Football: Iraan comeback nets program's 500th victory

IRAAN The Iraan Braves wanted to immediately get into a “500” chant to celebrate the program’s 500th win as soon as the game was over.
Senior linebacker J.D. Tankersley shouted at them not to, not until the Stanton Buffaloes finished singing their school song on the other end of Braves Stadium.
After everything that happened in this game, what was another few seconds?
Iraan had already held on for a 42-35 nondistrict overtime win Friday night, needing a few inches on an extra-point kick, a crucial defensive penalty by Stanton and a gutsy performance by the Braves, led by sophomore quarterback Drew Fellows, who scored the game-winning 1-yard sneak in the extra period.
“For whatever reason, we were the people and the coaches and the players here to see Iraan win No. 500,” head coach John Fellows said. “We’re just a small piece of those wins.”
No. 500 had many important pieces, too.
Stanton (2-3) led 14-6 at halftime and saw Iraan tie it 14-14 early in the third quarter and come within 28-21 at the 9:02 mark in the fourth quarter on the first of three fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns, two by Jose Chavez.
But the Buffaloes’ Tomas Ramos returned the ensuing kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown and a 35-21 lead.
Iraan answered four plays later with a 41-yard touchdown run by Chavez down the right side to make it 35-28 with 8:15 remaining.
Then on fourth-and-4 on Stanton’s 29 with 5:20 left, Chavez had the first down on a run but fum-bled it away as he fell forward. But the Braves defense, like it did most of the second half, held strong and forced the Buffaloes to punt.
Behind 35-28 and facing fourth-and-goal on Stanton’s 2 with less than two minutes remaining, Drew Fellows bootlegged left and threw into coverage for an incompletion. But a defensive holding penalty gave Iraan first down at about the 2, and Fellows snuck it in.
“I’ve been on the other side of that penalty before,” John Fellows said. “That’s football.”
On the extra-point kick, Victor Arredondo’s try was just inches through the bottom right side of the post — “I almost had a heart attack,” Chavez said.
Iraan won the toss in overtime and in its first play went to something it didn’t really try until the fourth quarter: a pass.
After five attempts by Fellows in the first half and none in the third, he threw for three crucial first downs in the fourth. And to begin halftime starting from the Buffaloes’ 25, he went with a boot-leg right and flung it to Larry Galindo, who dove for the catch on the 1 to set up Fellows’ game-winner.
“That didn’t surprise us,” Stanton head coach John Peterson said of the pass. “They had been bootlegging almost all of the fourth quarter.”
On Stanton’s first overtime play, Iraan was penalized for roughing quarterback Tyler Fulton on a pass, giving the Buffaloes first-and-10 on the 12. But a run for minus-2 yards, another for 2 yards and, on third down, a run for minus-3 by Adam Montez in his first carry of the night set up fourth-and-11 from the 13.
After a timeout, Stanton came out in the shotgun formation with one receiver on the right and two on the left.
Fulton underthrew a receiver slanting to the inside from the left.
The celebration began but the chant had to wait.
Five-hundred, five-hundred, five-hundred …

Iraan 42, Stanton 35 (OT)

Stanton 14 0 14 7 0  — 35
Iraan 0 6 8 21 7  — 42
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SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
Stanton: Tomas Ramos 14 pass from Tyler Fulton (Ramos kick), 6:37.
Stanton: Adam Montez 41 pass from Fulton (Ramos kick), 5:36.
Second Quarter
Iraan: Carlos Rodriguez 9 run (kick blocked), 3:26.
Third Quarter
Iraan: Dakota Green 76 run (Drew Fellows run), 11:26.
Stanton: Fulton 5 run (Ramos kick), 6:25.
Stanton: Fulton 7 run (Ramos kick), 3:22.
Fourth Quarter
Iraan: Jose Chavez 2 run (Victor Arredondo kick), 9:02.
Stanton: Ramos 70 kickoff return (Ramos kick), 8:50
Iraan: Chavez 21 run (Arredondo kick), 8:15.
Iraan: Fellows 2 run (Arredondo kick), 1:35.
Overtime
Iraan: Fellows 1 run (Arredondo kick).
———
TEAM STATISTICS
 Stanton Iraan
First Downs     13     21
Total Yards     155     402
Rushes-Yards     36-64     43-307
Passing Yards     91     95
Passing     8-17-0     6-14-0
Fumbles-Lost     0-0     5-3
Punts-Avg     8-33.3     3-36.7
Penalties-Yards     5-25 8-77  
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Stanton: Nathan Nix 9-30, Tyler Fulton 19-26, Taylor Spinks 6-8, Spencer Cortez 1-3, Adam Montez 1-(-3). 
Iraan: Dakota Green 8-106, J.D. Tankersley 7-28, Drew Fellows 5-30, Jose Chavez 18-123, Bradley Ledford 3-8,  Carlos Rodriguez 2-12.
PASSING
Stanton: Fulton 8-17-0—91.
Iraan: Fellows 6-14-0— 95.
RECEIVING
Stanton: Tim Rodriguez 2-11, Tomas Ramos 2-21, Nix 1-1, Adam Montez 2-57, Oscar Reyna 1-1.
Iraan: Alex Arnold 1-15, Green 1-7, Terry Galindo 1-12; Bradley Ledford 2-42; Larry Galindo 1-24.