Fourth-down gamble late in game pays off in 17-10 victory over Sealy

12/19/1999

By Philip Forester / The Dallas Morning News

IRVING - Retribution for the Commerce Tigers came with another fourth-quarter, white-knuckle gamble on Saturday night.

Four years after an ill-fated two-point conversion try cost Commerce at least a share of the Class 3A title, the Tigers cashed in with a gutsy fourth-and-1 call with just under two minutes to play in a 17-10 victory over Sealy.

Helen Jau / DMNCommerce players celebrate after beating Sealy, 17-10.

Holding a 17-10 lead and at their own 38, Tigers quarterback Chad Anderson knifed through a crease on the left side for a 3-yard gain that touched off an outpouring of relief and exhilaration from a Commerce sideline frustrated by two previous title-game losses to Sealy (14-1). The Tigers (16-0) ran out the clock from there to lock down the championship, a Division II victory at Texas Stadium in the final high school football game of the century.

For Commerce coach Steve Lineweaver, his fourth-down gamble was a call for the ages.

"If we don't get it, we probably lose the game," said Lineweaver, whose Tigers lost to Sealy in the 1995 and 1997 championship games. "I felt it was worth the risk."

Four years ago at Waco's Floyd Casey Stadium, Lineweaver called for a two-point conversion in the final minute that failed in a 21-20 loss to Sealy. Had Commerce kicked the extra point and tied, 21-21, the two teams would have shared the title. In 1997, the Tigers lost to Sealy, 28-21, despite a marked edge in total yards and first downs.

On Saturday, statistics didn't matter to Commerce, which was held to a season-low 97 rushing yards on 44 attempts. The Tigers' Wishbone offense had come into the title game averaging 323.5 yards on the ground. Sealy gummed up the middle of the line for much of the night and kept Anderson scrambling behind it on pass attempts. Anderson finished with a team-high 36 yards rushing, but he also completed 5 of 7 passes for 113 yards and a score.

"It turned into a defensive game, but we put it into our defense's hands to win it," said Anderson, who was a starting free safety as a sophomore on the '97 team.

The Tiger defense surrendered a 65-play scoring drive to open up the game, but allowed only 140 yards the rest of the way. Commerce also forced three fumbles, recovering them all, the last of which stopped a Sealy drive at the Tiger 12 with 8:52 left in the game.

"You can't make mistakes like that and hope to win in a championship game," said Sealy coach T.J. Mills, who led the Tigers to four straight 3A crowns from 1994-97.

The Tigers took a 10-7 lead into halftime, but they could've been up by much more. Commerce had three drives end in Sealy territory, but twice turned the ball over on downs and the other time Anderson was picked off by Aaron Pless.

After Isiah Joiner scored on a 20-yard run to give Sealy a 7-0 lead, the Tigers answered back with a 46-yard march that was set up by Tommy Wright's 47-yard kickoff return. Anderson tied the score on a 1-yard plunge. Early in the second quarter, Ryan Sienty hit a 23-yard field goal to give Commerce a 10-7 lead.

The Tigers opened the third quarter with a 49-yard scoring drive that was capped off by Anderson's 22-yard pass to halfback Avin Johnson, who had slipped behind cornerback Justin Turner at the goal line. Sealy cut the deficit with a 30-yard field goal by Javier Barrios late in the third quarter.

Sealy ends the 1990s as Class 3A's winningest team. The Tigers were 114-19 in the decade. Commerce was 3A's second-winningest team, at 104-24-4 . . . Sealy halfback Brian Johnson, a three-year starter, sat out the second half nursing an injury. He finished with six yards on seven carries and closed out the season with 2,227 rushing yards . . . Commerce, which had one giveaway Saturday, turned the ball over just 18 times in 16 games . . . Sealy was held 192.6 yards and 29.9 points below its offensive average. Commerce 197.3 yards and 20.5 points below its usual output . . . Despite many post-season appearances, Sealy had not played in Texas Stadium until Saturday . . . Commerce's Antonio Kull recovered two fumbles, one on offense and one on defense.

Philip Forester is a free-lance writer based in Garland.