Published: November 16, 2009 10:37 am      

No. 1 Wolverines claw past Allen

GARBER — The Allen Mustangs had their shot at the best team in the state. Class B’s best showed them why they are the defending state champions — and seeking a repeat state title.

The Garber Wolverines won their 25th straight game, and began defense of their Class B state title with a 50-12 win over the Mustangs Friday night at Boyd Field at Warren Dell Stadium.

The season ends for the Mustangs at 7-4.

Despite facing a couple of mercy-rule chances by Class B’s top-ranked Wolverines (11-0), the Mustangs avoided that to keep the game going all four quarters — which pleased Allen coach Kenny Deaton.

“The kids never quit,” he said. “They played hard until the very end. They showed heart and class by finishing the game like they did.”

But despite the loss, Deaton and the Mustangs now know where they want to be come 2010 — and the 2009 season is just the beginning.

“We know what it takes to be No. 1 now,” he said. “They’ve seen it, and they realize they are not that far away. We’ve just got to eliminate mistakes, and we’ve got to grow up. I told these kids that they have nothing to be ashamed of. This is one of the best seasons for Allen football in 10 years. We’ve laid the foundation on which expect to build on. We’re a very young team, and we expect to be a better team next year. We just need to build on this (playoff trip), and continue to get better.”

If there was a play which epitomized the night for both teams, it came at the end of the game’s first possession — which was Allen’s. AHS punter Brady Caldwell went back to kick, but the Garber defense swarmed all over him and tackled the Mustang player at Allen 25 with 10:24 left in the first quarter.

Five plays later, Garber quarterback Dylan Postier threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Lamer. After Zac Powell scored the two-point conversion, Garber had an 8-0 lead.

The Wolverines scored on their second possession, as a four-play, 33-yard drive was capped by Cade Oller’s 2-yard TD run with 5:44 left in the period. After Tyler Miller caught the two-point conversion pass from Postier, Garber had a 16-0 lead after a period.

It looked like Allen was going to get back into the game by the end of the period. Allen’s Levi Howard recovered a Garber fumble off a punt at the Allen 48 with 2:32 remaining in the quarter.

The Mustangs drove as deep as the Garber 11 at the end of the period, but were stymied by two untimely penalties. On fourth down, Caldwell’s pass for Luke Mullicane fell incomplete with 11:07 left before halftime.

After each team exchanged interceptions, Garber took over at its own 48 with 9:42 remaining in the first half. Five plays later, Oller scored his second TD of the game on a 35-yard carry. After Lamer caught Postier’s two-point conversion pass, the Wolverines extended their lead to 24-0 with 6:57 remaining before halftime.

After stopping Allen once more, Garber scored on its ensuing possession. The Wolverines went 75 yards in nine plays as Postier threw his second TD of the first half, connecting nine yards with Miller with 1:50 left in the first half. After Powell scored his second two-point conversion, Garber enjoyed a 32-0 halftime lead.

Garber picked right off where it left off at the break. Despite a Postier 55-yard touchdown pass to Lamer nullified due to a holding penalty, the Wolverines still went 65 yards in six plays to hit paydirt once more. Postier still ended the drive with his third touchdown pass of the game, a 10-yard completion to Hayden Vencl. However, the two-point conversion failed, keeping Garber ahead 38-0 with 9:01 left in the third quarter.

The Wolverines still had a shot at a mercy-rule win, and almost got it. Garber scored on its next possession as a seven-play, 65-yard drive was capped by Jordan Avants’ 3-yard touchdown run with 3:20 left in the period. But Garber failed to score on the two-point conversion, missing out on a mercy-rule win — leading 44-0.

Allen took advantage of the opening provided to keep the game going. The Mustangs went 57 yards in seven plays to score their first playoff points. Caldwell’s 1-yard TD run with 1:10 remaining in the quarter cut the deficit to 44-6 as the Levi Howard was stopped on the two-point conversion run.

But Howard would later reach the end zone in grand fashion. After the Allen defense stopped Garber on downs at the Allen 6 with 6:17 left to play, Howard rambled down the east sidelines 94 yards for the touchdown. Caldwell’s two-point conversion pass for Hunter Harden was overthrown, keeping Garber on top 44-12 with 5:59 remaining to be played.

Garber capped the scoring on this night with a 51-yard, eight-play drive as Avants scored his second TD of the game on a 2-yard run with 1:52 left to play. A Garber fumble botched the two-point conversion attempt.

“We ran into a great football team,” Deaton said. “We knew coming in that we were going to have to play our best. We started out early with some mistakes, and we gave them short fields to drive. You can’t give a great football team short fields, and expect to keep them off the scoreboard all night.”