Football: Newman Smith rolls into regional semifinals with 49-27 win over Carter

JThomas@acnpapers.com

IRVING — Last season, Newman Smith’s football team won just two games.

In 2009, they have won two playoff games.

The Trojans (10-2) offense remained in cruise control Friday racking up 565 yard of offense on their way to a 49-27 win against Dallas Carter (9-3) at Irving Schools Stadium in the area round of the Class 4A Division I Playoffs.

The win advances Smith — which has won eight straight games — to the regional semifinals where they will meet the winner of Longview and Waco Midway in Corsicana. It is the deepest the Trojans have ever reached in the playoffs.

“It feels great,” said Paul Ressa, Newman Smith coach. “I mean look at these guys and our fans. It feels fantastic.”

Quarterback Aldo Quiroga completed 11-of-20 passes for 250 yards and four scores in addition to rushing for 122 yards to lead the Trojan attack.

Running back Randall Joyner added 117 total yards with three touchdowns including a 55-yard scamper late in the fourth for the icing on the cake.

“This team has put in a lot of work,” Quiroga said. “Starting with the off-season and all year. Now it’s paying off and it feels great.”

“Our philosophy is a defense can never be right,” he added. “We’ll check different plays until we have the perfect play for that defense. We do it week in and week out.”

Receiver Al Lasker continued to be a playmaker for Smith — which is in high gear after scoring 56 and 49 points in their first two playoff games in 26 years.

Lasker hauled in seven catches for 173 yards and a score while receiver Braxton Bearden pulled down three catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns, including a 91-yarder in the first quarter to give the Trojans a 7-0 advantage as well as a 5-yarder to regain the lead for the Trojans at 14-7.

“The key is not knowing what the defense is going to give us and then counter acting,” Lasker said. “We can run. We can pass. We have all parts of the game and there is no way you can be right…We just wanted that first taste of blood (against Sherman) and now we have it. Winning feels great and we don’t want to lose.”

In the second half with Smith leading, 42-21, Lasker added an interception of Carter quarterback Dunston Owens.

“Al and I have been connecting since our freshman year,” Quiroga said of the productivity between him and Lasker. “And the rest of the guys came in during the summer and put in a lot of work. I have their trust. They have mine and it’s paying off.”

But Lasker’s first touchdown catch did not come from the arm of Quiroga but rather running back Terrell Wilson.

With Smith leading, 21-7, in the second quarter, Wilson took the ball on an end around and found an open Lasker for a 49-yard touchdown pass.

Smith’s defense was also up to par. The Trojans allowed 168 yards and two scores in the first half, but 97 of it and both scores came on two passes. Carter’s rushing attack managed just 71 yards on 21 carries in the half. In the second half, Carter completed just one pass in seven attempts.

“The defense played out of their minds,” Ressa said. “The coaches did a great job of subbing a lot of people and keeping people fresh. You saw how big [Carter] was. We wanted to keep them fresh and it helped.”

The Trojans — which have now scored 49 or more in their last four games and more than 43 in five of their last six — will have their hands full in the regional semis, however, as Waco Midway went 9-2 this season. Longview, meanwhile, reached the state finals last season and beat 5A powerhouse Allen earlier this year.

“We’ve had consistency,” Ressa said of the teams’ success. “And we have worked hard from Monday through Friday. We continue to work everyday and just get better and better.”

“We have to go one game at a time,” Quiroga added. “We can’ get ahead of ourselves. We have to keep believing and nobody can stop us.”

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