By Jim Irish
Photos by Dustyn Werner
Anderson head coach Donald Hatcher mercifully pulled his stormtroopers after the first half ahead 49-0 against Cedar Creek.
With the clock running continually in the second half to avert a disaster, Cedar Creek scored its first touchdowns in four games but lost 59-14 in a District 12-5A Division I game at Memorial Stadium on Friday.
Cedar Creek (0-7 overall, 0-5 in district) dropped its 32nd consecutive game under head coach Josh Thomas.
Hatcher admired Cedar Creek’s competitive spirit.
”Their guys didn’t quit,” Hatcher said. “They kept playing.”
Hatcher said he’s felt the sting of lopsided losses in his football tenure. The Trojans were 4-6 in each of his first two seasons. He’s turning the corner at Anderson, which hasn’t had much football tradition.
"Our guys are motivated. We've been on the other side of scores like this, too. Our guys take everyone seriously because we're not used to this (winning)."
-- Anderson head coach Donald Hatcher
”Our guys are motivated,” he said. “We’ve been on the other side of scores like this, too. There is no letdown. Our guys take everyone seriously because we’re not used to this (winning). And we’ve got to learn to be used to this if we want to stay at this level.”
Anderson (5-2, 2-2) has suffered its only losses in the district against A&M Consolidated and College Station, ranked No. 2 and No. 5 in Class 5A in Texas, respectively.
”We just got to learn to play four quarters,” Hatcher said.
Cedar Creek defensive back intercepted Anderson quarterback Max Gerlich inside the Trojans’ territory on the first play of the game. But the Eagles were unable to capitalize on the turnover. Later in the first, Cedar Creek kicker David Chavez had a 33-yard field goal blocked.
Anderson wasted no time. Quarterback Max Gerlich hit wide receiver Ed Small for a 15-yard score,
The Trojans were off to the races.
Anderson running back Dean Krenek broke into the endzone from the 3-yard line to increase the lead to 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
The Trojans added five more touchdowns in the second quarter, two on 29- and 15-yard runs by fleet running back Dominic Mays.
Gerlich, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound senior who has verbally committed to UTSA, threw scoring strikes of 13 and 65 yards to Tristan Waidelich and 27 yards to Small. In one half, Gerlich completed 10 of 13 passes for 238 yards.
Mays rushed for 104 yards on only four carries.
In the second half against Anderson’s substitutes, Kaleb Dowell stepped up for Cedar Creek, catching touchdowns of 30 and 7 yards from Eduardo Macedo, who started his third consecutive games after injuries to Blaze Orr and Dillon Dubee.
Anderson’s Zayden Sharp cut right on a kickoff and outran the Cedar Creek defense on a 78-yard score in the second half.
Anderson kicker Ryan Ostboe booted a 33-yard field goal.
Macedo displayed a better arm, completing 4 of 8 passes for 98 yards.
Cedar Creek visits A&M Consolidated (7-0, 5-0) at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Jim Irish is a freelance writer in Bastrop, Texas
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