LA MARQUE — The University Interscholastic League granted the Dickinson Gators a second chance on Friday.
They showed their appreciation by destroying the defending state champion La Marque Cougars, 44-23. With the victory, Dickinson clinched its first playoff berth since 2002.
“Our kids were down on Tuesday after finding out we may have to forfeit our wins,” said Dickinson head coach Warren Trahan. “But they kept their heads up and had a great week of practice. I can’t even call them kids anymore after this week. They turned into men and showed what type of character they have with this win tonight.”
Twelve hours before they were celebrating on the Etheredge Stadium field, the Gators learned they wouldn’t have to forfeit any of their seven previous victories because of a UIL rules violation discovered late last week. A varsity football player who had participated in every game this season was found to be enrolled in two athletic classes, which isn’t allowed by the UIL.
But on Friday morning at Friendswood High School, the District 23-4A executive committee ruled unanimously that while a rule was violated, it was an administration error and not the fault of the football program.
“At 10:15 this morning, I felt like a house had been lifted off my shoulders,” Trahan said. “But at 5:15 that house was back on when we were making the trip up here to face these guys. But our kids came out with a lot of emotion and earned that playoff spot.
“I’d say this is one of the biggest wins in my 31-year coaching career.”
Dickinson (8-1 overall, 4-1 district) came out of the gates with plenty of emotion and used that energy to score twice in the first three minutes. Kenneth Mullins scored on a 2-yard run, and following a La Marque turnover on their first offensive play of the game, quarterback Clay Honeycutt threw a 6-yard touchdown to Joseph Jones to build the early lead.
But the biggest stars for the Gators offense were running back Cobert Archie and their dominant offensive line.
Two weeks after having minor surgery on his left knee, Archie gained a team-high 145 yards on 29 carries.
“They told me after the surgery that some people are able to make it back in two weeks,” Archie said. “I said then, ‘I want to be one of those people.’ And thanks to the training staff I was able to be back that quickly.”
La Marque (8-2, 4-2) slowly started to chip away at the Gators lead. Denroy Vanhorne kicked a 20-yard field goal, Jairus Kerlegan scored on a 1-yard quarterback keeper and Shane Cams had a 12-yard touchdown, to cut the deficit to 17-15.
But Dickinson extended its lead to nine just before halftime, when Honeycutt found Logan Carey in the back of the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown. Honeycutt finished the game 9-for-20 passing for 205 yards and three touchdowns.
The defense made sure that 24-15 halftime lead was enough in the second half. La Marque could only muster 104 yards after halftime, as the Coogs struggled to stop the Gators’ pressure attack. Junior lineman Caleb Butler was the biggest reason, intercepting a pass and harassing the Cougars’ quarterback tandem of Kerlegan and Kevin Sanders all night.
“Our defense has been great all year,” Trahan said. “We took a chance by changing our defensive scheme in the offseason, but I think we did the right thing. These results are because of a lot of hours by our coaches and these kids.”
Dickinson started to pull away, with Mullins scoring on two more 1-yard touchdown runs. Donald Hunter put the icing on the cake, with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Honeycutt to give the Gators a commanding 43-15 lead in the fourth quarter.
La Marque head coach Chris Jones said there weren’t many positives to take from the beating, even though the Cougars clinched a playoff spot with Texas City’s 25-15 victory over Angleton.
“This was the worst we have played all year,” Jones said. “In all three phases of the game we were unacceptable. It seemed like we couldn’t catch a break and they took advantage of our turnovers and mistakes. Hopefully our kids get this out of their system now, because we can’t expect to win against good teams in the playoffs playing like this.”
La Marque has an off week before playing in the first round of the Class 4A, Division II playoffs.
Dickinson wraps up its regular season on Thursday with a home game against Brazosport. After that, a first-round match-up against Lamar Consolidated in the Division I playoffs awaits.
“It’s an awesome feeling to be back in the playoffs,” Trahan said. “I ain’t been in a while. But we still have one more game to go before we start thinking about that.”
