Dawson opens season with 40-26 romp
September 8, 2009
BAYTOWN — The final score was closer than the actual game as the No. 8 area-ranked Dawson Eagles opened up the 2009 football campaign with a solid 40-26 win over Goose Creek Memorial at Stallworth Stadium in Baytown.
It really came as no surprise that the Eagles would have such an easy time against another new school that has only been open a couple of years in Baytown.
Baytown has two other high schools - Baytown Lee and Baytown Sterling so the upstart Memorial players are just now getting their feet wet at the varsity level.
Though this is only Dawson's third year in existence -- the Eagles have been together for two years and head coach Eric Wells and his coaching staff have seen his players come of age -- especially last year against some of the top teams in 4A that are a part of their District 24-4A family.
Dawson scored early and often in building a 27-6 halftime lead.
Quarterback Darian Lazard led the Eagles on the opening possession to score on an 11-play, 80-yard drive that was capped off with a two-yard plunge by senior fullback Akeem Blackshire. Stuart Watkins added the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 7:17 left in the first quarter.
Memorial was forced to punt after three plays giving the Eagles their next possession at their 19.
Dawson ran off the remaining 4:32 off the first quarter clock to the Memorial 12 yard line before Lazard broke free for the end zone, but bobbled the ball that eventually was kicked out of bounds for a touchback.
Four plays later, Dawson had the ball at their own 49 and it took only one play for the Eagles to get back on the scoreboard as Marcus Vaughn took a pitch from Lazard -- rolled to his right -- and threw a perfect pass to Piaget Gauthier for a touchdown. The extra point was good for a 14-0 lead with 9:03 left in the first half.
It took only two plays for Dawson's defense to get the ball back as Lawrence Alanis picked off a pass at the Memorial 32.
The short scoring drive was capped off by a pass from Lazard to Xavier Brown covering 13 yards. Watkins tacked on the extra point for a 21-0 advantage.
Memorial finally got untracked as they scored on a 10-play, 47-yard drive with 1:48 left in the second period. The extra point missed the mark leaving the score 21-6.
But Dawson needed only 1:21 to find the pay station again before intermission as Lazard scored on a one-yard sneak to complete the quick 60-yard drive. The key play was a 38-yard run by Lazard to set up the touchdown and a 27-6 halftime lead.
Dawson scored on their first two possessions of the second half as Blackshire scored his second touchdown of the game on a three-yard run and Lazard tossed his second scoring pass to Vaughn covering 27-yards giving the Eagles a commanding 40-6 lead with 6:45 left in the third quarter.
Memorial scored the final 20 points of the game mostly against the backup players for Dawson.
One of the keys to the win was the play in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
“We're a lot bigger and stronger from last year, and when our first unit was in there, we gave up only three or four first downs,” Wells said. “We had a lot of players running to the ball and that's what we want.”
Offensively, Dawson tackles Derrick Axtell and Aaron Davis, guards Jerrett Hill and Max Brown, and center Tyler Freeze set the tone for 530 total yards and 26 first downs.
“The offensive line played very well, especially for the first game of the year,” Wells said. “Like our defense, we have more size and strength this season, and (offensive line) coach Gabe Grant does a great job with them."
Lazard was 15 of 18 for 194 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 104 yards and a touchdown. Two of his long passes were drops that would have resulted in touchdowns or big gains on the opening drive.
“Darian made good decisions and he sat in there looking for something to open downfield,” Wells said. “When it doesn't, he can throw very well on the run, or gain yardage on his own.”
Dawson (1-0) will get ready to travel to Pasadena Memorial Stadium to face the 5A Dobie Longhorns (1-1) on Thursday, September 10 at 6:00 p.m.
Dobie beat Channelview 13-6 in its Aug. 27 opener and fell 27-17 at Dickinson last week.