Commerce advances to football quarterfinals

By Kevin Carson 12/03/00
Special to the Herald Banner

MESQUITE - The Spring Hill Panthers were handed their hat, or more precisely, their "Hatley" by Commerce Saturday as the Tigers earned a punishing 21-10 Class 3A Division II Region II final victory at Mesquite Memorial Stadium.
The win, which extended the Commerce win streak to 29 games, propels the defending Class 3A Division II state champions into a quarterfinal rematch with district rival Forney next Friday at Texas Stadium. Game time is slated for 7:30 p.m. in Irving. Spring Hill finishes the year with a 10-3 mark.
Senior Larry Hatley was the catalyst for a spirited Tiger defense that forced four Panther turnovers and sacked Spring Hill quarterback Jim Alford three times. Two of those sacks resulted in fumbles.
"We pride ourselves in being a physical team and I don't think there
are more physical players around," said Commerce head coach Steve Bragg, who saw his seventh-ranked team improve to 13-0 on the season. "Larry had a huge game today and led us on both sides of the ball. He is a senior and a team leader and knows what has to be done."
Hatley was a factor on both sides of the ball. Defensively, he broke up five Alford passes, forced a fumble and recovered it, and intercepted a halfback pass by David Brelsford to end a Panther drive. On offense, he led all rushers with 110 yards on just nine carries, including an 86-yarder on second and 10 from inside the Commerce 2-yard line.
"They just caught me," said Hatley of his cross-country run that set up the final Commerce score. "I am not as fast as our other backs and I amjust in there to make a play every once in a while."
He made more than an occasional outstanding play in this game though. And virtually every one of his contributions on both sides of the ball came at critical times.
In fact, his backbreaking run came just moments after another stellar defensive play that atoned for his only miscue of the game, a fumbled punt at the Commerce 32 .
The Commerce defense protected a shaky 14-10 lead following the
turnover, though, as a pair of Spring Hill runs netted a loss of 12 yards.
Alford then went deep on third and 22, but Hatley broke up the pass at the 15 yard line and the Panthers were forced to punt.
Panther punter Jarrett Brelsford, who averaged 37.2 yards on six punts, pinned the Tigers back on the 2-yard line. A holding penalty on first down moved the ball back to the one and Larry Mercer was stacked up at the two on the next play.
But Hatley broke through a huge hole on the left side of the line and advanced to the Panther 13 before being forced out of bounds. Tommy Wright, who accounted for 50 yards on 11 carries, then added the insurance touchdown two plays later on a 12-yard run. Freshman kicker Bart Bryant added his third point-after kick of the day and the Tigers could finally breathe easy, 21-10, with 3:42 remaining in the game.
"I was mad about the fumble and just knew I had to hold on to the
football and not fumble again," continued Hatley.
A game dominated by the Commerce defense seemed almost surreal
considering the start of the contest.
Commerce had won the coin toss and opted to defer to the second half. But the Tigers got the opening kickoff anyway as Spring Hill elected to take advantage of a stiff northerly wind, which was gusting up to 40 miles per hour.
The scheme backfired for the Panthers though as Commerce marched 80 yards on just six plays. Mercer topped off the drive with a 10-yard scoring run and Bryant's kick gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead just two minutes into the game.
But Spring Hill answered quickly, almost too quickly, as Alford needed just two pass plays to answer. The first, which was good for 34 yards to Michael Stanton, advanced the ball to the Commerce 44. The second, a quick slant to freshman Jamario Thomas, was good for the score. Brelsford added the point-after and the game was knotted, 7-7 with 9:10 left to play in the opening quarter.
Then Hatley and the Commerce defense took over as they applied more pressure on Alford. And Alford and the rest of the Panther offense began to suffer the consequences.
The first came with about four minutes left in the first quarter when a short Commerce punt had given the Panthers the ball at the Commerce 46.
Alford hit Josh Kelley with a 10-yard pass to give Spring Hill a first
down at the 32. But Antonio Kull and Justin Rogers delivered a
bone-crushing hit on a sack of Alford on the next play, forcing a fumble and Rogers recovered at the 34 yard line.
"We starting hitting Alford a little and became more physical with his receivers," said Bragg. "They (the receivers) started looking for our
defensive backs more and they lost some concentration. Alford was forced to move around more and that threw his timing off. He took some big hits the rest of the game."
Zach Phifer rattled Alford again two possessions later as he jarred the ball loose from Alford on a sack and David Petty pounced on fumble at the Panther 35 yard-line.
Commerce couldn't capitalize on this turnover either as the short drive stalled. Bryant came onto to attempt a long 45-yard field goal, but the kick was short and the score remained tied, 7-7, at intermission.
The Tigers elected to receive the second half kickoff and Spring Hill
again elected to take the wind. And while Commerce didn't score on the
resulting drive this time, the decision again proved disastrous for the
Panthers.
Commerce was forced to punt on their opening drive of the second half but Hatley stepped up big again just two plays later when he hit Stanton following an eight yard pass reception, which would have given the Panthers a first down near mid field. But Hatley's hit jarred the ball free and he scrambled to recover the fumble at the Panther 42-yard line.
Quarterback Brodrick Kelley went to the air on first down and Matt
Woodley made a diving catch for a 33-yard gain at the Panther nine yard
line. DeMarcus Harrison, who gained 74 yards on 10 carries, gave the
Tigers the lead two plays later on a one-yard run. Bryant again converted the point-after and Commerce held a 14-7 advantage with 9:03 left to play.
"They had been jamming us on the line with an eight-man front most of the game, but that opens up the pass over the top. We found an opportunity to hit it and Woodley made a nice catch to set up the score," said Bragg.
Brelsford and the Panthers made the game interesting on the next drive as the junior kicker nailed a 56-yard field goal to close the margin to 14-10 with 3:02 to play in the third period.
Spring Hill had advanced to the Tiger 35 yard line on the long drive,
but again the defense stepped up. Rogers sacked Alford for a nine-yard loss on first down and Hatley deflected a pass on third down, forcing the
Panthers to settle for the improbable field goal attempt.
Hatley even had the opportunity to break up a pass on offense midway through the final period. Kelley was forced out of the pocket on a first own pass attempt and his throw, which was intended for Hatley down the left sideline, appeared to be intercepted by the Panthers.
But Hatley delivered a massive hit on defensive back Josh Symank and the ball was forced out and ruled incomplete.
Spring Hill would threaten just once more as they advanced to the Tiger 17 with 1:43 left. But the drive stalled and Brelsford's 38-yard field goal attempt into the stiff north wind was wide.
Overall, the Tigers outgained Spring Hill, 272-227 in total yardage.
Alford managed 201 yards passing but he completed just 12-of-33 pass
attempts and fumbled twice.
Eight different runners, led by Hatley, Harrison, and Wright rushed for 258 yards and averaged 5.2 yards per carry.