Wednesday, September 18, 1996

Bridgeport quarterback sets 3A record
By JAIME ARON
Associated Press

DALLAS - Pilot Point coaches saw how well Bridgeport used its running game and screen passes to pick apart Fort Worth Castleberry in its season opener, so they devised a defensive plan to cut off those sources of yardage.

It worked - maybe too much.

Forced instead to throw deep, Bridgeport quarterback Jacob Allen completed 21 of 31 passes for 488 yards and five touchdowns, including bombs of 54 and 75 yards.

Allen broke the Class 3A record of 466 yards set by Floresville's Gabriel DeLeon in 1978 and moved into No. 8 on the state's all-time single-game yardage list. The performance also earned him top honors on this week's Associated Press honor roll.

"It was the way the game was going and the things other team was doing that lent itself to having a big night," Bridgeport coach Danny Henson said.

"Pilot Point did a real good job of shutting down our running game. It got to a point where we had to throw and, fortunately, we had a real good night in the throwing department."

Pilot Point's defense helped its offense take a 13-7 halftime lead. Bridgeport opened the third quarter with a nice drive that ended in a touchdown.

"Then we got the ball back and scored again. From there, it kind of snowballed," said Henson, who pulled Allen early in the fourth quarter, unaware he was so close to becoming only the fifth player in state history to throw for 500 yards in a game.

"I knew he was having a great night and he was getting big yardage, but I didn't really realize it was getting to state proportions like that," Henson said.

Allen's favorite target was tight end Brandon Norman, who happened to be playing his first game of the year after suffering a left shoulder separation. He caught eight passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns. Receiver Ryan Reynolds caught six passes for 168 yards and a score.

"He has a real soft touch," Henson said of Allen. "He throws hard when he needs to, but he's real good about getting the right speed he needs to."

Allen's performance didn't surprise Henson because he has seen him blossom since the end of last season, when he threw for 1,975 yards.

Allen was the defensive player of the year in basketball, an all-district first baseman and he advanced to the regional track meet in the 400 meters and the mile relay.

Along the way, Allen's body matured. He fueled the process with aggressive workouts, allowing him to enter this season bigger, stronger and faster.

Allen is still filling into his 6-foot-1 frame, weighing 175 pounds now with more room to go. He bench presses 260-plus pounds and has cut his time in the 40 from 5.1 seconds to 4.7.

"It makes things so much easier for him," Henson said.

Recruiters didn't think much of Allen last year, but Henson hopes they come back to check out the new-and-improved version.

"Jacob is kind of a late bloomer athletically," Henson said. "He's thin, but not little. He's matured a ton (physically), and he probably still has some more maturing to do over the next couple of years.

"I'd hope a college would look at that and realize by the time they'll be ready for him, he'll be a lot bigger and faster."

Other notable Week Two performances included:

--- Wes James of Amarillo Boys Ranch needed only 16 carries to set a school record with 232 yards, including touchdowns of 47, 5, 45 and 49 yards in a 60-8 pasting of Clarendon, the school's biggest margin of victory in a quarter-century. The previous record of 219 yards was held by Eddie Taylor, now a Boys Ranch assistant coach. James also made 11 tackles.

---- North Mesquite's defense gets a group kudo for holding Odessa Permian to 96 total yards in its 27-0 victory. Linebacker Christian Rodriguez made 10 tackles, had two sacks and recovered a fumble.

--- Cecil Cooper helped Friona knock West Texas out of the 2A poll with 10 tackles and a sack in the 21-14 upset victory.

--- Groesbeck may have lost 14-0 to Cameron, but don't blame Tommy Tull. It may have been worse had he not made 18 tackles, had two sacks, forced one fumble and recovered three of them.

---Trey Carlisle kicked a 37-yard field goal with five seconds left, pushing Whitehouse past Gladewater 24-21. It was his third field goal of the game.

--- David Zapata scored on runs of 1, 54, 41 and 66 yards as he ran 19 times for 250 yards in Eagle Pass' 35-30 victory over South San Antonio.

--- Micah Smith almost personally held down Hamilton in Crawford's 26-6 victory as he recorded 20 tackles, blocked an extra-point kick, broke up a pass and forced a fumble that set up a touchdown.

