Suffocating defense, turnovers give Wildcats first loss on the season
Klein –This latest Klein Oak victory, a 38-6 pounding of the DeKaney Wildcats on Friday night at Klein Memorial Stadium was the third consecutive win since dropping a 28-13 decision to North Shore four weeks ago. The win puts the Panthers (4-2, 3-0) in sole possession of first place in district 13-5A while DeKaney (5-1, 1-1) suffers its first loss on the season.
Stifling defense and three fumbles kept the Wildcats scoreless for most of the game. A&M commit Trey Williams was held in check with only 13 first half total rushing yards on 10 carries.
“We’re blessed to be here, said David Smith, Klein Oak’s coach who gave the credit to the kids and coaching staff. Great kids and a great coaching staff. We got four more games left. We got to keep him from breathing before he starts running (speaking of DeKaney’s standout running back Trey Williams).”
A defensive unit with the likes of corner back Austin Ondrej, corner back Dashone Smith, corner back Cody Spiegelhauer, line backer AJ Hilliard, line backer Blake Ashford, line backer Josh Mabin, defensive end Daniel Shaul, and nose guard Jay Andrews anchored down the Panthers defense which held DeKaney to 19 first half yards. Smith did his part to keep the shutout in tack, in the first half by running down DeKaney’s speedy running back Trey Williams who jetted by the Panther’s special team down the left side line and appeared to have open field until Smith tackled him down at the 30 yard line, a 75-yard gain that would be wasted one play later when quarterback D’Juan Hines fumbled the first of three times on the evening.
“We were ready, they have one fast guy, and we have 11. We just bring it. I came out here to do well today. I wanted to stop him from getting his big plays which he gets every week. This win means a lot to us because we’ve worked so hard in practice,” said Dashone Smith, Klein Oak’s safety.
“It was a great game; defense came out and shut them down. They didn’t score until our second team was in. We did a phenomenal job on defense and offense, executing,” said Nicky Baratti. On offense we have so many weapons; we can pass it or run it. We work together great, he, McQueen use to be a reliever, so the knowledge is there.”
Klein Oak’s defense recorded six sacks and a recorded one pick by Spiegelhauer in limiting the Wildcats to 135 total yards and five first downs.
To give an idea of how tough district 13-5A is, consider this. Klein Oak entered district play with two losses but then defeated three undefeated district foes in Klein Forest, Klein Collins and DeKaney. Klein Collin, the area’s top rank team was stripped of that ranking after going 0-2 in their first two district games.
After stopping DeKaney on their first three drives, the Panther drove 67 yards before settling for a Kwame Kuffour 24 yard field goal to grab an early 3-0 lead. Another promising drive halted by a fumble, after Trey Williams eluded defenders returning the kickoff from deep in the end zone down to the Klein Oak 30 yard line. On the next play quarterback D’Juan Hines fumbled as sophomore defensive lineman Javon Shelley recovered the loose ball at the 32.
“Pursue to the ball. We work hard at practice every day, of getting off the ball, we stay low, and keep our feet moving” said defensive lineman Jay Andrews of Klein Oak.”
Early on, DeKaney got a break when a punt went off the side of Klein Oak punter’s foot while punting from their end zone, giving DeKaney possession at the Panther’s 33 yard line. But defensive back Austin Ondrej who had a great game, made sure the Wildcats would come away empty. On the first play from scrimmage, Ondrej tracked down D’Juan Hines from the blind side, sacking him to pen a 6-yard loss on the Wildcats while firing up the Panther’s defense.
Klein Oak did most of their damage in the second quarter when they came away with 21 unanswered points. Connor McQueen’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Tuff McClain capped a 55 yard drive. EJ Fatu’s 18-yard run and McQueen’s 8-yard scoring scamper gave the Panther’s a 24-0 halftime lead.
In second half, Klein Oak continued its dominance of the Lions. The Panther’s added the exclamation point in the fourth quarter with sophomore running back Larenzo Stewart’s 22-yard touchdown run and backup quarterback Michael Trotter fought his way into the end zone from seven yards out to increase the lead (38-0).
With 2:26 left in regulation, running back Williams avoided finishing the game without rushing for more than a 100 plus yards (115 on 21 carries) to be exact, when he took a pitch left and beat the Klein Oak’s defense down the sideline to post a dazzling 53-yard scoring run, also helping DeKaney to lift the shutout.
Klein Oak concluded the evening with 410 yards of total offense and 23 first downs. McQueen tallied 115 rushing yards on nine carries with a touchdown and one through the air.
“Defense shut them down; I was thoroughly impressed with them. They played a heck of a game and offensively I thought it would be a big passing week, but it turned out to be a big running week. It’s nice that we’ve both played quarterback before (speaking of receiver Nicky Baratti) we know where to find the holes in the defense and it helps a lot. I can surprise some people sometimes but I’m certainly not the fastest guy on the field, said Klein Oak’s quarterback Connor McQueen.”
