Bearkats drop District opener to Atascocita

Kats fall to 1-2 after taking early lead over Eagles The Klein Bearkats hosted Atascocita at Klein Memorial Stadium in the first ever game between the two schools. The crowd was slow to arrive, as a rainstorm passed through late in the afternoon and early evening. As Captains Sam Odom, Joel Friedman, Josh Atherton and Will Carroll lead the team onto the field the rain slowed to a mild drizzle. The Bearkats kicked off and Chris Howard made the stop at the 33 yard line following a 25 yard return. The aggressive Kats defense quickly forced a punt after Kendal Jefferies made a tackle for a short gain and 2 incomplete passes brought up 4th and 9. The Klein offense took over at the 34 yard line after the Eagle punt rolled out of bounds. The Kats quickly moved the ball deep into Atascocita territory as Othello Gibson gained 16 yards on 2 carries and 12 yards on a completion from Rainer Ausmus. David Hamm carried the ball down to the 16 yard line as he gained 24 yards on 2 carries. The Eagle defense rose up with a sack on 1st down that cost the Kats 13 yards, before a procedure penalty and 2 incompletions brought up 4th down at the 32 yard line. Kyle Pfau attempted a 49 yard Field Goal but it was just wide to the right and the Kats turned the ball over with 8:09 left in the 1 st quarter. The Bearkat defense pressured the Eagles into a quick punt. Sam Odom and Philippe Orion made tackles for short gains before Chris Howard registered a sack for a loss of 14 yards. The Kats offense took possession at their 40 yard line following the punt, and would need only 4 plays to score the first TD of the game. Gibson was held to a short gain on 1 st down before Mac Odom broke loose for 26 yards on a reverse to move the ball to the Eagle 33 yard line. After another short gain by Gibson, David Hamm ran 32 yards up the middle to score for the Kats. The highlight of the run was when Hamm appeared stopped but landed on the tackler, spun free and ran untouched the rest of the way into the end zone. Pfaus PAT was good and the Kats lead 70 with 4:05 left in the 1st quarter. The Eagles started deep in their own territory following a penalty on the kickoff return. Starting at the 7 yard line, Atascocita used 9 plays to move out to the 40 yard line before being forced to punt the ball away. Brian Sowers, Sam Odom, Chris Howard, Sterling Bennett and Kendal Jefferies made plays for the Kats defense on the drive. The Kats would take over at their 46 yard line following a 14 yard punt by the Eagles. Klein would need only 5 plays to score for the second time as David Hamm gained 30 yards on

4 carries behind the offensive line made up of Grant Harmon, Alex Nguyen, Chris Burger, Sam LoCaste, Hunter Reynolds and TE Nick Kaderli. A personal foul penalty moved the ball to the 9 yard line. A TD run by Gibson was called back for holding, but Ausmus connected with Mac Odom on a 19 yard scoring pass to raise the score to Klein 14 Atascocita 0 with 10:23 left in the 2nd quarter. Kyle Pfaus kickoff was returned out to the 37 where JP Thompson made the stop. Atascocita would post their first points on a 63 yard drive that took 6 plays and ended with a 19 yard scoring pass. Joel Friedman, BJ Fashola, Jefferies and Odom made tackles on the drive for the Kats. With 8:36 left in the half the score was Klein 14 Atascocita 7. The Bearkats started deep in their own territory when Gibson took the kickoff 9 yards deep in the end zone and brought it out to the 8 yard line. Hamm gained 8 yards on 1st down, but a fumbled snap turned the ball over to the Eagles at the 16 yard line. 4 plays later, Atascocita scored a TD on a 4 yard QB keeper. The PAT tied the game at 14 with 6:45 left in the half. Mac Odom returned the ensuing kickoff out to the 32 yard line, where the Kats started their next possession. After a short loss on 1 st down, the Kats went back to the ground as Hamm gained 28 yards on 3 carries and Gibson gained 2 yards. The drive would end when Ausmus pass to Kaderli was completed for 25 yards, but was fumbled at the end of the play. The Eagles recovered at their 18 yard line and quickly had to punt following 2 incomplete pass attempts that were broken up by Joel Friedman. Othello Gibson brought the crowd up on their feet as he took the punt at the 40 yard line and broke loose before being brought down at the goal line with penalty flags all over the field. After much discussion, the referees determined that there were offsetting penalties and the Eagles got to punt the ball again. This time the punt was returned to midfield, and the Kats offense took the field. The Kats would end a 3rd consecutive drive with a fumble when a 1st down carry by Hamm gained 17 yards to the 33 yard line. Struggling to break one more tackle, the ball came loose and the Eagles recovered with 2:34 left in the half. Atascocita would use 9 plays to move the ball to the Kats 30 yard line before having to settle for a field goal attempt. While the big play for the Eagles was a 30 yard completion, Friedman, Fashola and Thompson broke up passes and Bennett and Thompson made tackles on the drive. With :52 seconds left in the half, a 46 yard FG attempt was wide left and the score remained 14-14. The Kats gained 20 yards on 3 carries by Gibson before the half ended.

