Malden's state hopes dashed by defending champion Lamar

Sunday, November 23, 2014
Malden's Dremond Robinson slips out of the tackle attempt of Lamar's Brett McDonald Saturday in a Class 2 semifinal game at Malden High School. (David Jenkins photo)

sports@standard-democrat.com

MALDEN -- After dominating their competition all season long, the Malden Green Wave finally met its match Saturday in the Class 2 semifinals against the three-time defending state champion Lamar Tigers.

Playing in front of a packed, energetic home crowd, Malden was shutout offensively as the Tigers claimed a 28-2 victory to earn their spot back in the title game.

"Defensively we knew what they were going to show us," Green Wave junior quarterback Chapen Riley said. "We had a lot of mental mistakes at the beginning of the game that just set us back. Maybe we don't make those mental mistakes, the vibe keeps going and we keep moving the ball. There was times we'd move the ball and be alright and sometimes they stopped it. It was a great job coaching on their part."

Coming into Saturday's game Malden had yet to be held to under 47 points by any opponent and averaged near 60 points a contest. They had yet to face a team of the Tigers' caliber, however, as the three-time defending champions are once again ranked No.1 in the state.

The Green Wave's ground game was held to 123 yards, including a pedestrian 65 yards by recent first-team, coaches all-region selection, Dremond Robinson, who had scored a combined nine touchdowns in the previous two games.

Lamar totaled 237 yards with their much-hyped rushing attack, out-gaining Malden on the day 332-144 in total yards and 23-10 on first downs.

Lamar's Johnny Brooks (34) stretches to get a key first down in the third quarter against Malden Saturday in a Class 2 semifinal game at Malden High School. (David Jenkins photo)

While the stats may lean heavily in the Tigers' favor, if not for a few breaks in the first half it could have been the Green Wave going into the locker room at the half with the lead.

Early on with the two teams locked in a defensive battle, the Green Wave were able to control the Tigers' use of misdirection that had caused so many teams problems this season. It was on one of their few passes on the game that Lamar took an early lead.

Facing a third-and-one near midfield, Lamar quarterback Tripp Tucker hit Luke Hardman up the middle past the crowd of defenders near the line of scrimmage playing the run.

With no one behind him, Hardman sprinted untouched the full 48 yards to put his team up 7-0 after the point-after with 4:14 left in the first quarter.

"We had talked about it," Malden head coach Joel Wyatt said of getting beat on a pass. "We said, 'Hey, if they throw the ball they may get a big one on us.' But against this team you have to put an extra man in the box and you have to sell out to stop the run. If you're going to play a base defense against these guys, you're going to get knocked off the ball and you'll have a hard time forcing them to punt.

"When you put an extra hat down there in the box you're a man short in coverage and that's what happened to us."

Malden's Dremond Robinson is upended by Lamar's Lakin Hardman (24) and Tanner Phipps (12) along the sideline in the second quarter Saturday in a Class 2 semifinal game at Malden High School. (David Jenkins photo)

Lamar's shutout remained intact until the closing minutes of the first half when Malden looked to have a golden opportunity to take advantage of a rare Tiger mistake. Only 2:43 remained in the half when Lamar fumbled an exchange at their own 15-yard line.

The ball bounced back into the end zone before the Tigers could jump on it for a safety that put the Green Wave on the board.

As quickly as the Green Wave looked to have seized momentum, it was once again stolen by the Tigers on the ensuing free kick that should have left Malden with the ball and just under three-minutes to work with.

Instead Lamar sent a short, high kick into the wind that a Malden player called fair catch on, but never hauled in. The ball hit the ground, took a favorable Tiger bounce and Lamar regained possession.

Johnny Brooks capped a 52-yard drive with 47 seconds remaining in the half to put his team ahead 14-2.

"The kick after the safety was the play of the day," Wyatt said. "We were going to be down 7-2 with the ball, basically in four down territory. We're going into half down 7-2 worse case scenario because we're going to chew clock up."

Compounding the potential 14-point swing, Lamar received the ball to start the second half. They opened the third quarter with a 73-yard scoring drive that burned over eight minutes off the clock and saw the Tigers convert two fourth downs.

