Calallen football stops last-second conversion attempt to win Charlie Reeve's debut

A game that featured 82 points ultimately came down to one stop.

Calallen came up with a deflection on a game-tying Gregory-Portland two-point conversion attempt with 24 seconds to play to give Charlie Reeve a victory in his debut as Calallen head coach a, 42-40 victory to open the season.

G-P drove 92 yards in 2:44 for the game-tying touchdown, only to see the conversion attempt fall harmlessly to the turf.

The game featured 684 yards rushing between the two teams, including 251 yards from Calallen’s Ricardo Rodriguez and 199 yards from G-P’s Cody Adame.

G-P had to go for two after a missed extra point early in the game and had one last chance with Reed Dooms, Adame and the offense after the defense pounced on a botched Calallen handoff.

But despite bending and allowing chunk plays and the potential game-tying score, Calallen came up with the one stop it had to have.

“It shows who we are,” Calallen senior Jude Hernandez said. “From the second coach Reeve came in here, he preached relentless energy. Any time adversity hits, it is how we respond, not what happened. It’s about the next play.

Shootout breaks out

Rodriquez broke off a 47-yard touchdown run on Calallen’s first series, the first of seven runs of 20 yards or longer for his team. But when G-P answered with a big kickoff return for a short field, it set the stage for a back-and-forth shootout.

Adame was the workhorse for G-P, tallying 199 yards on 26 carries with three touchdowns. But when they needed key yards and to keep the sticks moving, Rodriguez and Calallen quarterback Sebastian Dennis answered time and again.

Rodriquez’s two-touchdown effort on 22 carries for 251 yards led both teams, but Dennis added 19 carries for 103 yards. Hernandez added 74 all in first-half action, as Calallen rolled up 484 yards on the ground.

Special teams struggles put G-P in a hole as the team muffed two kickoffs to go with the botched extra point, but it nearly climbed out of the 22-point deficit with the furious fourth-quarter comeback.

They said it

Calallen running back Ricardo Rodriguez on the ground game: “We have a new head coach and a lot to prove. G-P and everyone doubted us. We came out trying to write our own story. We just went out and played hard every single play. The big plays helped out, made the team go crazy and set the tone for greatness."

Calallen head coach Charlie Reeve on the toughness his team showed: “Mental toughness is how you react when adversity hits. So many times tonight, whether it was after a turnover, or on the two-point conversion, guys really had to dig deep. We were fighting cramps, going both ways, (the last stop) says a lot about their character and mental toughness these kids have.”

More: Miller football forces five turnovers to speed past Veterans Memorial in rivalry matchup

Up next

Calallen (1-0) travels to Alice (1-0) next Friday. Gregory-Portland (0-1) faces Laredo Alexander next Friday.

NON-DISTRICT

Calallen 42, Gregory-Portland 40

Gregory-Portland 13 7 0 20 — 40

Calallen 7 21 14 0 — 42

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

CAL — Ricardo Rodriguez 47 run (Ian Perez kick), 6:23

GP — Reed Dooms 1 run (Ben Palacios kick), 4:37

GP — Cody Adame 41 run (kick failed), 2:17

Second quarter

CAL — Sebastian Dennis 1 run (Perez kick), 9:03

GP — Adame 5 run (Palacios kick), 5:14

CAL — Jude Hernandez 5 run (Perez kick), 3:49

CAL — Michael Viera 8 pass Dennis (Perez kick), 0:20

Third quarter

CAL — Jaden Cantu 8 run (Perez kick), 5:07

CAL — Rodriguez 38 run (Perez kick), 3:20

Fourth quarter

GP — Dooms 1 run (Palacios kick), 11:25

GP — Dooms 19 run (Palacios kick), 7:42

GP — Adame 3 run (conversion failed), 0:24

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: (GP) 28; (C) 21

Rushes-yards: (GP) 37-251; (C) 53-417

Passing: (GP) 146; (C) 26

Comp-Att-Int: (GP) 10-24-0; (C) 4-7-0

Punt-Avg: (GP) 2-32; (C) 3-38

Fum-Lost: (GP) 2-2; (C) 2-1

Pen-Yds: (GP) 3-20; (C) 7-60

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Gregory-Portland, Cody Adame 26-199, Reed Dooms 9-35, Johnny Long 2-17; Calallen, Ricardo Rodriguez 24-243, Sebastian Dennis 17-87, Jude Hernandez 9-71, Jaden Cantu 2-9, Reese Rusher 1-7

PASSING: Gregory-Portland, Dooms 10-24-0—146; Calallen, Dennis 4-7-0—26

RECEIVING: Gregory-Portland, Brandon Coates 5-119, Carter Dominguez 4-46, Brayden Flores 2-16; Calallen, Rusher 1-12, Michael Viera 2-11, Drayson Gamez 1-3

RECORDS: Gregory-Portland 0-1, Calallen 1-0

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Calallen football stops last-second conversion attempt to win Charlie Reeve's debut