Published: October 11, 2008 01:38 am            

’Cats open district with win

The Palestine Wildcats only had to punt once Friday night against Fairfield and it turned out to be the biggest play of the game.

With the Wildcats clinging to a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, Palestine was forced to punt and it looked like the Eagles were going to have good field position.

But the punt was dropped by the Eagle returner and Palestine’s Kyle Cargill landed on the ball. The Wildcats went on to score another touchdown to secure the 40-26 homecoming win.

“We did a great job getting the punt off and Kyle has a great nose to the football,” Palestine special team’s coordinator Joey Mason said. “All 11 guys did a great job and that was such a big play.”

After going 1-4 in non-district play, Palestine responded with a win in the opening District 20-3A game. Fairfield goes to 2-4 on the season and 0-1 in district. “We had to get this win to start out right,” Palestine quarterback Olin Terry said.

It was another Fairfield turnover that turned the momentum around in the second half. With the score tied at 26-26, Fairfield was driving into Palestine territory but Eagle quarterback Dalton Piske was intercepted on third down by Asa Davidson, who stepped inside the receiver to get the turnover.

“We were in a cover-two and I was looking underneath,” Davidson said. “I was watching the quarterback’s eyes and the ball came in my hands.

“It was a big turning point for us.”

Terry started the Palestine drive with a 22-yard run and then converted on a third down with a 13-yard run. Sophomore Terrance Simon completed the drive when he flew around the corner for a 29-yard touchdown and Palestine led 33-26.

Fairfield started its possession inside Palestine territory as Piske returned the kickoff to the 46-yard line. After a 11-yard run by Chris Burns and a 15-yard face mask penalty by Palestine, the Eagles were at the Wildcat 20-yard line.

But the Wildcat defense stepped up, sacking Piske for a 5-yard loss and then forcing three incomplete passes as the Eagles turned the ball over on downs.

Palestine did not get a first down but Fairfield’s fumble on the punt gave the Wildcats a chance to seal the win.

Terry did just that, running the ball five times, finishing with a 2-yard score and Palestine led 40-26. Terry finished with 197 yards on 24 carries and three touchdowns.

“On that last drive, we told Olin he was going to carry every time and he took it on his shoulders,” Palestine offensive coordinator Jamie Driskell said. “He has that ability to take a game over.”

The Wildcats trailed 18-13 at halftime but it took only two plays to erase that lead. Terry started the second half with a 27-yard run then Simon split the middle of the defense for a 36-yard touchdown to give Palestine a 20-18 lead. Simon, making his first start at running back, rushed 12 times for 123 yards and two touchdowns.

“Terrance is our secret weapon,” Driskell said. “He stepped up tonight and was a complete back.”

Fairfield responded with an eight-play drive, including a 15-yard pass from Piske to Darius Scott to put the Eagles inside Palestine territory.

The Eagles got to the 2-yard line on Chris Burns’ 18-yard run and Piske did the rest with a 1-yard score as the Eagles’ reclaimed the lead 26-20.

But Palestine, doing all its damage on the ground, had a 33-yard run by Simon to put Palestine inside the Fairfield 20-yard line. Terry followed with a 10-yard run and then scored on a 1 yarder to tie the game at 26-26.

The Terry score was the start of 20 unanswered points by the Wildcats in the second half. Palestine did not attempt a pass in the second half, rushing for 260 yards.

“Our offensive line battled all night and took over the game,” Driskell said. “The first half, we played like we had been off for two weeks, but we knew we could mash it right at them in the second half.”

In the first half, Fairfield used good field position to help take a halftime lead. The Eagles started inside the 50-yard line on each of their scoring drives — including the Palestine 6-yard line after Keith Daniels recovered a Palestine fumble and returned it 22 yards.

Burns scored on the next play to give Fairfield a 12-6 lead. Burns scored Fairfield’s first two touchdowns and finished with 102 yards on 12 carries.

On Palestine’s next possession, Devin Venoy took the handoff and weaved his way through the Fairfield defense for 30 yards to the Fairfield 5-yard line.

On third down, the snap to Terry hit the ground, but the Palestine quarterback picked the ball up and ran up the middle for the 3-yard score to give Palestine a 13-12 lead.

But Fairfield would retake the lead heading into the half when Piske connected with Andre Gilley for a 23-yard screen pass; two plays later, it was Piske to Tevin Green for an 18-yard touchdown to give Fairfield a 18-13 lead.

Notes: Venoy had two carries for 52 yards and two catches for 10 yards. ...It is the first time this season the Wildcats have held their opponents to under 30 points and 200 yards. ...Piske started the game completing his first eight passes but finished the game missing on his last eight pass attempts.





Fairfield (0-1, 2-4) 6 12 8 0 — 26

Palestine (1-0, 2-5) 6 7 13 14 — 40



Fairfield — Chris Burns 21 run (kick failed)

Palestine — Olin Terry 8 run (kick failed)

Fairfield — Burns 6 run (run fails)

Palestine — Terry 3 run (Logan Atkinson kick)

Fairfield — Tevin Green 18 pass from Daulton Piske (pass failed)

Palestine — Terrance Simon 36 run (Atkinson kick)

Fairfield — Piste 1 run (Burns run)

Palestine — Terry 1 run (kick blocked)

Palestine — Simmon 29 run (Atkinson kick)

Palestine — Terry 2 run (Atkinson kick)



Fairfield Palestine

First downs 15 18

Rushes-yards 34-128 41-386

Passing yards 49 58

Total yards 177 444

Comp-Att-Int 8-16-1 7-13-0

Punts 2-46.2 1-28

Fumbles-Lost 3-1 3-1

Penalties-Yards 6-36 13-114



INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING — Fairfield: Burns, 12-102; Piste, 19-15; Darian Scott, 3-11. Palestine: Terry, 24-197; Simon, 12-123; Devin Venoy, 2-52; E.J. Spurlock, 3-14.

PASSING — Fairfield: Piske, 8-16-1-49. Palestine: Terry, 7-13-0-58.

RECEIVING — Fairfield: Scott, 3-31; Andre Gilley, 2-32; Green, 1-18; LaDarius Brackens, 1-8; Ryan Wyble, 1-3. Palestine: Eric Robertson, 2-20; Spurlock, 1-13; Venoy, 2-10; Sam Wren, 1-9; Coby Anderson, 1-6.

        

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