Extra point the difference as Mustangs edge Falcons
FAIRFIELD — Sometimes an extra point makes all the difference.
Just ask Rodriguez High football coach Jason Ott.
After leading 6-0 at halftime, Ott’s Mustangs found themselves trailing 12-6 just 5 minutes, 30 seconds into the third quarter.
A little perseverance went a long way as Rodriguez finally broke through again with 10:29 to go in the game, rallying for a 13-12 victory in nonleague action against cross-town rival Fairfield Friday night.
The Mustangs almost didn’t get the chance to score, but a roughing-the-passer call on the Falcons on fourth-and-long from the Fairfield 18 gave Rodriguez new life.
Quarterback Hashim Boyd handed the ball off to Myles Burton, who punched it in from the 1-yard line for the equalizer. That set up Kaitlin Christ’s extra point, which sailed right up the middle for the final advantage.
Ott said that despite a stellar game by Fairfield’s run defense, his team stuck with its game plan.
“We knew we’d put ourselves in position to have a chance to win,” he said.
The Mustangs defense then held strong to seal the win, forcing Fairfield to turn the ball over on downs at the Rodriguez 11 with less than 2 minutes to play.
Ott said he was proud of his kicker, a soccer player who came out this year, saying she was serious about playing football.
“We really respect how committed — and how important — she is to the team,” he said.
Rodriguez took the early lead in an ugly first half during which neither team broke away.
The Mustangs’ first possession took nearly half of the first quarter, ending with Burton dashing 19 yards around the left side for the score. A failed 2-point run attempt left it at 6-0.
Meanwhile, Fairfield struggled mightily on offense in the first half, advancing the ball just 13 total yards, and achieving just one first down.
Defense kept the Falcons in the game, limiting Burton to 72 yards on 19 carries and the Mustangs to 151 yards of total offense.
“We came up with a couple of defensive schemes that seemed to work pretty good,” said Falcons coach Jack Canavesio.
Fairfield turned the game around in the span of less than a minute in the third quarter.
Falcons quarterback Keith Williams connected with John Garrott for a 17-yard TD pass to tie it with 6:27 to play.
Three plays later Cedric Taylor picked off a Jordan Riggins pass at the Rodriguez 4. On the next play Taylor raced up the middle for a 12-6 lead.
Short URL: http://www.dailyrepublic.com/?p=87948
Posted by Mike Corpos
on Sep 16 2011.
Filed under Featured Sports, High school. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
I love this story. What an inspiration to all young girls and to win the game with the final point, unbelievable! How many female kickers play high school football?