Venom Fall Short of New Mexico Stars, 61-37
May 5, 2014 - Lone Star Football League (LSFL)
Amarillo Venom News Release
AMARILLO, Texas- Despite dominating in time of possession, the Amarillo Venom (3-3, LSFL) fell victim to the New Mexico Stars (3-3, LSFL), 61-37, at the Cal Farley Coliseum of the Amarillo Civic Center on May 3. Coupled with a San Angelo bye and a victory by Rio Grande Valley over West Texas, the Venom fall to fourth place in the Lone Star Football League by virtue of a 2-1 season series lead by the Stars.
"We have to fix our mistakes," Venom Head Coach Julian Reese said. "We have to limit turnovers. The turnover battle wins the game."
Early in the third contest between the two rival squads, the Stars would sustain an early drive by virtue of Amarillo Venom penalties. New Mexico quarterback Andrew McGlory would convert the drive into points with a touchdown scamper from 12 yards out. With the two point conversion, the Stars would take an 8-0 lead.
Thanks to a delay of game penalty committed by the Stars in their PAT attempt, the Venom would start deep in New Mexico territory. The Venom would persevere through a penalty ridden drive, as fullback/middle linebacker Undre Hendrix barreled in for the first of his two touchdowns of the evening. However, instead of keeping pace with the Stars, the Venom would settle to strike later as a successful Jose Chavez PAT, as New Mexico would lead 8-7 with less than eight minutes left in the first quarter.
The Stars would attempt to reply, but hit a snag as McGlory was sacked by Hendrix and would yield to a blocked field goal. These events would enable the Venom to begin with a short field and an opportunity to capture the lead. Unfortunately, penalties would again hamper the offense, pushing Amarillo to midfield.
After some pressure by the New Mexico defense, Venom quarterback Kevin Lauchland was forced into throwing an interception to defensive lineman Vincent Robinson. Robinson would return the ball to the Amarillo four yard line, where McGlory would connect with wide receiver James Cleveland for a New Mexico touchdown. With the successful PAT, the Stars would extend their early lead to 15-7.
"It's just going to days and days and days of practice," Lauchland said, speaking about gaining some chemistry with a new receiver corps. "Trying to get on the same page in two days was tough for everybody - for the receivers and the offensive line - everybody."
The game proved to be rough for Lauchland in his 2014 debut, as the Oklahoma Panhandle State product would go 18-32 for 144 yards and two interceptions.
"[The chemistry between Lauchland and the Venom wide receivers] is something that has to happen," Coach Reese said, further examining the struggle between Lauchland and the receivers. "It just has to mesh. We just have to make sure we have that mesh going, as far as our guys going at the correct depth and not doing something out of the ordinary and that's what had happened."
Due to two penalties committed by the Stars after the touchdown, the Venom were presented with another chance to keep pace with their bitter rival. Starting at the Star four yard line, Lauchland would scramble in for the score. Following the PAT, the Venom would trail the Stars by one once more.
McGlory would make a response of his own by picking up a botched handoff and rushing to the Amarillo 22 yard line. Despite being hindered by penalties, the yellow flags would aid the Stars before fullback Roosevelt Falls would rumble in for a score. With the successful PAT, the Stars would lead the Venom, 22-14 with ten minutes remaining in the half.
The Venom would start off at their own 12 yard line and would drive down the field, before Hendrix would commit a rare fumble at the New Mexico two yard line. Just as McGlory would drive the Stars to their own 14, before defensive back Mike Maldonado would intercept the ball off of a deflection and return the ball to the New Mexico one yard line.
"I'm just trying to make a play for my team," Maldonado said, going through his mindset when making the interceptions. "I'm just trying spark something to come back for us. I was just trying to help out my team the best that I could."
Maldonado would haul in three interceptions for the Venom against the Stars. The Mary Hardin Baylor product has captured by four picks thus far in the 2014 campaign.
However, the Venom would be pushed back to the New Mexico seven, before turning to Chavez for a 20 yard field goal. This would keep the Venom within striking range, as the Stars led Amarillo, 22-17 with two minutes remaining in the half.