With the rain having stopped during halftime, the Kats offense took the field at the 15 yard line following the kickoff to start the 2nd half. The Kats stayed on the ground and gained 17 yards on 2 Gibson carries. 3 carries by Hamm only gained 4 yards and the Kats 30 yard punt rolled dead at the Eagles 44 yard line. The Kats defense forced the Eagles to punt the ball back following a short drive where they picked up a first down as a result of a penalty for tackling with the helmet. Sam Odom lead the defensive charge with 3 tackles including a sack for a loss of 10 yards. Chris Howard and BJ Fashola also made stops on the drive. The Bearkats next drive started at the 15 yard line and quickly moved the chains on a completion to Kenneth White. A holding call stalled the Kats drive and forced them to punt the ball away. Sam Odom bobbled the snap and was only able to get off a 4 yard punt putting the ball at the Kats 26 yard line with 2:23 left in the 3 rd quarter. The Eagles would only need 4 plays to convert the good field position into a TD and take a 21-14 lead following a 10 yard completion in the end zone. The Klein offensive struggles continued when they took possession at the 29 yard line following the kickoff. Hamm gained 12 yards and a first down on 2 carries, but a penalty on 1st down led to 3 incomplete passes and another short punt at the beginning of the 4th quarter. Starting at their own 44, Atascocita scored on a 5 play drive that was highlighted by a 30 yard gain on a one hand catch and a 21 yard scramble for a TD by the QB. Martin Rizzetto, Chris Howard and Joel Friedman made tackles for the Kats. With 10:08 left in the game, the score was now Eagles 28 Kats 14. The Kats started deep in their own territory when Mac Odom returned the kickoff out to the 14 yard line. Klein earned a 1st down when Hamm gained 9 yards on a screen pass and 5 yards rushing. With 1 st down at the 23, the Kats turned the ball over again when a sack turned into a fumble and the Eagles recovered at the 28 yard line. Chris Wade, Rizzetto and Howard made stops for the Kats defense that forced an Eagle FG attempt with 7:19 remaining in the game. The 20 yard attempt was good and the Atascocita lead grew to 31-14. The Kats final scoring drive of the game started at the 25 yard line following a touchback. Gibson gained 10 yards on 1st down and Odom caught a pass to gain 4 yards to start the next series. A holding penalty backed the Kats up to the 29 yard line, but Ausmus completed a screen pass to Mac Odom who darted 69 yards down to the 2 yard line. The crowd yelled encouragement as Odom dragged a much larger defender from just inside the 20 yard line to close to the goal line. The Kats completed a 2 yard TD pass and the PAT was good to narrow the margin to 31 -21 with 6:15 left in the game.

Charles Terranova kicked off for the Kats and the return came out to the 35 yard line. The Eagles took 12 plays to cover 46 yards and use close to 5 minutes of the clock before turning the ball over on downs. Bobby Baker had several stops during the drive, before the Kats took over at their 19 yard line with 1:30 remaining in the game. Kleins final possession included a 30 yard completion to Josh Atherton and a 9 yard completion to Othello Gibson, but the Kats were unable to score and the game ended with a final score of Atascocita 31 Klein 21. The Kats travel to Westfield for next weeks rivalry game against the Mustangs.