--- West Columbia's Dalton Breaux turned just 18 carries into 317 yards and three touchdowns (including a 95-yard burst), but his team fell 30-27 to Santa Fe.

--- Tyler Lee sophomore Shane Hudnall kicked a 57-yard field goal and a 42-yarder in a 19-13 victory over Irving High.

--- Ben Wulf threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns as Center defeated Tatum 32-28.
n Stephen Gann churned out 280 yards on 31 carries, scoring all four Meridian touchdowns in a 28-22 victory over Godley.

--- Burnest Rhodes, brother of U.S. Olympic triple jumper Cynthea Rhodes, ran 20 times for 286 yards and three touchdowns in Terrell's 35-0 victory over Tyler Chapel Hill.

--- Daniel Davis' 29-yard field goal with 36 seconds to play gave Forsan a 13-12 victory over Rankin. He also hit a 40-yarder in the first quarter.

--- Dale Cope of Eustace ran for 245 yards and touchdowns of 7, 5, 1, 19 and 15 yards in a 45-6 victory over Buffalo.

--- Killeen Ellison's David Winbush ran for 261 yards and touchdowns of 69, 48 and 5 yards on 27 carries in a 20-11 victory over San Angelo Central. He had a 73-yard score called back because of a penalty.

--- Audey Mitchell's numbers (27 carries, 192 yards) are nice, but going inside the numbers shows a really impressive night. Mitchell scored three first-quarter touchdowns (on runs of 1, 31 and 55 yards) to help Brownwood build a 21-0 lead over Kerrville Tivy. When the lead was cut to 24-14, Mitchell returned to run 4 yards for another score en route to a 37-21 victory.

--- Hawley beat Miles 53-10 behind the Jones family. Gary had 240 yards and scored three touchdowns, and his cousin Bryan Jones had 205 yards and three scores.

--- Sweetwater's Jason Gomez had four quarterback sacks, forced a fumble that led to a field goal and was in on eight other tackles and had three quarterback pressures in a 27-16 victory over Snyder.

--- Abilene linebacker Spider Bennett was in on 13 tackles, caused two fumbles, broke up three passes and intercepted a pass in a 17-10 victory over Stephenville.

--- Farwell's Brock Anderson had a 101-yard interception return for a touchdown and had a rushing touchdown in a 34-0 victory over Vega.

--- Brett Garrett threw for 318 yards and four touchdowns in Mission's 28-26 victory over McAllen.
n Woody Chambers of Corpus Christi Calallen ran 20 times for 219 yards and touchdowns of 41, 3, 7, 3 in a 41-21 victory over San Antonio Clark. Calallen ran for 442 yards and did not attempt a pass.

--- Florence sophomore Michael Hendricks carried and scored touchdowns of 44, 28, 18, 17 and 4 yards in a 45-6 victory over Navarro. He had 15 carries and 179 yards.

--- Crane's Alfonso Garcia had touchdown runs of 57, 48, 57 and 51 yards in a 42-28 victory over McCamey.

--- Monahans' defensive tandem of T.J. Bustos and Michael Holguin keyed a 28-7 victory over Lubbock. Bustos had two interceptions, while Holguin caused two fumbles, recovering one.

--- Keith Meador of Bangs threw three touchdowns and returned an interception 43 yards for another score in a 41-12 victory over Comanche.

--- La Feria's Noe Contreras turned 19 carries into 279 yards and touchdown runs of 4, 51 and 65 yards in a 59-21 victory over Brownsville Lopez, while safety Eric Gonzalez intercepted four passes, turning one of them into a 45-yard touchdown.

--- Queen City's Shawn Dellinger had his second straight 200-yard game, gaining 232 yards and scoring twice in a 35-0 victory over Fort Worth Nolan.

--- Austin McCallum upset Austin High 19-14 behind sophomore Tarron Brooks' eight receptions for 202 yards and a touchdown.

--- Mount Vernon's Matt Ford returned a missed two-point conversion 102 yards for two points in a 19-8 loss to Hooks.

--- Freshman Cody McCarty of Bishop, a backup forced to fill in because the starter was hurt, completed 7 of 13 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-24 victory over Riviera.