Bearkats gain playoff spot with win over Collins

Offenses highlight 44-41 Klein victory

The Klein Bearkats traveled to Memorial Stadium on Friday evening for a key 13-5A matchup with our neighbors to the east from Collins High School. A big crowd showed up to see a game that would go a long way toward determining which teams would represent the District in the playoffs. Collins won the toss and deferred to the 2nd half and the Kats chose to receive. Starting at their 25 yard line the Kats offense quickly set the pace for a high scoring evening. David Hamm carried the ball 3 times and gained 13 yards and Rainer Ausmus gained 4 more to place the ball on the 42 yard line. Using play action, Ausmus dropped back to pass and found Mac Odom running free in the secondary and connected with him on a 58 yard TD pass. The PAT attempt was unsuccessful and the Kats took a 6-0 lead with 9:45 left in the 1st quarter. BJ Fashola made the stop at the 38 yard line on the Kats kickoff. The Tigers offense showed that they had some bite as well as they stayed on the ground and used 8 plays to cover the 62 yards to take the lead. On the drive Kendal Jefferies, Dakota Aplanalp, Ronnie Gaydos, BJ Fashola, Martin Rizzetto and Philippe Orion made tackles, but with a successful PAT the score was Collins 7 Klein 6 with 6:28 left in the 1st quarter. The Kats once again started at the 25 when the kick sailed through the end zone, and quickly drove down the field to retake the lead. Othello Gibsons first 3 carries of the evening gained 20 yards and moved the ball to the 45 yard line. On first down, Mac Odom took a toss around the right end, pulled up short and connected with Josh Atherton for a gain of 39 yards to the Collins 16 yard line. After losing a yard on 1st down and having 2 passes fall incomplete in the end zone, the Kats settled for a 35 yard field goal by Kyle Pfau to make the score Klein 9 Collins 7 with 3:11 left in the 1st quarter. Pfaus kickoff was returned from the goal line back to the Kats 37 yard line before Aplanalp finally made the stop. The Tigers offense completed a 1st down pass to the 20 yard line and then stayed on the ground for the next 5 plays before scoring from the 1 yard line. Chris Wade, Orion, Fashola and Jefferies made tackles for the Kats, but the successful PAT made the score Collins 14 Klein 9 with 47 seconds left in the 1st quarter. The Kats took possession at the 25 yard line and began their 3rd scoring drive of the evening. After 2 rushing attempts brought up 3rd and long, Ausmus connected with Kenneth White, who carried the ball 40 yards down to the Tigers 33 yard line. After a procedure penalty, Gibson broke free for a 20 yard gain to the 18 yard line. 2 short gains brought up 3rd and long at the 15 and Ausmus coolly lofted a pass to Kenneth White who caught it over his shoulder for a TD. The Kats 2 point attempt failed, but Klein now held a 15-14 lead with 9:31 left in the half. Pfaus kickoff sailed through the end zone and Collins took possession at the 25 yard line. 6 plays later, including a 41 yard pass completion, the Tigers had retaken the lead on an 8 yard run into the end zone. Chris Wade, Alex Crump, JP Thompson and Bobby Baker made stops for the Kats on the drive. With 7:06 left in the half, Collins now held a 21-15 lead. The Kats offense took the field at the 29 yard line following a fair catch on the kick off by Josh Atherton. Behind an offensive line made up of Grant Harmon, Alex Nguyen, Chris Burger, Hunter Reynolds, Sam LoCaste, Josh Atherton and Nick Kaderli and fullback Ryan Harrison, the Kats set out to retake the lead. With David Hamm and

