Hamilton v. Dobson

Dobson traveled to Hamilton fresh off their win over Chandler in attempts to beat the 5A state champs.

There was lots of scoring early and often as the 3 – 0 Hamilton Huskies hosted 3 – 0 Dobson Mustangs in a 5A Div 1 East Valley match up.

Recap: If you blinked or showed up late you might have missed the quick scoring of Hamilton and some costly mistakes by the Mustangs. It might have been nerves or the big stage that has become synonymous with playing the nationally ranked Huskies, but Dobson looked a bit dazed. Dobson received the kick-off to start the game and quickly went 3 and out to start the game. After a punt, the Hamilton Offense came out fired up, and on the first play from scrimmage Nathan Jeffery took the ball off right tackle and scooted 50 yards for a quick TD.  On the ensuing kick-off Dobson’s Jeff Myles fumbled the ball and Hamilton recovered on the 5 yard line. The Hamilton O once again scored with a quick scamper to the end-zone. Deja-vu on the next kick-off as Jeff Myles returned the kick-off and once again fumbled the ball, this time giving Hamilton the ball on the 12 yard line. Two plays later, it was Covaughn Deboskie’s turn as he rumbled in for a TD. Two missed PATs amid this slurry of TDs gave Hamilton an early 19 – 0 lead with a little over nine minutes left in the first quarter.

Hamilton wasn’t done yet. After a quick showing from the Mustang O and a punt, the Hamilton O once again came in with great field position. A few plays into the drive QB Justin Peters hit Gerell Robinson lined up as a wide-out for another 6. The PAT was good and Hamilton was out to a commanding 26 – 0 lead.

With the 1^st quarter winding down Dobson finally settled down and put together a small drive. It ended when Dobson QB Cody Lewis threw a 15 yard pass to his TE Tyler French, only to see it get picked off by Hamilton DB Ryan Milus.

On 1^st and 10 from the Dobson 30, Robinson came in as QB and showed his athleticism with a keeper for 20 yards. The Dobson D stiffened as Joey Hernandez made a nice tackle for a loss, and then as Robinson made a throw across his body that was picked off by Melvin Douglas to give Dobson there first decent field position of the night. End of the first quarter Hamilton 26, Dobson 0.

Dobson QB Cody Lewis called his own number to start things off in the second and picked up a tough 11 yards on the keeper. After a stuffed run up the gut, Dobson showed some trickery on the next play as Lewis made a backward pass to Josh Ferguson who then threw it down field to  Simon Fessahye who just beat the secondary. Simon won the foot race and Dobson was on the board. The PAT was good 26 – 7 Hamilton.

Hamilton responded with another solid drive. After a decent return by Drew Terrell, Hamilton started on the 45 yard line. Terrell had a nice run out of the backfield for a first down but it was negated by a penalty that put Hamilton in a 1^st and 20 situation. QB Justin Peters went deep to Kyle Petersen but just over threw him. Peters then showed his running ability with an option play that he kept and went for 25 yards down the right side. With a 1^st and goal on the 9, Deboskie took a hand off to the right for a gain of 7. Jeffery took the next hand-off between the tackles for his second TD of the half. The two-point conversion attempt failed, Hamilton on top 32-7 with 6:45 left to go in the half.

Dobson tried to get the running game going again with QB keepers and a couple “up the gut” runs by Kadeem Holmon, but the holes just weren’t there and Dobson was forced to punt once again. Terrell had another decent return and Hamilton had the ball on the 50 yard line looking to strike one more time before the half. Hamilton had one of their sloppier drives to end the half with a fumbled snap, and a tackle for a loss before Robinson, in at QB, hit Terrell for an inside screen that went for 15 yards. Robinson picked up another 10 with his running and hit Jeffery on an in route for 7. A holding penalty and an illegal chop block thwarted the drive and left Hamilton with a 3^rd and 25. As the last seconds of the half ticked down, Robinson threw a pass that was picked off by Kadeem Holmon to end the half. 32 – 7 Hamilton went to the locker room with a solid lead.

Some sloppy play from Hamilton plus the “never say die” attitude that Coach DeMassa instilled in his senior led team made for an exciting second half, but not before Hamilton once again showed why it is ranked number one in the division. Hamilton came out of the locker room and Terrell once again showed his skill as a return man taking the ball at the 6 yard line and getting it out to the 34. A quick pitch to Jeffrey for a gain of 3 set up a nice play action that saw Deboskie line up in the slot and speed up the field for a 60 yard TD pass from Peters. The PAT was good and just as the first half, Dobson wasn’t on the field for 3 minutes and Hamilton had scored, 39 – 7 Huskies.