Brett McDonald found Todd Morrow for a five-yard scoring pass to cap the drive and put Lamar firmly in the driver's seat 21-2 with 3:45 left in the third quarter.

With the chance to get a stop and make it a one-possession game, Wyatt admitted that drive was a tipping point in their comeback effort.

Lamar's Angus Sprenkle consoles Malden's Cordiero Clark in the final minutes of Lamar's 28-2 win Saturday in a Class 2 semifinal game at Malden High School. (David Jenkins photo)

"We had talked about getting a stop and 'Hey, we're right in this thing'," Wyatt said. "Let's get a stop and get the offense going and run some things we haven't run yet. Let's get a three-and-out, get the ball back and go. Then our defense was on the field for almost nine minutes and a lot of those guys are offensive players for us as well. When you're a two-wayer, that takes its toll on you against a team like Lamar."

One last Lamar touchdown with 7:01 left in the fourth quarter effectively iced the game and made up the 28-2 final.

Leading the Tigers' effort was Tucker with 96 yards and a score on 19 carries. Johnny Brooks and Danny Embry finished with 45 and 42 yards rushing respectively, including a touchdown by Brooks.

For the Green Wave, Robinson finishes his Green Wave career with 65 yards on 10 carries for a 6.5 yard-per-carry average. Jeremy Jones and Cortez Dobbins added 13 and 12 yards to the cause respectively.

Through the air, Riley completed 9 of 18 attempts for 44 yards and an interception.

Struggling to get their ground game going, Riley said, "That's a lot of our game. As you've seen throughout the season we establish the run game and playaction pass. When we don't establish the run game it's harder to get in a rhythm throwing."

The loss brings an end to one of the most memorable Green Wave seasons in school history. On their way to put up lop-sided scores on a weekly basis, Malden set a new school record for wins with a 13-1 finish.

"It's real disappointing now, but to step back and look at it even a couple weeks from now I'm sure we'll think there was a lot of accomplishments," Wyatt said. "Our first district since 2000 and most wins in school history. Not just that, but the fun times with these kids. We have a good time on the bus and in the locker room after wins. Things that fans might not see.

"They're a good bunch of kids and we cut up and have good time. I'm going to miss those seniors."

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First Quarter

L -- Luke Hardman 48 pass from Tripp Tucker (Todd Morrow kick good), 4:14

Second Quarter

M -- Safety, 2:43

L -- Johnny Brooks 2 run (Todd Morrow kick good), 0:47

Third Quarter

L -- Todd Morrow 5 pass from Brett McDonald (Todd Morrow kick good), 3:45

Fourth Quarter

L -- Tripp Tucker 3 run (Todd Morrow kick good), 7:01

Team Statistics

LM
First Downs2310
Total Yards332144
Rushes-Yards58-23724-100
Passing yards9544
Passing5-6-09-18-1
Fumbles-Lost1-00-0
Penalties-Yards8-655-51

Individual Statistics

Rushing -- Lamar, Tripp Tucker 19-96, Johnny Brooks 12-44, Danny Embry 8-42, Anthony Wilkerson 4-25, Brett McDonald 4-4, Hunter Gepner 3-(-5), Stuart McKarus 2-8, Matt Whyman 2-5, Luke Hardman 1-8, Derek Henderson 1-5, Cooper Lucas 1-4, Michael Danner 1-1. Malden, Dremond Robinson 10-65, Jeremy Jones 5-13, Cortez Dobbins 4-12, Nick Thompson 3-9, Chapen Riley 1-4, Shaeen Perkins 1-(-3).

Passing -- Lamar, Tripp Tucker 3-4-0 66, Brett McDonald 1-1-0 5, Luke Hardman 1-1-0 24. Malden, Chapen 9-18-1 44.

Receiving -- Lamar, Brett McDonald 3-42, Luke Hardman 1-48, Todd Morrow 1-5. Malden, Shaeen Perkins 3-11, Parker McCormick 2-15, Jeremy Jones 2-7, Dremond Robinson 1-7, Cortez Dobbins 1-4.

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