Jackets rally for playoff berth

Posted 11/10/22

If ever a team had to earn a playoff berth, it was the Mineola Yellowjackets. It was all on the line Saturday, as they traveled to Commerce for a game delayed by weather for the second straight week. The winner would play next week in the second season; the loser would not.

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Jackets rally for playoff berth

Posted

If ever a team had to earn a playoff berth, it was the Mineola Yellowjackets. It was all on the line Saturday, as they traveled to Commerce for a game delayed by weather for the second straight week. The winner would play next week in the second season; the loser would not.

The Yellowjackets won 42-38 in an epic struggle. It was a thrilling game, played with all the energy one would expect with so much at stake. 

Commerce came out flying high. The Tigers returned the opening kick-off 75 yards for a score. The returner used one cut and excellent speed to defeat the pursuit angles of the coverage team. 

Mineola fumbled the ball on the first snap from scrimmage, and the Tigers took possession on the Jacket’s 37-yard line. 

Commerce ran a sweep on their first snap. Mineola closed hard from the secondary to throw the runner for a loss. On the next snap, the Tigers ran the exact same action, but the wide-out sprinted past the closing secondary. Commerce lofted a beautiful ball over the top for a touchdown. With 57 seconds expired in the game, Commerce held a 14-0 lead.

There was no panic from the Yellowjackets. They answered with a 10-play drive, with Dawson Pendergrass working over the Tigers’ defense on seven of those snaps. He scored over the right side behind excellent blocks by Bryson Myers and Braydon Alley.

The Tigers used their speed once again by breaking off a 64-yard scoring run on the first play of their following possession.  

Mineola answered with a 43-yard scoring jaunt from Pendergrass. Placeholder Hunter Wernecke deftly handled a skidding snap on the extra point and got it down for Noah Turner, who sent it through. As the first quarter expired Commerce led 21-14.

The Jackets tied the game after a 56-yard drive, all on the ground. Pendergrass – who tallied 341 yards on 40 carries – found the end zone five times on the night.

Commerce still held the momentum. They rallied again to score on an efficient drive from midfield to go up by seven. 

The ensuing kick-off was a key play. The Tigers executed an excellent on-side kick. Only a great play by Isaiah Gardner, who fielded the ball like a shortstop and cradled it securely with four Tigers rushing down on him, retained possession for the Jackets. Gardner’s play was the first of two critical recoveries of on-side kicks. The second was at the hands of Paul Stanley who also scooped and covered an on-side kick to open the second half.

Following a Mineola fumble near mid-field, the Tigers drove and booted a 35-yard field goal to take a 31-21 lead into the break.    

The Yellowjackets had to play a disciplined second half. Mineola scored on the first three of their four second-half possessions. The three drives were clinical. Most impressive is that everyone in the stadium knew what was coming, but Commerce could not stop them. 

The offensive line moved together as a single unit as well as they have all year. With the defense being hounded by Yellowjacket linemen, Pendergrass sought-out those flowing gaps among the defenders and forced his way through them. 

Two plays are of particular note. Late in the third quarter, Mineola scored on an 18-yard scamper by Alley through the right side. On the play, each of the Yellowjacket linemen – left tackle D.J. Newsome, left guard Myers, center Tanner Crenshaw, right guard Gardner and right tackle David Reyes – made their assigned blocks. 

On the Jackets last drive of the game during which they burned up significant time, on a fourth-and-2 from the Commerce 41-yard line, Newsome made a crushing block of the middle linebacker. The block allowed Pendergrass to carry for a first down. 

The Mineola defense also had to step up in the second half. They held the Tigers to a single score and 119 yards of offense after halftime. They also made a handful of big plays. Those included a combined stop by Adam Blalock, Chris Rossie, Ainsley Steward and Alley on a third-and-short. 

The defensive play of the game came from Rossie at his defensive end position. Commerce had the ball at midfield with enough time to win the game in the final moments. The Tigers had a screen pass set-up beautifully. Rossie sensed the play, dropped off his pass rush and snagged the ball for an interception. His smart, athletic play preserved the win for Mineola.  

The Yellowjackets earned this week’s upcoming playoff game. Commerce, with their ample team speed, was also a great warm-up for facing a fast Jefferson squad. Jefferson will likely have noted that Commerce twice dropped long passes when their receivers had gotten behind the Yellowjacket secondary. Speed is tough to defend.

Game time is 7 p.m. Friday at Spring Hill High School.