Despite loss to NC, Roos still in the mix

Greg Webb

WEATHERFORD — For the second time in as many seasons, the Roos played well enough defensively and offensively to beat North Crowley. Again for the second year in a row, Weatherford’s miscues let victory slip through its fingers.

With a solid early defensive performance overshadowed by a nasty turn of events late in the first half, the Kangaroos fell behind and, though making several runs at closing the gap in the final two periods, never recovered from the deficit, losing the Halloween Night match to the Panthers, 21-7.

North Crowley (4-1 in District 3-5A, 5-4 overall) sealed at least a third-place district finish with the win. The Panthers host state-ranked Abilene Friday and though a tall order, could create a three-way tie for the district’s top honors with a win, and a victory by Richland in its regular season finale.

Scoreless at the end of the first period, neither offense could sustain a drive, halted, in part, by a fumble by the Roos and an interception thrown by North Crowley’s quarterback, John Coomer, who tossed a long haul into the waiting arms of Weatherford defensive back Shelby Armstrong.

In the second quarter, the Roos mounted an impressive start to a drive that took them from their own 1-yard line to Panther’s territory, where quarterback Mitchael Rucker was stopped for a 3-yard loss on a third-and-four. Forced to punt, the situation was made worse when Rucker had to leave the game for the balance of the half, sidelined with an ankle injury. The respite was temporary for the tough junior quarterback, who came back in to see action after the break.

Weatherford compiled 240 yards rushing with its drives, led by slotback Shawn Roberson, who continued to impress with his ability to reach the corners and add yardage after his cuts upfield. Through most of the game, North Crowley had trouble protecting the outside.

“We didn’t have any trouble getting to the edges,” Weatherford head coach Kenny Wheaton said. “We just could not get anything going up the middle. In this offense, everything is supposed to start up the middle and go to the outside.We are kind of doing the opposite.”

As has been the theme of many matchups for Weatherford this year, the offense moved the ball well against a big, very talented team. The miscues have been the bane for the Roos point production.

“I think we gained about 250 yards on offense, but it’s the same story,” Wheaton said. “We’ve not been able to finish drives.

“On the other hand, I thought our defense played very well. They are, by far, the most athletically-talented team we have played this year.”

Interestingly enough, Weatherford (1-4, 1-8) still has a shot at reaching the playoffs. With the top three spots already spoken for, the fourth spot can be won by the Roos with a win over Burleson next week, but with a kicker ... point differentials have come into play, and Weatherford must beat the Elks by at least 12 points to be elgible for postseason play.

The prospect is certainly an exciting one for the kids, but with the injuries still mounting on a weekly basis, Wheaton is beginning to feel a little snake-bit as his boys’ ailments add up.

“I’ve never seen anything like this in all my years of coaching,” Wheaton said of the number of Roos players that have either been lost for the season or have had to spend time healing up to be able to play again.

Regardless of Weatherford’s misfortune health-wise, there will be another game played at Elks Stadium Friday and the boys in blue will be there, fighting for a chance to extend their season.

The way substitutes have stepped up when teammates have fallen has kept the offensive wheels on. If the Roos can hit paydirt as many times as they knock on the door, running up needed points against Burleson should not be a problem.

Kickoff for Weatherford’s regular season finale is slated for 7:30 p.m., Friday.

North Crowley 21 Weatherford 7

NCHS 0 14 0 7 — 21

WHS 0 0 0 7 — 7

Scoring Summary:

Second Quarter

John Coomer 1 run (Jacob Smith kick) 1:27

Aaron Morris 6 pass from Coomer (Smith kick) :46

Fourth Quarter

Roston Tatum 44 pass from Coomer (Smith kick) 5:51

Dakota Abernathy 6 pass from Chris Jackson (Josh Blanton kick) :34

Team Stats:

WHS NCHS

First Downs 19 15

Rushing yards 56-240 30-200

Passing yards 2-19 7-117

Passing 2-10-2 7-20-1

Punts-avg. 4-27.3 3-35

Penalties 1-15 6-50