the 30 yard line, Mike Seitz threw a picture perfect pass to Kurtis Beck as time expired in the 1st half to put the Rangers up 27-7.  

 The Cougars however would not quit and scored early in the 2nd half.  Brandon “Bertier” Whitford blocked the extra point which the Cougars were unfortunately able to recover for 2 points.  The 2 teams traded punts throughout the remainder of the 2nd half until the Cougars were able to score another touchdown with under 30 seconds to go in the game.  The extra point was no good leaving the score 27-21.  The Cougars onside kick attempt failed allowing the Rangers to kneel the ball and capture the win.  Special recognition goes to the offensive line of Terry “Tuff Guy” Gallagher, Ryker Elkins, Reid Whittington, BJ Jordan, Ahmad “Rashad” El-Gamal, and Connor “Herbivore” Hervieux, Justin Tate and Grant “Janna” Weber for persevering despite the fact that they lost 2 centers in 2 weeks.  All 4 of our backs, Charlie Carroll, Jacob Khalil, Scotty Clark, and Max “The Punisher” Harnicher, ran hard all night long.  Mike Seitz did a great job leading the offense and connecting on a beautiful touchdown pass.  The receivers, Eric “Winnie” Nguyen, Steven “Perry” Mason, and Corey Lawson, all did an excellent job blocking.

 The defensive as always turned in a great performance.  The front 7 consists of Taylor Ashford, Andrew Akunna, Brandon “Bertier” Whitford, Daniel Jeffrey, and Umair “Iron Man” Karowadia.  The secondary consists of Kurtis “Klick Clack” Beck, Taylor “Buck” Rogers, Kevin Moran, Dajuan Arrington, and Brian Warshauer.  The special teams were led by Dan Debord who did an excellent job on punts and kickoffs, and Brandon Whitford who did an excellent job stepping in as the deep snapper.

 The JV coaching staff is extremely proud of all of the team’s accomplishments this season.  The Rangers finished with a 6-2 district mark earning them sole of possession of 2nd place and the title of district runner-ups.  All of the player’s efforts were recognized and appreciated by the coaches and the junior class will be sorely missed.   

 

Freshman

Thursday, Nov 5: The Freshman White team ... Rangers 20, Cougars 6

Clements wanted to finish the season with a solid performance against a rival team.  For that to happen, they had to play hard for 4 quarters without any let up.  Kempner did not want to go down easily.  They had some athletic players that could easily dominate a game.  Clements was up to the challenge.

 The game started with Kempner receiving the ball.  They held the ball almost the entire first half.  As they drove down the field on one of their drives, a Clements free safety intercepted a pass and ran it back 94 yards.  That put the score at 6-0.  Kempner got the ball again and milked the clock and got into scoring position from the result of a trick play.  They ended up scoring with 15 seconds to go in the half. 

 In the second half Clements received the ball and marched right down the field for a score.  That pushed the score to 12-6.  Clements continued to play solid defense throughout the fourth quarter until they could get the ball back.  Once they did, they continued to mix in running plays with a few pass plays in order to punch in the final touchdown of the season and win 20-6.  This clinched a district championship for the Clements white team.

 

Thursday, Nov 5: The Freshman Blue team ...  Rangers 7, Cougars 0

The Freshman Blue team traveled to Kempner High School on Thursday night.  The Rangers concluded their season with a 7-0 victory over the Cougars.  The offense held the ball for the entire first quarter; Demarcus Cobb capped the 10 minute scoring drive with a 2 yard touchdown run.  The Ranger defense held the Cougars in check, as they only crossed the 50 twice, and never penetrated inside the Ranger 20.

 The coaches are extremely proud of this group of young men.  Many players were forced to change positions at times during the year, often in the middle of a game.  The boys never missed a beat and continued to play hard.  The Rangers finished the season with an 8-2 record and as district co-champions.  GOOD JOB RANGERS!

 

 

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