Jul 30, 2010
Dawson flies to first-ever playoff win
November 17, 2009
ANGLETON — When a new school makes the playoffs for the very first time - the tendecy is to just be glad to be playing in the post-season. But the Dawson Eagles aren't going to be your typical "in the playoffs for the first time" team. Head coach Eric Wells and his staff are going to make sure of that!
The veteran senior players for the Eagles are also going to not be enamored with the mere appearance of the playoffs. They began their opening years at Dawson together with their sights set on, not only going to the playoffs, but making a deep run with the ultimate goal of winning a region title and getting a shot at the state championship.
At the moment - the Eagles are proving that they are a team with a purpose and, like their mascot, are focused with laser-like eyes on the task of beating each opponent. Their opponent this week will be the Houston Westbury Wildcats (7-4) and Wells will have his field warriors concentrating on only this game.
The Eagles traveled to face Richmond Foster (6-5) in Angleton's new Wildcat Stadium. It was the first-ever playoff game played in the new state-of-the-art stadium recently built by Angleton ISD.
Senior quarterback Darian Lazard used his legs and arm to direct the potent offense to a 24-14 win in the Class 4A Region III Division I bi-district contest sending the Eagles to the next round.
Lazard had 304 total yards of offense including 159 through the air and 145 on the ground including two touchdowns.
“There’s never anything wrong with giving the ball to No. 2,” Dawson coach Eric Wells said of Lazard. “He’s a tremendous competitor and everybody on this team rallies behind him.When he plays well, everybody plays well.”
Lazard has put up some eye-popping numbers this year with 1,764 passing and 960 rushing for a total of 2,724 yards and 24 touchdowns. The elusive signal-caller will no doubt cross the 1,000 yard barrier rushing against Westbury and could also surpass 2,000 yards passing for the season.
Statistics isn't what drives him as he makes the rest of the offense play great as running back Xavier Brown, fullback Akeem Blackshire, and Payton Jones have been an important cast to open up big play opportunities on offense.
Add wide receivers Marcus Vaughn (725 yards), Micah Tillotson (316 yards), Randall Weeks (305 yards), and Piaget Gauthier (285 yards) and the Eagles have a lot of weapons that can beat an opposing defense on any night.
The win over Foster proved that Dawson could play with the big boys as the Falcons have a proven track record over the years.
While the offense was stacking up 439 total yards, the defense was limiting Foster to 225 yards including 9of-17 passing for only 67 yards and two interceptions.
Dawson got on the scoreboard frist when Lazard scored on a 2-yard run to complete the 91-yard scoring drive. The extra point missed leaving the Eagles with a 6-0 lead with 6:57 left in the opening period.
Foster finally got on the scoreboard with only 43 seconds left in the first half on a 19-yard run by Luke Thomas to complete an 86-yard drive.. Trevor Jackson kicked the extra point to give the Falcons a 7-6 lead at intermission.
Dawson got the second half kickoff and Lazard led the Eagles on a 14-play scoring drive that took 7:54 off the game clock which was capped off by a 7-yard run by Lazard. Lazard hit Marcus Vaughn on a short pass to complete a two-point conversion to take the lead for good 14-7.
The Dawson defense stepped up on Foster's first possession of the second half when Caleb Williams got his second interception of the game.
The Eagles drove to the Foster two-yard line. Lazard attempted a quarterback sneak, but lost the handle on the ball. An alert Piaget Gauthier picked up the ball and ran it in for the score and a 21-7 advantage.
Foster wasn't going to go down without a fight and the Falcons added another score with 11:16 left in the game to narrow the lead to 21-14 and still very much in contention.
But the Dawson defense took over before the Eagles got a 24-yard field goal by Sascha Martinelli with 3:01 to seal the 24-14 win.
Payton Jones added 60 yards rushing, while Tillotson and Randall Weeks hauled in 61 and 60 reception yards, respectively. Gauthier had two catches for 50 yards while Vaughn had three grabs for 34 yards.
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