LEAGUE CITY — Following Saturday night’s game at Veterans Memorial Stadium, it was tough to tell the Ball High Tornadoes had been handed their first loss of the season.
After what they had been through the past three weeks, a 17-7 loss to Clear Creek wasn’t going to damper their spirits — they were just glad to be playing football.
“We didn’t think we’d playing again after Ike,” said Ball High senior lineman Geremy Wilson. “That’s why it felt so good to be back out there tonight.
“After the National Anthem, I looked into the crowd and saw all the people from Galveston that were here. I had to soak the moment in. It was a pretty emotional night.”
When the Tors took the field for the first time — coaches and players walking side-by-side — they received a standing ovation from the entire crowd, including the Creek fans. The good will continued throughout the night, including members of the Creek spirit team displaying a banner at halftime for the Ball High fans — It takes a “Tornado” to survive a hurricane.
Thousands drove up from the devastated island to see their beloved Tors play. Many stayed around after the final whistle to give the players another ovation.
“Those kids were playing for the community tonight, and you could tell everyone from Galveston appreciated it,” said Ball High head coach Ron Holmes. “We would have liked to get the win, but it was good to get back on the football field. Now that we are getting back to normal, I guarantee that this will be a different and better ball club as the season progresses.”
The near monthlong gap between games was evident on the field. Ball High (1-1 overall, 0-1 district) was rusty, out of sync on offense and a little out of shape. Holmes said the team hadn’t even been able to lift weights in more than three weeks.
Yet the Tors hung around for most the game. They trailed just 3-0 at halftime, and weren’t really put away until Creek quarterback Marcus Mata threw a 69-yard pass to Brian Boyd in the fourth quarter.
“I’m glad we played them in their first game back,” said Clear Creek coach Darrell Warden. “You could tell the conditioning was not there yet, because they hadn’t played in so long. There is a difference between running in practice and being in game shape.
“I’d hate to play those guys down the stretch though after they’ve worked back into shape. They are going to be a real good team.”
Ball had several impressive drives offensively through the game, including the first drive of the contest when it marched all the way down to the Creek 4-yard line on a 17-play drive. But Dominique Brown was stopped on fourth-and-goal, preventing the Tors from putting points on the board.
The Tors got deep into Creek territory again in the third quarter, but the Wildcats came up with another fourth-down stop at the 8-yard line.
“Our offense was pretty rusty tonight,” Holmes said. “Our defense was outstanding, but we couldn’t find a way to get our offense on track. If we could have taken care of business in the red zone, it might have been a different result.”
Creek’s offense wasn’t lighting up the scoreboard early, either. The Wildcats only had 74 yards and three first downs in the first half.
However, Creek (2-2, 1-0) finally got things rolling in the second half. Following the fourth down stop by their defense at the 8-yard line, Mata directed an 11-play, 92-yard drive that was capped off by a 42-yard pass to Jordan Wright for a touchdown.
Mata finished the night with 180 yards passing, including the long touchdown pass to a wide-open Boyd in the fourth quarter.
“We knew their safeties were aggressive, and at times we were able to take advantage of that with some well-placed passes,” Warden said. “On that second touchdown pass, Marcus just had to lay it out there and hope Brian didn’t drop it.”
Boyd also led Creek in rushing with 74 yards. Tommy Henshaw also added a 39-yard field goal for the Wildcats in the first quarter.
Ball’s lone touchdown of the night came in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Richard Sincere appeared to be heading into the end zone, but he was stripped at the two-yard line. The ball rolled into the end zone, before Dominick Valdez fell on it for a touchdown.
Ball ended the contest with just 206 yards and 14 first downs. Marcus Ball led the way with 36 yards rushing, while Sincere threw for 89 and rushed for 19.
After the game, the two teams meet up at midfield for a unified prayer. The Creek players followed with several congratulatory hugs to plenty of smiling Tors.
“We were proud of the way we played tonight,” Sincere said. “We’re not going to let this get us down. We’re going to use it as a learning lesson to get better. But getting to play again tonight is the best feeling I’ve felt in a while.”
