Venom Resume Winning Ways, Defeat West Texas
Published on April 27, 2014 under Lone Star Football League (LSFL)
Amarillo Venom News Release
AMARILLO, Texas - After a back-and-forth affair for a majority of the game, the Amarillo Venom (3-2, LSFL) returned to the Cal Farley Coliseum with a 73-65 victory over the West Texas Wildcatters (1-4, LSFL) on April 26. The Venom are now in second place in the Lone Star Football League, by virtue of a tiebreaker win over the Rio Grande Valley Sol.
"I was tired of telling people that we're the best and that we needed to start showing it," Venom Head Coach Julian Reese said, in touching upon rallying his team throughout the game. "We have some great skill guys, but we had to show it and stop talking about how we were the best. Nobody is going to believe it until we do it, so we finally did it."
The beginning of the game started with a bang as quarterback Brendan Crawford completed a quick touchdown pass to wide receiver DJ Beshears. West Texas would counter the score, as quarterback Kasey Peters would find wide receiver Sedric Johnson to tie the game at 7-7.
After a go-ahead Jose Chavez field goal for the Venom, the Wildcatters used a short field from a failed onside kick as wide receiver Bobby Guillory scored from two out. With the failed PAT, West Texas led the Venom, 13-10.
Amarillo would reply in kind with a beautiful pass from Crawford to wide receiver Raymond Johnson to the Wildcatter two yard line. This big play would culminate with a touchdown rumble from fullback Undre Hendrix, enabling a 17-13 Venom advantage as the first quarter expired.
The Wildcatters would continue to keep the pressure on, as running back Robert Elliott would rush in for the score to retrieve a 20-17 West Texas lead. The Venom respond with a score of their own, as Hendrix scored his second rushing touchdown of the evening. With 12 minutes left to play, the Venom would lead the Wildcatters, 24-20.
While West Texas would score on a Peters to Morris touchdown pass, Raymond Johnson would take the subsequent kickoff to the house for a touchdown. In the span of more than two minutes, the Venom would again lead West Texas, 31-26. The Wildcatters would take the lead once more as Peters would connect with wide receiver Micah Burditt from ten yards out.
The fireworks would continue as the Venom would capitalize on another huge Raymond Johnson kickoff return, culminating in a Hendrix touchdown rush that saw a huge block by Crawford to ensure the score. After a Peters to Johnson touchdown for the Wildcatters, Crawford would issue a touchdown response with a floater to Raymond Johnson from 21 yards out.
With a Wildcatter field goal, both squads would enter the break with a tie game at 43-43.
The second half began in the same way as West Texas opened up with a three yard scamper from Elliott, before the Venom would return with a Crawford touchdown pass to a wide open Christian Caflisch to again tie the game at 50-50.
West Texas would fail to fade away, as Peters would connect with Guillory from 21 yards out for another touchdown. However, luck would run out for Peters as he was injured on the play. Guillory would then make the sudden transition from wide receiver to quarterback for the rest of the matchup. The Wildcatters would retake the lead, 57-50, with less than three minutes left in the third quarter.
To end the quarter, Crawford would connect with Beshears to tie the game and would turn a Wildcatter turnover on downs into another Hendrix score. This time, he would push the pile before falling into the endzone to put the Venom up for good at 64-57.
Aiding the Venom advantage was a slew of miscues and penalties by West Texas that pressed kicker Whitney Hillin into attempting a 60 yard field goal. The Venom would block the kick, resulting in a safety. After receiving a free kick, Amarillo would again see paydirt, as Crawford would be pressured into flipping the ball over to Hendrix for the final Venom touchdown of the game, this time from 11 yards out.
As the clock continued to wind down, West Texas would then yield an interception by to defensive back Kendrick Walker.
"My final thought was that we got it together," Walker said, detailing his mindset when he made the pick. "The secondary had a rough time in the first half, so we started communicating and got it together. It was the cherry on top."
This was the former Abilene Christian Wildcat's debut with the Venom in the 2014 campaign.
After Amarillo failed to capitalize on the turnover, the Wildcatters would then play for pride in the waning moments, as Guillory snuck through the right side for a four yard touchdown. With less than minute left, the Venom lead would be cut to a 73-65 advantage.
However, a failed onside kick for West Texas would ensure the Venom victory.
"We took coach's advice and gelled together," Crawford said, detailing the Venom's improvement over the past week. "Everything is a team effort. That is all that is was tonight, it wasn't one person playing good - it was everyone."
"[Crawford] just had to be quiet, play football, relax and don't try to do too much," Reese said, explaining the advice he gave for Crawford and the Venom. "When he is calm and didn't try to do too much, he's a really good quarterback. He did a good job tonight, he took his reads, didn't try to make every play and he made plays. That's what you have to do at the quarterback position, so I was very happy with his performance."
Crawford would use that guidance from the former quarterback in a big way, by playing lights out for Amarillo, going 16 of 23 for 199 yards and five touchdowns.
"It was amazing," Crawford said, when speaking of playing with his family in attendance. "I was smiling ear to ear from snap one to the end. My dad was in the military and retired not too long ago. That's why every time I came off the field, I saluted him. They haven't seen me play since freshman year in college, so I'm just bubbling right now."
Another star of the game was fullback Undre Hendrix, who added four rushing touchdowns and a touchdown reception for the winning cause. During one of the Venom touchdowns, Hendrix celebrated by treating the crowd with his signature salsa dance.
The Venom will now look to avenge their loss from April 19 at New Mexico by hosting the Stars at the Cal Farley Coliseum on May 5 at 7:05 p.m. The defending LSFL champions will also host Los Venom Night and Ladies Night. West Texas, on the other hand, will travel to the State Farm Arena in Hidalgo to take on the Rio Grande Valley Sol.
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 April 27, 2014
- Venom Resume Winning Ways, Defeat West Texas - Amarillo Venom
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