Published: November 07, 2009 12:26 am      

Tigers are back in playoffs

Corsicana beats Cleburne, 29-13, to end two-year drought

Boot camp. Accountability to your teammates. Wearing blue blazers to school on game day.

Buying into new coach Phil Castles and his way of doing things paid off for the Corsicana Tigers on Friday night.

The Tigers ended a two-season playoff drought on the final night of the regular season, dominating Cleburne, 29-13, in a win-and-your-in showdown at Tiger Stadium.

“It paid off,” said senior running back Cody Evans, who rushed for 143 yards. “I know that it must have since we’re going to the playoffs for the first time in two years.”

The Tigers were shell shocked by an early fake punt, touchdown and onside kick by the Yellow Jackets and never panicked, trailing 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Quarterback Cameron Cutrer scored on a sneak to cut the lead to 7-6. The Tigers then used a two-point play they practiced for this first time this week and scored, giving them the lead and a huge momentum boost with 5:15 left in the second quarter.

The Tigers then scored late in the first half to take control of the game. The defense responded by forcing Cleburne to punt from deep in its own territory, and Castles made a shrewd move, using the first of his three timeouts to stop the clock with 3:26 left in the first half.

That allowed his offense to relax getting the ball back around midfield, and the Tigers moved the ball down field methodically and Cutrer scored again on a quarterback sneak for a 15-7 halftime lead.

“That was a big stop and big score,” Castles said. “We had the momentum back.”

The Tigers used that positive feeling to open the third quarter with a 6 minute, 20 second drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Evans.

“That’s was a big drive,” Castles said. “We’ve had some long drives in the last few games that stalled out in the red zone.”

The Tigers didn’t stop there. Sophomore Johnathan Anderson scored on a 35-yard run with 2:08 left in the third quarter for a 29-7 lead, giving Corsicana complete control of the game.

The Tiger defense bottled up the Yellow Jackets in the second half, allowing just 85 yards, including 55 yards on 14 carries.

The Tigers finished with two 100-yard rushers — Evans had his 143 yards and Anderson had 120 yards on 13 carries.

The last time the Tigers were in the playoffs they played Waco High at Tiger Stadium in 2006. They’re back now after a coaching change and an attitude adjustment.

“I can’t ask for anything more,” Castles said. “We’ve played tough and the kids have bought into what we’re trying to do.”



Corsicana 29, Cleburne 13



Cleburne 7 0 0 6 — 13

Corsicana 0 15 14 0 — 29



First Quarter

CL: L.J. Holmes 2 run (Joel Salinas kick), 4:13

Second Quarter

CO: Cameron Cutrer 1 run (Cody Evans run), 5:15

CO: Cutrer 2 run (Grant Gibson kick), :38

Third Quarter

CO: Evans 1 run (Johnathan Anderson run), 5:40

CO: Anderson 35 run (run failed), 2:08

Fourth Quarter

CL: Broderick Martin 9 pass from Holmes (kick failed), 7:41



CL CO

First downs 12 18

Rushes-yards 36-117 45-300

Passing yards 63 15

C-A-I 10-20-0 1-4-1

Fumbles-lost 3-0 1-1

Punts-avg 2-39 1-33

Penalties 5-33 5-50



INDIVIDUALS

Rushing — CL: L.J. Holmes 12-63, Cody Hicks 9-60, Robert White 7-22, Brodrick Martin 1-(-2), Taylor Calahan 7-(-26). CO: Cody Evans 23-143, Johnathan Anderson 13-120, Dominic Kelly 3-28, Timothy Solomon 1-6, Cameron Cutrer 3-2, Javonti Hines 2-1.

Passing — CL: Calahan 7-16-0-42, Holmes 3-4-0-21. CO: Cutrer 1-4-1-15.

Receiving — CL: Martin 2-16, White 2-12, Bubba Oakes 1-11, Hicks 1-9, Jose Martinez 1-7, Holmes 1-5, Logan Nunn 2-3. CO: Christian Hines 1-15.