Published: November 07, 2009 05:18 pm      

Palestine defense puts pressure on Westwood

By SCOTT TYLER

Sports Editor



The Palestine defense had their backs to the wall in the opening minutes of Friday night’s must-win game against Westwood.

The Panthers took advantage of a Palestine personal foul call on fourth down to get new life. Then Westwood moved the ball down to the 2-yard line and was knocking on the door to take an early lead.

But then the Palestine defense rose to the occasion. On the first down play from the 2, the Wildcat defense was able to get into the back field, disrupting a play and forcing a fumble, which Westwood recovered on the 21-yard line.

After two Westwood false start penalties, the Wildcats got into the back field, getting two sacks to send Westwood back to the 45-yard line.

That series of plays was a microcosm of what Palestine’s defense did all night to Westwood — causing havoc.

“I am so proud of the way our kids played on defense,” Palestine head coach Booker Bowie said. “We got after it and made good things happen.”

The Palestine defense was flying around the field Friday night and in the process put the clamps on a potent Westwood offense.

“This was one of the better games we have played on defense against a quality opponent,” Bowie said. “It was a great team effort.”

Westwood came into Friday night averaging 363 yards and 28 points a game. But Palestine held the Panthers to 179 yards — their second lowest total of the season — and a season-low one score.

Palestine held Westwood in check with an aggressive defense that sent waves of players at quarterback Tevin Watson.

“We had to make sure we contained the quarterback,” Bowie said. “We had to keep him in the pocket because when he scrambles, good things happen for Westwood.”

Palestine put constant pressure on Watson with different blitzes that resulted in five sacks.

“We were able to rotate eight players up front and that helped keep us fresh,” Bowie said. “They were able to harass the quarterback and made big plays.”

When Watson was able to throw the football, he did not find much against the Palestine defense. Watson threw for a season-low 54 yards and completed only four passes.

“Our secondary did a really good job against a group of really good receivers,” Bowie said. “We were able to disguise our coverages, and the players ran the scheme well and were all over the field.”

Friday marked the first time this season Palestine’s defense has held an opponent under 200 yards. Bowie hopes the Wildcats can carry the defensive momentum into the playoffs.

“We are going to have a lot of confidence going into this week,” Bowie said. “They saw that they can do good things.”

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Scott Tyler may be contacted via e-mail at styler@palestineherald.com