Clear Springs' Brandon Mickens stops Jarmaine Pettwayin the back field for a 7-yard loss in the second quarter Saturday against Pasadena Memorial at The Rig in Pearland. The Chargers defeated the Mavericks, 26-14.
PEARLAND — With Clear Springs trailing by a touchdown at halftime on Saturday’s Region III-5A area playoff game, each member of the Chargers defense made a vow to his teammates and coaches — Pasadena Memorial would not score again.
The defense lived up to its word.
Behind a dominant second half performance, Springs rolled passed Memorial, 26-14, at The Rig in Pearland, clinching a berth in the regional semifinals next week.
Springs (10-2 record) will face Houston Memorial at 6 p.m. Saturday at Galena Park ISD Stadium.
The Chargers’ defense allowed just 74 total yards and five first downs in the second half to lead the team to victory.
“All we did was challenge the kids at halftime,” Springs coach Clint Hartman said. “I’m not sure who started it, but one of the defensive guys said they weren’t going to let them score again. Once one said it, they all stood up and said it. They came through on the promise.”
Memorial (9-3) scored both of its touchdowns in the second quarter. The first came when dealing with a short field after a Springs turnover. The second came on a 79-yard pass on a busted play from Brian Shultz to Nathan Mourik
Junior linebacker Donnie Baggs said it was just a matter of staying focused to be dominant defensively in the second half.
“We knew the task at hand,” Baggs said. “It was all about effort. We woke up and knew that if we played Clear Springs Chargers football, we would win the game. So everyone played with a lot of effort on every play.”
With the defense shutting down the tricky Mavericks offense, it was up to quarterback Phillip Miller and his squad to put points on the board for Springs. They were up for the challenge.
After a 71-yard kickoff return by James Cunningham on the opening drive of the second half, Springs punched it into the end zone three plays later on a 2-yard run by Trevon Randle. That touchdown run, Randle’s second of the game, tied the score at 14.
The score stayed that way until the second play of the fourth quarter. After a 19-yard loss on a failed reverse play, the Chargers were facing a third-and-23 from their own 31-yard line. Miller called a quick pass play and had his sights set on receiver Deche Milburn on the right side.
“I looked that way initially and Deche was covered,” Miller said. “So I kind of shuffled a little to my left to buy some time. That’s when I saw Deche get open.”
Milburn had been beating himself up all week after a second half fumble nearly cost Springs the game last week against Elkins. This time, he wasn’t going to let the team down.
“I knew I had to make up for that fumble from last week,” Milburn said. “As soon as I got open, I saw Phillip throw the ball, and I just kept thinking, I’m not going to drop it.”
The ball hit Milburn’s fingers and for about a second, bobbled around in the air. The Springs sidelines held its breath and Milburn pulled in the pass and raced 69 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
“I’m not going to lie. My heart stopped when he was bobbling it,” Hartman said. “But he got the job done. That’s a play he will never forget for the rest of his life.”
After another stop by the defense, he marched down the field again and put the game away on a 2-yard touchdown by Miller.
The Chargers finished with 370 total yards and 21 first downs. Miller said it was all about playing consistent.
“In the first half we were just beating ourselves,” Miller said. “We knew if we could sustain a few drives and not make mistakes, that we were going to score some points in the second half.”
Miller finished the night 23-for-40 passing for 270 yards. Milburn had 98 of those yards, while Dimitri Donald had an impressive 10 catches for 90 yards.
Randle led the way on the ground with 75 yards rushing, while Byron Williams helped ice the game late with 37 yards on the ground.
Hartman was quick to point out to the players after the game that an area championship is not the Chargers’ ultimate goal. Baggs said if the team plays like it did in the second half, they will be able to reach their lofty goals.
“We sent a message tonight that we can be dominant,” Baggs said. “Especially if we play to our fullest and with a lot of effort, we can be unstoppable.”
