Photo credit, Eric Christian Smith/ Houston Chronicle Contributor
Channelview – Bulldogs’ coach Kenny Harrison knew controlling the clock would be crucial, as it played a role in the game plan.
Led by a dual-rushing attack, sophomore running back Lloyd Avant and senior tailback Torrie Curry accounted for seven of Summer Creek’s eight touchdowns to eliminate the Channelview Falcons, 55-28 in the Class 6A Division 2 bi-district playoffs on Friday night at Ray Maddry Stadium.
“We knew it was going to be a tough one coming in,” Falcons coach Averion Hurts said. “They have a good team (Summer Creek).”
Summer Creek will meet the winner of Clear Falls/Pearland Dawson next week in the Area Round of the playoffs at a time and place to be determined.
The Bulldogs (8-3) got its rushing attack on track early. Avant and Curry bruised Channelview’s defense with a punishing ground attack. Both combined for seven of the Bulldogs eight scores.
The future is bright for the talented Avant, who led the ground attack, rushing for a game-high 213 yards on 19 carries and five touchdowns. He also added a receiving score.
“The passing game worked, but the running game, they couldn’t stop us,” Bulldogs running back Avant said. “So we kept running the ball. The lineman paved the way for us. We are blessed to get this victory and to move on to the second round.”
There was little reason to turn toward the air. Curry, who churned out yards through the trenches while avoiding defenders, carried the rock 20 times for 143 yards and a score. Yet, quarterback Jahrik Jones completed six-of-eight attempts for 75 yards and a touchdown.
“We came out and played hard,” said Jones. “We did what we had to do to go to the next round. Everybody played together to execute the game plan.”
The offensive line ahead of the running dual paved the way, including Kevin Banks, Christian Crockett, Ethan Eppers, Donovan Randle, Viliami Salakielu, Chad Woodfork, and junior tight end Maxwell Huisin’tveld.
“We felt good about our offensive line being led by Kelvin Banks coming into the game,” Harrison explained. “We wanted to play ball control and control the line of scrimmage, and our kids did a tremendous job.”
Despite the sizable Bulldogs, Channelview’s shootout plan failed when Summer Creek outscored it 27-7 in the second quarter as it struggled to find an answer for Summer Creek’s ground attack.
“We were trying to get into a shootout, but we missed a couple of opportunities,” Channelview coach Hurts admitted. “They are a big physical team, and they wore us out.”
Summer Creek drove 75 yards on its first frame. Curry’s 19-yard carry to the Falcons’ 26 highlighted the drive, and later, Avant scored from a yard out to put the Bulldogs ahead 7-0 after Alfonso Gonzalez’ kick with 8:33 left in the first quarter.
The Falcons made good on its second possession of the game despite its uphill battle against a physical front seven composed of defensive linemen Rocky Jack, Amantie Lockhart, Caden Rain, Darien Riley, Evan Roy, and linebackers Isaak Madrigal and Julian Ortiz.
“We knew they would take some shots from an offensive standpoint,” says Harrison. “Hurts is a veteran coach.”
Channelview’s junior receiver Marques Neal turned a lateral reception from quarterback Demetrias Charles, who finished 15-of-24 for 288 yards, into a 59-yard sprint to the end zone, tying the game 7-7, following Jairo Mancia’s kick.
Neal ended his season with four receptions for 157 yards, two touchdowns, and Prince added eight targets for 104 yards.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs scored on five successive frames to build a 40-21 lead with 7:48 remains in the third quarter. However, Channelview (6-5) decided not to roll over as Charles hooked up with receiver Josiah Prince and Neal. Prince came up with a 36-yard reception at midfield, and Neal turned another short catch into a foot race to the one-yard line before Charles pushed in for the score, trimming the deficit, 20-14 with 6:43 to go in the second quarter.
For the Falcons, who watched its season end, the opportunity presented itself, but penalties and mistakes interrupted the rhythm of its offense.
The second half mirrored the first as the Falcons struggled to find consistency.
Jack led Summer Creek’s defense with a pair of sacks, and Ortiz recorded a sack.
“Coach Hurts does a great job offensively, but our defensive staff did a great job at halftime of making some adjustments and held them to 14 points in the second half,” Harrison said. “We did a better job on defense in the second half.”
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