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Deer double up Mustangs in road win
Deer Park's Justin James (5) breaks free for a fun during the team's 20-10 road victory at Aldine. Photo by Cheryl Kennedy.Led by Demetrius Banks' 95 rushing yards and two touchdowns, the Deer football team shined brightly in its 20-10 road victory at Aldine. Banks' efforts were part of a showcase in front of a live television broadcast as KTRK's game of the week.
Unlike opening night, the Deer offense sustained drives, keeping them alive by keeping the Mustang defense on its heels. The tandem of Justin James and Banks combined for 208 of Deer Park's (2-0) 226 yards on the ground. Austin Rainer finished 6 of 14 for 51 yards and an interception. However, his completions kept drives alive as he found Darian Banks and Chase Gibbs a couple of times on short slant routes.
Deer Park opened the scoring with a 44-yard drive that culminated in a Jacob O'Neill 22-yard-field goal. Aldine (0-2) appeared to have a very loud answer when quarterback Jordan Moore found Davon Graves down the sideline for a 65-yard pass. The Mustang threat went for naught as they could only muster a 26-yard field goal to tie the game.
In the second quarter, Demetrius Banks led the offensive march down the field and broke through for a 28-yard touchdown run up the middle. O'Neill's point after was good and Deer Park was up 10-3.
However, he lead was short-lived as Aldine's Moore ran a quarterback keeper toward the right and found the end zone. The point after tied the game at 10. That's when things started turning Deer Park's way.
With time running out in the half, O'Neill and the Deer lined up for a 47-yard field goal. O'Neill's attempt hit the cross bar and bounced over for the long score and put Deer Park ahead for good 13-10.
The Deer opened the third quarter with a 64-yard drive where Demetrius Banks had rushing attempts of 7, 11, 13 yards before his 18-yard run put him in the end zone. O'Neill hit his second PAT to finish the scoring at 20-10.
Throughout the game the Deer defense held strong, particularly when Aldine went for the conversion on fourth down. The Mustangs went 0-3 on fourth down conversions.
"They were tough. They're fast and we played through the pain. We played a lot of plays tonight," said senior defensive lineman Taylor Friemuller. "We were tired, but we had to push through it. That's where playmakers come through. "
"I'm very proud of the way the defense played tonight. They played very well," said head coach Chris Massey. "[The offense] put them in a bind after we turned it over and they rose up. I can't any more proud of the way they played, in the second half especially.'
Slowly but surely, the Deer football team is turning into the team Massey knows it can be. After the win, he could tell how far the team had come in the span of a week. Still, he is the first to say there is much need for improvement.
"We have got to get first downs. We can't keep going three and out and punting the ball, although I will say Chase Gibbs did a heck of a job tonight punting the ball," he said.
"I think they [the offense] saw things a little bit better tonight and we did a good job upfront through the first drive of the second half," he said. "After that, I think we got complacent. We had a chance to keep getting first downs and even score but we didn't get it done."
Massey said Rainer's interception on an attempt to Darian Banks was difficult because it ended a drive that was deep in Mustang territory.
"That one was hard because the ball just popped in the air and they grabbed it. It looked like Austin threw a good pass and we had a chance to stick a dagger in them and didn't do it," Massey said. "I wish we could have put the foot on the throttle there on offense, especially in the fourth quarter."
Massy said he saw positives on the offensive side of the ball. "I think we showed we can move the ball effectively. We need to get the passing game coming along and it's getting better. We are capable of moving the ball but it's about consistency. We talked about that and doing the little things. Take care of little and good things will happen. We're getting better but we're not there yet."
Deer Park's next shot at improvement is Friday night at Abshier Stadium for homecoming. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. against undefeated Clear Creek.