December 1, 2010
HUMBLE — When the Dawson Eagles were down to Montgomery 14-0 at halftime -- those who know head coach Eric Wells, his coaching staff, and the Dawson players knew that the Eagles weren't going to return to the field without a battle.
It looked like the game was going to be a rout after Montgomery scored twice at the close of the first quarter as quarterback Tyler Bolfing hit Devon Gasaway on two scoring passes covering 10 and 55 yards.
The Bears would hold the potent Dawson offense to 171 first half yards and no points.
However, the Eagles looked like a different team in the second half as they got on the scoreboard early when quarterback Garry Kimble found Mike Williams wide open for a 37-yard scoring strike with 8:03 left in the third period. Rodolfo Rubio hit the extra point to cut the lead to 14-7.
Less than three minutes later, Rubio would connect on a 26-yard field goal to make the score 14-10 with 5:23 left in the third.
The Dawson defense shutout the Bears in the third stanza.
With 9:18 left in the fourth quarter, Kimble found Randall Weeks on a swing pass covering 20-yards for the score and a 17-14 lead.
Montgomery drove the ball deep in Dawson territory, but had to settle for a game-tying 22-yard field goal by Will Fox at the 4:44 mark left in the game.
With 1:39 left in the game and Dawson at the Montgomery 1-yard line, Wells opted for an 18-yard field goal to give the Eagles a 20-17 lead and placing any comeback on the shoulders of the Dawson defense.
Starting at their own 30, Montgomery put their winning hopes on their star running back Leroy Dobbins who finished the game with 32 carries for 216 yards and one TD.
Dawson didn't have an answer for Dobbins as the Montgomery offensive line took over the game with huge holes for Dobbins. It didn't take long for the Bears to pull out the come-from-behind win as Dobbins carried the ball five times to complete the 70-yard drive with a 13-yard scoring run with :41 seconds still left on the clock.
Kimble finished with 240 yards while hitting 17-of-30 passing with two TDs and one interception.
Marcus Vaughn had five catches for 85 yards to close out his illustrious high school career. Randall Weeks had seven catches for 65 yards and one score. Mike Williams had five grabs for 81 yards and one score.
Sophomore James White had 20 carries for 139 yards while Kimble had 53 yards on 16 totes.
Dawson finished with an 8-5 season mark and certainly came close to defending the 4A Region III Division I title they won last year.
While Dawson's season comes to an end, Montgomery will need to get by another District 24-4A foe in the Friendswood Mustangs who advanced to the region finals with a 35-13 win over Humble.
Congratulations to the Dawson Eagles for another great season.