The Clear Brook Wolverines hosted the Galveston Ball Golden Tornadoes in District 24-5A action on Thursday night, and Clear Brook let one slip right through its hands, literally.

With just over two minutes to go and Clear Brook down 18-16, Brook couldn’t make the connection on a pitch out.  Ball came up with the loose ball and managed to maintain possession, running out the clock.

Coming into the contest, Ball (5-1 overall, 2-0 district) was averaging 34 points over their last three games, and Brook was giving up 36 points per contest over their last three games. With numbers like these, it was Clear Brook that was thought to have a serious challenge awaiting them.

Brook paid no attention to what the statistics said about their possibilities of winning.  They held Ball scoreless until the 1:10 mark of the first quarter, when Ball’s Andre Patino scored from one yard out, giving Ball a 6-0 lead.

Both teams defenses hung tough, but it was Clear Brook (2-5, 1-2) that was able to pick off a Patino pass late in the first quarter. Clear Brook completed a deep pass on first down, giving them a first-and-goal inside the 5 yard line. Carey Jennings then punched it in for a one yard touchdown at the 3:43 mark of the first quarter, tying the score at 6.

The Ball offense went right to work, as they took a little more than two-and-a-half minutes to score on a 25-yard Patino pass to Danny Swan, giving Ball a 12-6 lead. Alex Wright ad a 33-yard field goal for Brook at the end of the first half, and Ball took a 12-9 lead into halftime.

Both teams continued to play well on the defensive side of the ball in the second half. Ball was finally able to put some second half points on the board at the 8:29 mark of the third quarter when Patino scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, putting Ball ahead 18-9.

This relatively low score was not what most fans expected, but Ball coach Ron Holmes was not necessarily anticipating big numbers.

“We don’t have any superheroes, but we always stress someone has to make a big hit or something,” he said.

Clear Brook dug deep and was able to keep the game close going into the fourth quarter hoping their offense could find a way to close the gap to within one score. They got just what they needed when quarterback Lane Berry scored on a one-yard keeper early in the fourth quarter, cutting Ball's lead to 18-16.

With the home crowd cheering wildly and only three minutes remaining on the game clock, Brook took possession of the ball, hoping to drive for the winning score. With the Ball defense back on their heels, and the Clear Brook offense on the move, the crowd fell silent when Berry could not make the connection on the pitch out. Ball scooped up the turnover and looked to put the game away.

Clear Brook used all three of their timeouts to stop the clock as their defense held Ball, forcing them to punt. But just like the turnover on the pitch out, Brook’s roughing the kicker penalty once again silenced the crowd, as Ball was awarded an automatic first down on the infraction, denying Brook the opportunity to provide a dramatic last-minute win for the home crowd.

“Like I told the kids at halftime, we would bend but we wouldn’t break,” he said. “You have to play responsible football. Somebody is assigned to the quarterback, fullback, and the pitchback.”

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