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Football: Smith dominates second half in comeback win over McKinney North
By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com
CARROLLTON - Newman Smith's football team opened its 2012 season in rousing fashion Thursday, overcoming a 17-0 halftime deficit against McKinney North to defeat the Bulldogs, 21-17, at Standridge Stadium.
"We won it with chemistry," said Paul Ressa, Smith head coach. "You saw all of the kids on the sideline without uniforms. We're down a lot of kids with injuries right now. But they found a way. It was a whatever-it-takes situation and these kids did it. And the coaching staff stayed calm, cool and collected. We knew some things were working and we knew we had a chance. The kids just came out and played hard."
After the North defense slowed Smith during the first two quarters, the Trojans received a spark on the ground in the second half from quarterback Cole Brewer, while the defense forced a pair of late turnovers to keep the game close and set up the winning score.
Trailing, 17-7, midway through the fourth quarter, Brewer darted up the middle from 30 yards out to bring the Trojans within three at 17-14 with 6:46 remaining.
Moments later, with North facing a third-and-3, Bulldogs' quarterback Ben Dutze connected with Evan Jones for a first down only the play was called back due to an ineligible receiver downfield. On the ensuing play, Smith defensive back Darius Lemon picked off Dutze giving Smith the ball at North's 34-yard line with 5:10 left. A 14-yard completion to Marcus Sonnier brought Smith to the red zone and later consecutive runs of 12 yards from Brewer and 7 yards by running back Andy Wordlaw set up a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Brewer to give Smith a 21-17 margin with 2:47 left.
Brewer finished with 88 yards on 16 carries, including 86 yards on 11 rushes with two scores in the second half, while Wordlaw picked up 75 yards and a score on 21 attempts.
"We knew we wanted to run the ball and we knew we could," Ressa said. "In the second half, we went to the zone-read and option setting and it hit for us."
Any chance for North to answer was quashed when Dutze was sacked and fumbled, giving Smith possession following a recovery by Camryn Cole.
"We came out ready to play and did a good job in the first half," Fecci said. "But Smith made some adjustments and we didn't react well. Their quarterback did a better job of running with the ball and we didn't take care of the ball."
Leading, 3-0, early in the second, Dutze pushed North's lead to 10-0 when he connected with Gabe Constantine for a 13-yard touchdown pass on third-and-goal. Constantine appeared to be covered well but still managed to come down with possession on a fade in the corner of the end zone.
In the final seconds of the half, North was again able to convert with a tough catch on third-and-goal. This time it was Tre Sanders who hauled in a 1-yard scoring reception on a fade in the corner of the end zone despite a Smith defender being flagged for pass interference on the play.
The Bulldogs also benefitted from a balanced attack that saw running back Trey Smith gain 98 yards on 23 carries. Dutze totaled 200 yards on 16-of-29 passing.
Momentum began to shift early in the second half, however, when the Trojans received solid starting field position after James Hurd deflected a North punt. Smith took advantage with Brewer marching the Trojans 56 yards on nine plays to get on the board capped by a 2-yard run from Wordlaw.
"We have some new guys so there were lots and lots of nerves in the first half," Ressa said. "But we calmed down and were a ton more composed in the second half. I think [we] were afraid to make mistakes early and in the second half we just started playing football and getting into comfortable situations."
Smith looks to build on the win at 7 p.m. Friday at Little Elm.
"Win or lose, to see what they did, I'll take it," Ressa said. "That was a good high school football game. Coach Fecci had North playing hard and they're a quality opponent. If we would have come up on the short end of the stick, to see what they did and the heart they showed, that would have been fine with me."
The Bulldogs look to bounce back at 7:30 p.m. Friday when it hosts Prosper.
"I thought we did a good job of being in the right spots with our alignment for the most part," Fecci said. "It was a good first week. We just have to do a better job of taking care of the ball."
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