Before halftime, McGlory would make a quick touchdown strike to wide receiver Jerome McGee for a Star touchdown. Although the two point conversion failed, the Stars stretched their lead to 11 at 28-17. The Venom would give a response of their own, as Chavez knocked in a field goal from 28 yards out.
Going into halftime, the Venom would trail the Stars, 28-20.
Returning from the break, the Venom would endure one of their roughest quarters in a long time. Beginning well enough with a Lauchland conversion on fourth down to the New Mexico four yard line, fullback Shaka Harris would cough up the ball. Recovered by defensive back Marcus Smith, the Stars would score and extend their lead to 35-20.
The ensuing Venom drive would not prove any better, as an attempted field goal by Jose Chavez would returned for a touchdown by wide receiver Roland Bruno. The Stars would push their lead to a 42-20 advantage.
Amarillo would attempt to counter the slew of miscues, but would only garner in another Jose Chavez field goal from 36 yards out. The Stars would respond in a huge way with a McGee kickoff return for a touchdown, giving the Stars a 48-23 lead to close out the third quarter.
To begin the final quarter of play, another Venom drive was halted by a sack on Lauchland. However, the Venom would show signs of life as Maldonado would pick off another McGlory pass in the endzone and returning the ball to the Amarillo ten yard line. Despite some movement by the offense, the drive stalled in New Mexico territory.
New Mexico would take advantage, as McGlory would connect with wide receiver Dexter Manley for the 38 yard touchdown pass. With the unsuccessful PAT, the Stars possessed a 55-23 lead with less than four minutes left in the game.
On the next Venom drive, Coach Julian Reese would pull the struggling Lauchland for backup quarterback Christian Caflisch, who played wide receiver for a majority of the game. Caflisch would hook up with Raymond Johnson into New Mexico territory, leading to the Hendrix touchdown rush. The two point conversion would fail, as the Venom would chip away at the New Mexico lead, 55-29.
"If you play a game like that, there are a lot of areas for improvement," Lauchland said, reflecting on his performance against the Stars. "I just have to go back to the drawing board. I have a lot of stuff that I can do better."
The Stars would take over at their own five yard line on the subsequent drive, before McGlory would give up a fumble to the Venom defense. As the Venom began their drive, Robinson was ejected from the game due to another unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Caflisch would finish the drive with a touchdown pass to Raymond Johnson. With the two point conversion, the Venom would trail the Stars 55-37 with 14 seconds left in the game.
After the failed onside kick attempt, the Stars would take over at the Venom nine yard line and capture a late touchdown as McGlory would connect with McGee once more from 11 yards out. After the unsuccessful PAT, the Stars would hold a 61-37 lead with five seconds left in the game.
To end the game, Caflisch would throw a desperate, last second heave only to be intercepted by defensive back Emmanuel McPhearson to seal the New Mexico victory.
With the loss, the Venom would fall to .500 for the second time in the 2014 season as the Stars would improve to .500 and hold a proverbial tiebreaker over Amarillo. While the Venom will look for answers in an upcoming bye week, the Stars will aim to move higher up the LSFL food chain against West Texas at Odessa on May 10.
"We're going to go to work every day," Maldonado said. "That's the thing about our group, we're going to come to watch film and hit practice hard. We're going to come back and we're going to get back to the top."
The Venom will return to the field on a Monday, as they travel to San Angelo to avenge an early season loss to the Bandits on May 19. Both New Mexico and Amarillo will lock horns one more time on May 24, as the Venom will return to the Cal Farley Coliseum at the Amarillo Civic Center. The Venom will also host Super Heroes Night, and will give away free backpacks for the festivity.
The Amarillo Venom are a proud member of the Lone Star Football League. For more information and tickets, contact the Amarillo Venom office at (806) 350-7277.
Lone Star Football League Stories from May 5, 2014
- Venom Fall Short of New Mexico Stars, 61-37 - Amarillo Venom
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