Shelbyville High School, September 7, 2018 –
(Photo Album) The Sabine Cardinals Varsity Football team picked up their first win of the year by beating the hometown Shelbyville Dragons by a 38 -20 score.
The Cardinals won the coin toss and started their first possession at their own 32-yardline. They began the game running the ball well. Cardinal quarterback Landon McKinney went to the air and completed a 19-yard pass to Clayton Simmons. Now on the Shelbyville 41 yard line, the Cardinals fumbled the ball. Shelbyville’s Sawyer Hendricks made them pay when he picked the ball out of the air and ran 52 yards for the touchdown. A successful two-point conversion put the Dragons up 8-0 with 9:34 left in the first quarter.
The next possession saw the Cardinals turn the ball over on downs at the Shelbyville 5-yard line after moving the ball well on a 12-play drive which covered 66 yards.
The Dragon offense finally made it on the field with 4 minutes left in the quarter. The football was snapped over the head of a running back while Shelbyville was using the Wildcat formation. A Dragons runningback picked up the football in the end zone and was able to throw it away. However, an intentional grounding call was made in the end zone. This resulted in a 2-point safety ruling for Sabine, who then trailed 8-2 with four and a half minutes left in the first quarter.
Shelbyville returned the ball to Sabine with a free- kick. Then McKinney completed two passes, to Clayton Simmons and AJ Gresham to move the ball to the Dragon 24. McKinney, Renfro, and B.J. Stidham took turns carrying the football, with McKinney going the final 4 yards to give Sabine High their first lead, at 9-8, at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter saw both teams move between the 20’s and lots of penalty flags. Sabine’s Fernando Jaimes kicked a 44-yard field goal with 1:25 left in the second quarter and the Cardinals went into the halftime intermission with a 12-8 lead.
The Dragons took the second half kickoff and scored on a 6-play 73-yard drive which was capped with a 5-yard LD Coleman touchdown run. A missed extra point attempt left the Dragons with a narrow 2-point lead, at 14-12, with 10 minutes remaining in the third stanza.
Sabine made 33-yard score on a reception with 8:19 left in the third frame. Their 2-point conversion attempt failed and they led 18-14. The Cardinal defense held the Dragons to a three-and-out on their next drive. The Cardinals scored again when Brannigan Willige carried the football for the final 11 yards needed for the score, and a 25-14 edge.
A short kickoff by the Cards found them recovering a loose football near midfield with 2:40 left in the third quarter.
Early in the fourth, Willige got his second touchdown, a 4-yard touchdown carry. This gave Sabine a 32-14 lead with less than 10 minutes left in the game. The Dragons still had some life in them and they scored a 10-yard pass play, from Jaylon Brinson to Perez, which cut Sabine’s lead to 32-20 with 7:37 left in the contest.
With four minutes left, McKinney made the game’s final score on a 9-yard run iced the game. Sabine’s Hunter Austin snuffed out the Dragons with an interception in the end zone on the contest’s last drive.
The Dragons had three turnovers, an interception and two fumbles. Sabine had a fumble. Shelbyville rushed 22 times for 185 yards and completed 2 of 7 passing attempts for 35 yards. They made 7 first downs. Sabine rushed for 237 yards on 45 rushes and completed 14 of 20 passing attempts for 174 yards. They gained 15 first downs.
The Dragons will host cross-county rival Joaquin High School next Friday, September 14, 2018, at Dragons’ Stadium, at 7:30 p.m.
The Cardinals (1-1) host Harleton next Friday night, this is Sabine’s homecoming.