Dobson’s Alex Diaz had a nice return to the 23 yard line. Where Dobson used a couple tough run plays to set up a 3^rd down screen pass to Melvin Douglas who got the ball to the 41 yard line. A holding penalty and an incomplete pass slowed the drive before Lewis called his own number and scrambled for 12 yards down the left side before getting gang tacked by Anthony Jones and Elliot Harper among others. A couple of screen plays to Jeff Myles for 20 yards and Simon Fessahye for 6 kept the chains moving. Dobson once again went deep into the playbook with a pitch out to Douglas then a pass back to QB Lewis who had rolled left down field – the pass went incomplete, but a pass interference was called. With a 1^st and goal Dobson needed only two plays to punch it in when Holmon went off tackle left for the TD. Pat was good 39 – 14 Hamilton.

A Solid Defensive display by Dobson, plus a couple Hamilton penalties after the score resulted in a 4^th and 14 for Hamilton. They punted away to Dobson but on the first play of Dobson drive to narrow the score, Lewis threw an interception to Milus to give Hamilton the ball on the 47. The Dobson D flexed their muscle with a sack by Douglas and a couple incomplete passes by Robinson. On a 4^th and 22 play after a Hamilton penalty, Peters threw a backward pass to Robinson that went just over his head, Diaz capitalized by grabbing the ball and running down the sideline to the 30 yard line.

It might have been the constant pounding from the Hamilton D but as of this drive Cody Lewis came out as QB and Nathan Walker took the snaps. After a quick keeper play by Walker the last seconds of the 3^rd ticked away with Dobson threatening down 39 – 14. The first play of the 4^th quarter was a drop back pass from Walker to a leaping Alex Rowe in the end-zone for a Dobson TD. The extra point was blocked, 39 – 20 Hamilton.  Dobson smelled blood and went for the on-side kick but failed to recover. Hamilton had the ball on their own 45. An incomplete pass by Walker down the field and a fumble on the pitch out allowed Dobson to get the ball back early in the 4^th, but with 4 downs they could only move the ball 2 yards and they turned it over on downs. It looked like Hamilton would run the clock out when Deboskie took a hand-off for 4 yards, but on the next play Robinson fumbled a quick pass to him from Peters and Dobson once again recovered.

Dobson went back to the running game and Holmon had some solid runs up the gut. That plus a Hamilton penalty put the Mustangs at first and goal from the 1 looking to still make a game of it. Hamilton showed why it boasts one of the better defenses in town. With 4 straight run plays the Husky D actually moved the ball backwards and on a 4^th and goal from the 4^th Dobson was stuffed and turned it over on downs.

The Hamilton offense had one last statement to make as they drove the field with a several Justin Peters runs and a nice pass from Peters to Terrell for 60 yards. It was all Deboskie from there as he took the next couple of hand-offs and finished with a stretch play to the strong side for six. The PAT was no good, Hamilton up 45 – 20 with 3:06 left to play.

Dobson had one more drive down the field against what looked to be the Hamilton 2 and 3 deep defense. A roughing the passer penalty and some more hard fought rushing yards once again got the Mustangs to a 1^st and goal situation and once again the Husky D locked down the LOS with two QB sacks on Walker. The 4^th down play was a lob pass to the corner of the end-zone that sailed over the receivers head. After the turnover on downs Hamilton came out and took a knee to end the game. 45 – 20 Huskies win.

Bottom Line: If Dobson doesn’t fumble the two kicks to start the game it might have been a different game. The Hamilton O is efficient enough, let alone when you give them a short field. Dobson was undersized and a bit slower, but had a ton of fight in them. The difference on the scoring drives is that Hamilton would get huge chunks and quick scores, while Dobson had to grind it out with gritty running, trick plays and screen passes. Hamilton flexed its muscle and showed why it is the top dog in the valley, but Coach DeMassa has a solid group of guys and after they settled down they looked good. Hamilton once again showed that the only thing that can kill their drives is when they are beating themselves with sloppy play or bad penalties, but when you have the talent they do, you can overcome these set backs. Dobson will regroup and make a solid showing in route to the play-offs.

Game balls: For Hamilton, it sounds like a broken record but take your pick. Any one of a dozen guys could be named. They have talent on Offense and Defense and the play makers made plays! For Dobson, the QB Lewis has heart and sacrificed his body on several tough running plays. Holmon and Myles look solid running the ball and Diaz looks decent at DB. Douglas looks to have some college level talent playing on both sides of the ball.