Blitz Rewind: Fumbles, non-offensive TDs keep coming for Cove Posted On: Monday, Nov. 2 2009 04:53 AM By Kevin Posival and Angel Verdejo
Killeen Daily Herald

Two items just keep reoccurring for Copperas Cove, both good and bad.

The Bulldawgs fumbled four times – losing two – in Friday's 21-7 loss to A&M Consolidated, with the fourth coming on a fourth-and-goal at the Tigers' 1-yard line. Cove recovered the ball, but turned it over on downs only to have A&M Consolidated score.

Cove has lost fumbles in six games this year, though they still fare better than most of their District 12-5A opponents. On the other hand, the Bulldawgs scored a non-offensive touchdown for the seventh time this year.

Sophomore Orlando Thomas, helping to fill Brelan Chancellor's shoes on kickoff returns, did just that in the first quarter Friday.

Thomas made an over-the-shoulder catch while running toward the Cove end zone, but quickly turned, went left, cut back and followed a convoy of Dawg blockers for the 93-yard touchdown. Thomas' kickoff return is the third-longest in the district, behind Bryan's Kevin Jefferson (95 yards) and Chancellor's 100-yard return in the 12-5A opener against Ellison.

Little things become big things

By picking up small chunks of yards on each running play, the Lampasas Badgers were able to keep Killeen's potent offense on the sideline but back-to-back turnovers late in the game kept Lampasas from pulling off the upset.

"They're a good football team. That's why they won two (district) games this year," Killeen coach Sam Jones said of the Badgers. "They're a lot better than they were last year, I can tell you that. They were softer (last year).

This year, they're a tough, physical ball club."

Edward Hall ran for 186 yards and a touchdowns and fullback Brode DuBose ran for 84 yards and a touchdown but Killeen clinched a playoff spot by racking up 21 points and 330 yards of offense despite having the ball for less than 15 minutes the entire game and allowing Lampasas more than 300 rushing yards.

No seconds

Bryan exposed Harker Heights' second-half defensive shortcomings, scoring 21 points before the Knights ever snifted the end zone Friday.

Outside of the 48-0 victory over Shoemaker, the Knights have been outscored 128-55 in the second half of their other eight games, including 35-13 in the last two losses to A&M Consolidated and Bryan.

Even in Heights' stunning overtime victory over Temple two weeks ago, the Knights needed a gutsy two-point conversion run by senior Kerry Sloan to win a game that they led 21-7 midway through the third quarter. But Sloan's effort was only necessary because the Heights defense allowed two late touchdown runs by the Wildcats to force the overtime period.

Much of the same

Ellison turned the ball over three times but its defense and Shoemaker's struggling offense kept the Grey Wolves pointless for the third time this season.

The Eagles had two turnovers in the first half and led just 14-0 despite having a 247-67 advantage in total yards in the first two quarters. In three shutout losses this season, the Grey Wolves (0-9, 0-6 12-5A) have a total of 132 yards of offense.

Tracking Numbers

3 – The number of turnovers the Badgers had Thursday night against Killeen, two of which – one inside the Killeen 12-yard line – came on back-to-back drives in the fourth quarter.

157.5 – The average number of rushing yards Cove has given up to four of District 12-5A's top six rushers (Cove's Brandin Byrd is fifth). The Dawgs face Harker Heights' Kerry Sloan, the No. 2 rusher, on Thursday.

4.6 – The average number of plays in each Shoemaker drive Friday night against Ellison. Only three drives advanced onto Ellison's side of the field.

11.1 – Yards per carry Bryan tailback Nate Jones averaged against the Harker Heights defense in his 267-yard game Friday night, including 171 yards on 14 carries and two of his three touchdowns in the second half.

Fast forward

THURSDAY

Copperas Cove at Harker Heights – The Knights (2-7, 2-4) will be looking to end Mike Mullins' inaugural season on a high note when they play Copperas Cove (7-2, 4-2), which in turn is trying to avoid a two-game losing streak entering the postseason after losing to A&M Consolidated last week.

FRIDAY

Killeen at Pflugerville Hendrickson – The Roos and Hawks (5-3, 3-2 25-4A) meet for second place in 25-4A Friday in Pflugerville. The Hawks, with the district's leading rusher, Kenny Williams, and most prolific running game, earned just 248 yards on the ground in their 27-18 loss to Marble Falls on Friday.

Shoemaker at Temple – The Grey Wolves finish their season at home against Temple (3-6, 2-4 12-5A). Both teams have struggled this season, with Temple failing to reach the playoffs despite having the nation's top-ranked running back and Shoemaker being hit hard by injuries since Week Zero.

Ellison at A&M Consolidated – Out of the playoffs for the second straight season, the Eagles (4-5, 2-4) will be trying avoid its first losing season since 2004 while playing spoiler at A&M Consolidated (6-3, 5-1), which currently sits tied with Belton atop the District 12-5A standings

Alex Byington contributed to this report.