A WIN IS A WIN | Tatum steadies itself, gets key win at Sabine

LIBERTY CITY – Sometimes, we make mistakes.

And sometimes, we correct ‘em.

The Tatum Eagles football team lost a fairly-large District 8-3A, Division I game a few weeks back at Atlanta, and since then, coach Whitney Keeling and his team have been spending time trying to atone for that.

The loss is in the books, regardless. But Tatum defeated a scrappy Sabine team, 31-21, on Friday night, and the Eagles, who have won two straight since that defeat, are looking good for the UIL Class 3A, Division I postseason.

Tatum (6-2, 2-1 in district play) plays at White Oak (0-8, 0-3) this coming week, while Sabine (2-6, 0-3), struggling to find its footing lately with four straight losses, will visit Atlanta.

Sabine took the opening kickoff at their own 33. Damin Richardson carried the ball for a first down, but the drive was stopped. On the ensuing punt, the snap was high and the punter could only land on the ball.  This gave the Eagles a very short field.

And they capitalized on it. It took Tatum three plays to score on a 28-yard run by DD Brooks.  Louis Chavez added the extra point and an early 7-0 Eagles lead.  The first quarter saw both defenses hold the opponents to trading punts. The Eagles would take the ball into the second quarter.

As the quarter began, the Eagles faced a fourth down, but in Cardinal territory.  Aden Swanson ran over the offensive line and dropped Eagle quarterback Dane Moore for a sack and turnover on downs.

The Cardinals handed the ball to Jackson Williams, who was stretching for a first down when the ball was stripped from him. Tatum’s Grayson Lee scooped it up and returned it for the score, giving the Eagles a 14-point lead.

Following a turnover on downs by the Cardinals, the Eagles were again in Cardinal territory.  On their first play. they went for a big play and Keiffer Serrano had his eye on the ball and intercepted Moore’s pass.

Sabine quarterback Griffin DeHoyos went to the air and found Syler Pierce for a 37-yard gain, but the drive ended deep in Eagle territory.

The Eagles took over and kept to the ground. Trading off carries by Ty Moore and Williams with a 29-yard gain by Williams, who ultimately went in for the score and a half time lead of 21-0.

The second half began with the Eagles running the ball up the middle, but Sabine’s defense was hitting hard. Ty Moore was driving when he was hit hard and fumbled the ball where Olien Pierce fell on it for the Cardinals.

The drive didn’t go anywhere, but was the turning point for the team. The next possession by the Eagles had the Cardinal defense hitting hard. The defensive line pushed through and forced Dane Moore to fumble and Dontae Tolbert came up with the ball for the Cardinals.

Sabine went to their bag of tricks.  A toss from DeHoyos back to Syler Pierce turned into a successful trick play: Pierce looked downfield and found his brother, Olien Pierce, who hauled in the touchdown. The added extra point by Avalos cut Tatum’s lead to 21-7.

Now with life, the defense again was hitting hard.

On the Eagles’ next drive, the D-line hit Brooks, who fumbled and Tolbert again came away with the ball. This time, Sabine’s offense gave Richardson a workout as he carried the ball into the fourth quarter.

Being spelled by two pass plays to Syler Pierce for 10 and 12 yards, Sabine took the final yard for the score to begin the quarter.

Now down just 21 -14, the Cardinals attempted an onside kick, but it failed. The defense again held the Eagles to a punt, but the Eagle defense held their own.

DeHoyos’ next pass was intercepted by Huntington Pintor, who sprinted 20 yards for the touchdown. The added extra point put the Eagles up 28-14.

Sabine’s offense was still playing to the comeback. They moved downfield yard by yard, but ultimately faced a fourth down and long. Richardson took the handoff around the left side and took it for a 19-yard gain to keep the drive alive.

Then, DeHoyos found Serrano open at Tatum’s 5-yard-line.  Serrano plucked the ball out of the air and avoided the defense for the touchdown, cutting Tatum’s lead to 28 -21.

 With about four minutes left, the Eagles kept to the ground.  On the first two plays, Brooks broke for 19 and 20 yards, respectively. The Cardinal defense was able to hold them from getting in the end zone, but on fourth down Louis Chavez booted a 25-yard field goal, putting the score almost out of reach, realistically.

The Cardinals had one last gasp to score quickly and get the ball back, but DeHoyos’ pass was picked off by Isael Guzman to seal the win for the Eagles.

The Cardinals were led by Richardson on offense with 100 yards on 29 carries and a score.  DeHoyos had 105 yards passing and a touchdown. Syler Pierce hauled in 62 yards on four catches, as well as the touchdown pass to his brother.

The defense was led by Tolbert with his two fumble recoveries. The Eagles were led by Brooks who carried for 90 yards and a score.