FOOTBALL: Braves win with defense

SAN ANGELO When he took over defensive play-calling duties during preseason practices this year, Iraan head coach John Fellows gave the unit a nickname: Black Rain.

Fellows’ son, Drew, said it’s a reference to nuclear fallout, which “just shuts everything out and kills everything.”

That’s pretty much what the Iraan defense did in its playoff opener Friday night. Miles came away with only six points in four trips inside the 20-yard line, and the Braves ran away with a 40-12 win in a Class 1A Division II bi-district matchup at San Angelo Stadium.

PHOTO GALLERY: Iraan vs. Miles (mobile)

“We pride ourselves on being the ‘Black Rain’ defense,” said Drew Fellows, a senior free safety. “And when we get down in the red zone, we say it’s attitude. You’ve got to smell it on offense and deny it on defense.”

Iraan (9-2), which advances to face Windthorst (9-1) in the area round at 5 p.m. Saturday in Sweetwater, got its first red-zone stop with a 12-0 lead early in the second quarter. Miles (6-5) got all the way to the 8-yard line before Iraan’s Robert Reyes recovered a fumbled handoff on fourth down.

The Braves marched down the field and scored again for a 19-0 lead, and then denied Miles again at the end of the first half. The Bulldogs started at their own 30-yard line with 1 minute, 6 seconds left in the half and quickly drove down the field, but running Hayden Ray was stopped at the 1-yard line as the second quarter expired.

“It was just disheartening,” Miles coach Wade Cribbs said. “If we score there — because we came out and scored on the first series (of the second half) — it’s a lot more competitive.”

After the Bulldogs started the third quarter with a 72-yard touchdown drive, Iraan answered with a quick 50-yard drive to re-extend its lead. The Braves then got their last red-zone stop on the ensuing possession, when a fourth-down pass by Dawson Halfmann was incomplete.

Drew Fellows burst up the middle for an 88-yard touchdown run on the next snap. At that point, with the Braves leading 33-6 with 2:31 left in the third quarter, the game might as well have been over.

“We kind of dropped our heads,” Cribbs said, “and they’re athletic enough to make us suffer.”

The backfield tandem of Fellows and Zeth Hernandez was too much for Miles to handle, accounting for four touchdowns and 458 of Iraan’s 545 total yards.

Fellows, a senior, rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns and also completed a halfback pass for 29 yards. Hernandez, a junior, rushed for 100 yards in the first half, added a rushing touchdown in the second half and finished 8-of-11 passing for 167 yards with a touchdown to Austin Ramirez.

 “Pick your poison, really,” Hernandez said. “Give me the ball, give Drew the ball, we’ll do whatever we can to win.”

The win sends Iraan to the area round for the sixth season in a row. It also was the Braves’ first playoff win since 2009, because the team lost an area-round matchup against Munday last year after having a first-round bye.

The prize Friday night was a gold trophy in the shape of a football, and the Braves hope to collect some more.

“We won one, and now our goal is to keep winning them,” Drew Fellows said. “No matter who’s in our way, we’re just going to keep playing hard and keep going for a gold ball.”

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>> Iraan 40, Miles 12

CLASS 1A DIVISION II BI-DISTRICT PLAYOFF

At San Angelo Stadium

Miles                          0    0       6    6   —     12

Iraan                        12    7     14    7   —     40

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

Iraan: Kory Hartman 10 run (kick failed); 8:48.

Iraan: Drew Fellows 2 run (kick failed); 2:08.

Second Quarter

Iraan: Austin Ramirez 40 pass from Zeth Hernandez (Drew Fellows kick); 6:19.

Third Quarter

Miles: Hayden Ray 14 pass from Dawson Halfmann (run failed); 8:27.

Iraan: Zeth Hernandez 20 run (Drew Fellows kick); 6:50.

Iraan: Drew Fellows 88 run (Drew Fellows kick); 2:31.

Fourth Quarter

Iraan: Rafael Rodriguez 6 run (Drew Fellows kick); 3:08.

Miles: Shelton Hohensee 95 kickoff return (pass failed); 2:53.

TEAM STATISTICS

Yardstick                                  Miles                 Iraan

First Downs......................... 17                      23

Total Yards....................... 264                    545

Rushes-Yards............. 34-194              44-344

Passing Yards.................... 70                    201

Passing..................... 12-20-0             10-15-0

Punts-Avg........................ 38.8               1-29.0

Fumbles-Lost.................... 5-1                    2-0

Penalties......................... 1-10                11-75

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

Miles: Hayden Ray 12-109, Dawson Halfmann 13-105, Ryan Walter 1-9, Troy Halfmann 1-1, Victor Cano 2-0, Shelton Hohensee 1-0, Lesarius Alton 1-(-2), Kyle Fischer 1-(-3), Team 2-(-25).

Iraan: Drew Fellows 12-143, Zeth Hernandez 13-114, Kory Hartman 6-35, Rafael Rodriguez 5-24, Chance Hernandez 3-16, Wheeler Allen 2-11, Austin Ramirez 2-8, Team 1-(-7).

Passing

Miles: Dawson Halfmann 12-20-0 – 70.

Iraan: Zeth Hernandez 8-11-0 – 167, Drew Fellows 2-4-0 – 34.

Receiving

Miles: Ryan Walter 3-20, Hayden Ray 3-17, Kyle Fischer 1-11, Colton Wilson 2-9, Victor Cano 2-9, Troy Halfmann 1-4.

Iraan: Austin Ramirez 4-71, Brady Burks 1-41, Kory Hartman 1-33, Tyler Galindo 1-29, Cole Banner 1-12, Drew Fellows 1-10, Devin Griffin 1-5.