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Football: The Colony grinds out upset win over Woodrow Wilson

By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com

Published: Tuesday, September 18, 2012 4:22 PM CDT

It isn't too often a team wins a football game without completing a pass.

But that was the case Friday, when The Colony scored an upset win over Woodrow Wilson, 20-7.

Wilson didn't complete a pass either, helping The Colony's cause, and coupled with a pair of lengthy scoring drives, the Cougars had enough to score the win.

"We were dogs by everyone," said Rudy Rangel, The Colony head coach. "I don't think anyone was picking us to win. Woodrow is a good team and is very talented.

"But this was one of those games where everything made sense. We're starting to find the blueprint to win close games and on Friday our guys just went out there and got after it. It was our Homecoming game and we had a sell out and a great crowd. It was a good night."

One reason for a lack of passing in the contest was The Colony's ability to control the line of scrimmage. The Cougars had two separate drives that featured 18 plays and chewed up more than 10 minutes apiece.

Defensively, The Colony sacked Wilson quarterback Sam Keeter eight times.

"Nobody had done that to [Wilson]," Rangel said. "When you look at the Kimball game and their game against Eastern Hills, they weren't able to pressure the quarterback like we did. Our defense was only on the field for 28 plays. So they were fresh and they pinned their ears back and got after [Keeter]."

Grant Blankenship and Isaiah Hinton led the defense with 2.5 and two sacks, respectively.

The Colony's defense was fresh in part because of an offense that gained 336 yards and 5.4 yards per carry. The squad also had a 60-yard touchdown run by Mahlieke Boseman that was called back for a penalty.

"Our offensive coordinator John Killough had a masterful plan," Rangel said. "We had been running a lot of tosses out wide to the C and D gaps. Against Woodrow, we still had the same lineup and ran tosses, but they were coming up the middle in the A gap. It looked really similar to what we had been doing, and they had a very tough time stopping it."

Bryan Hammond paced the offense with 216 yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries. Alec Gibbons chipped in 14 rushes for 59 yards, while Boseman - who is still finding his form following an injury during fall practice - picked up 26 yards after his flashy would-be-touchdown was negated.

"Hammond is our workhorse and did a great job," Rangel said. "And the freshman (Gibbons) came in and pounded too. Mahlieke, he is still getting back, but he is our home run hitter and I think you saw a bit of that. There aren't too many backs that won't be tracked down in the open by the Wilson defenders."

Wilson actually struck first when it took advantage of a fumbled punt by The Colony and scored on a 3-yard touchdown run by Keeter to lead, 7-0, with 2:16 remaining in the first.

After the teams traded punts, The Colony took possession with 10:20 remaining in the second quarter and didn't relinquish control until 20 seconds remained in the quarter with the score knotted, 7-7, following an 8-yard scoring run from Hammond.

The Cougars also put the game away with a lengthy drive in the fourth quarter.

"It was three here, four there, two here, a quarterback sneak there," Rangel said. "It was great to see."

The Colony has a bye this week before opening District 9-4A play at 7 p.m. Sept. 28 at Frisco Liberty.

"We'll use this week as a chance to re-evaluate ourselves and get a little healthier," Rangel said. "We have to solidify a few teams and areas of concern, especially on special teams. We're making way too many errors and have had too many penalties and we can't have that. In this district, you can't make those mistakes and we don't want to look back at a game and know that one play cost us."

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