Othello Gibson sharing the carries, the Kats next 5 carries moved the ball 39 yards, but a blocking in the back penalty moved the ball back to midfield. With 2nd and long, Mac Odom made a fantastic leaping catch on a pass from Ausmus that gained 31 yards down to the Tigers 17 yard line. David Hamm carried it 4 times from there to notch a TD and put the Kats up 22- 21 following Pfaus PAT. Collins took possession with 2:13 left in the half and was able to gain a 1st down before having to punt for the first time in the game. Bobby Baker had a sack to set up the punt that rolled dead at the 35 yard line with 28 seconds left in the half. Othello Gibson had an 11 yard gain and White caught a pass for 20 yards, down to the Collins 34 yard line. With 2 seconds left in the half, Kyle Pfaus 51 yard FG attempt was short and the Kats took the 22-21 lead to halftime. The Tigers opened the 2nd half at the 25 yard line following the touchback, and began a 4 minute, 9 play drive that ended with an 11 yard TD run. Baker, Chris Howard, Jefferies, Thompson, Eric Hoefler and Rizzetto made stops for the Kats, but with 7:48 left in the 3rd quarter, the score was Collins 28 Klein 22. Kendal Jefferies returned the kickoff out to midfield, but a holding penalty moved the Kats back to the 24 yard line. Gibson was held to short yardage on 2 carries, and on 3rd and 9, he circled out of the backfield and darted up the middle of the field. With no defender covering him, Rainer Ausmus hit him in stride and Othello dashed 75 yards for a Bearkat TD. Pfaus PAT was good and the score was Klein 29 Collins 28 with 6:07 left in the 3rd. Pfaus kick was taken in at the 3 yard line and returned to the 27 for the Tigers. The Collins offense was able to gain 3 first downs and move the ball to the Klein 15 before the Bearkat defense stiffened. Kendal Jefferies blitzed in for a loss of 3 yards and Dakota Aplanalp made a tackle for a loss of 2. With 3rd and long, Gaydos broke up the pass and forced Collins to kick a 36 yard field goal. Baker, Orion, Crump and Wade also made stops on the drive that ended with Collins taking a 31-29 lead with 11 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. Jefferies had another fine kickoff return bringing the ball out to the 45 yard line as the quarter ended. Othello Gibson was held to 3 yards on 1st down, but on 2nd down he darted through a hole in the defensive and dashed 52 yards down the sideline for another TD. The Kats converted a 2 point conversion as Ausmus connected with Josh Atherton in the end zone to make the score Klein 37 Collins 31 early in the 4th quarter. The Kats kickoff went out of bounds and Collins took possession at the 35 yard line. The Tigers quickly gained 40 yards on 4 plays to set up 1st and 10 at the 25 yard line. Bobby Baker made the stop for a gain of 1 yard and the next 2 passes fell incomplete under pressure from the defensive line. With 9:10 left in the game, Collins converted a 41 yard field goal to make the score Klein 37 Collins 34. During the drive Ethan Johnson, Martin Rizzetto, Thompson and Gaydos made plays for the defense. The Bearkat offense began their final scoring drive of the evening at the 25 yard line. David Hamm gained 25 yards on 3 carries to move the ball to midfield. Gibson gained 10 yards on 2 carries and a face mask penalty moved the ball to the 25 yard line. Hamm gained 15 more yards to give the Kats 1st and goal at the 10. Gibson moved the ball to the 7 yard line before Ausmus connected with Mac Odom as he ran across the end zone for a 7 yard TD pass. Kyle Pfau converted the PAT to make the score Klein 44 Collins 34 with 4:03 left in the game. Collins took possession at the 27 yard line on their next drive. On first down, Jefferies intercepted a pass near midfield, but an interference call was made on another defender

and the Collins had a 1st down at the 42 yard line. The Tigers would need 6 more plays, including a completion for 38 yards, to score their final points of the game on a 9 yard TD pass. Jefferies. Johnson, Crump and Orion made tackles for the Kats on the drive. With 2:22 left in the game the score was Klein 44 Collins 41. JP Thompson recovered the onside kick attempt at the 45 yard line and returned it to midfield. The Kats offense gained 7 yards on 3 carries by Hamm and opted to punt the ball away after Collins used up all their time outs. Mac Odoms kick rolled dead at the 13 yard line with 1:14 left in the game. Alex Crump brought down the Tigers QB for no gain as he franticly looked for an open receiver. After a procedure penalty, Philippe Orion sealed the victory, and a playoff spot, for the Kats with an interception at the 36 yard line. Rainer Ausmus lead the team in the Victory Formation as time ran out. The Kats will have next week off, as the rest of the District completes their regular season. The playoff information will be available after next weekend as the standings in District 14-5A are finalized. Congratulations Kats! And welcome back to the playoffs!