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Wednesday, October 29, 1997

Rock-solid Cartwright tops 370 ... again

By JAIME ARON / AP Sports Writer

DALLAS (AP) -- In nearly three decades of coaching, Conroe's Bobby Etheredge had never seen a running back dominate a game the way Rock Cartwright did against Pasadena Rayburn earlier this month.

Last Friday, Cartwright did it again. Only better.

Two weeks after rushing for 370 yards, the strong, stocky senior ran for 398 yards and four touchdowns as Conroe beat Tomball 31-25. The performance also earned him top billing on this week's Associated Press honor roll.

"It was one of those rare things that doesn't happen very often," Etheredge said. "It won't happen again in my career ... unless he does it again."

Against Rayburn, Cartwright "got to rippin' and we just kept giving it to him," Etheredge said. Against Tomball, Cartwright had only around 100 yards at halftime and Conroe trailed 16-3 before he took over.

Cartwright's signature play of his 37-carry performance was an 80-yard touchdown run that displayed his power, speed and cutting ability.

"He ran over some people, ran around a few and over the last 30 yards he made a cut against the grain on three guys," Etheredge said.

Cartwright gets his power from a 5-foot-9, 220-pound frame that's been shaped in the weight room (remember, his name is Rock). He has enough speed to be part of the school's sprint relay squad. A low center of gravity helps him make quick cuts and thick leg makes arm-tackling him nearly impossible.

"One guy is not hardly going to get him," Etheredge said. "He'll get hit, spin, get hit again, back up and take off again."

As far as Etheredge is concerned, Cartwright's most endearing quality is his durability. He often gets the ball 35 times a game and never complains.

"It's not by choice, but we're pretty one-dimensional this year," Etheredge said. "Everyone knows it and he still gets his yards. ... The last couple of games he's touched it every snap but about four."

Cartwright gets the ball every way imaginable: on handoffs, pitches, passes and direct snaps. He'll occasionally line up at quarterback in the shotgun formation and has been known to throw the ball.

All told, he's run for 1,710 yards and 17 touchdowns. He's caught a touchdown pass and thrown one, too.

While it may not be surprising that Cartwright has been on the varsity since he was a freshman, it's worth noting he spent that season at linebacker. He moved into the backfield as a sophomore and ran for 1,150 yards, then had 1,350 yards as a junior.

Major colleges are interested in Cartwright, but he must first pass his entrance exams. Etheredge said his scores are close and he's retaken them recently.

"He's not worried about that," Etheredge said. "He's just having fun right now."

Other outstanding Week Eight performances:

ALL-AROUND

--Overshadowed by Cartwright was Tomball's Jay Davis, who kicked field goals of 27, 32, 27 and 42 yards, caught three passes for 28 yards and had three interceptions.

--With his team down 14-0 going into the fourth quarter, Rivercrest quarterback Jody Nolen ran for touchdowns of 30 and 9 yards, threw a 6-yard touchdown pass with six seconds left then ran in a 2-point conversion for a 22-21 victory over Como-Pickton.

--Brad Barnes returned the game-opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, caught three passes for 93 yards -- including a 30-yard touchdown pass and a 60-yarder to set up another score. He also made 3-of-5 extra point kicks, punted twice for a 44-yard average, handled seven kickoffs and had 2-1/2 tackles at defensive back as Sweetwater beat Pecos 41-18 for its 36th straight regular-season victory.

--Roddy Alexander returned a punt 89 yards for a touchdown and threw a 2-point conversion pass to forge a 14-14 fourth-quarter tie, then ran for a 23-yard touchdown that helped give Roscoe a 26-14 victory over Coahoma.

--Cliff Watkins ran for 100 yards and a touchdown, threw for 201 yards and three touchdowns, and picked off a pass as Breckenridge slammed Clyde 60-15.

--Andrew Harden made the most of a little, turning three catches into two touchdowns and scoring twice more on just four rushes in Richardson Lake Highlands' 45-6 victory over Richardson Berkner.

--Jason Washington returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown, then scored the game-winning touchdown on a short run from scrimmage as the quarterback to give San Antonio MacArthur a 17-14 victory over then No. 10 New Braunfels.

ON THE GROUND

--Toby Cisneros ran for 391 yards and five touchdowns as Laredo Martin beat Zapata 48-7.

--Derrell Moten ran 21 times for 320 yards and four touchdowns in Gatesville's 35-14 victory over Waco Robinson.

--Tommy Williams returned from an ankle injury that kept him out of the last three games to run 15 times for 301 yards, including an 81-yard touchdown, as Karnes City beat Three Rivers 55-6.

--Dwain Goynes tied a record that can never be broken, running for a 99-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter of La Marque's 28-0 victory over Needville. He had 134 yards and two touchdowns on just five carries.

--Keyou Craver ran 18 times for 253 yards and four touchdowns (83, 49, 32, 10) as Harleton beat New Diana 49-0, upping his season totals to 2,013 yards and 34 touchdowns. Harleton improved to 8-0 going into Friday night's game against Elysian Fields, also unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in Class 2A.

--Joseph Smith gained 252 yards and scored three touchdowns on just 10 carries as Cleveland ran for 633 yards in a 75-6 victory over Livingston. Cleveland attempted only one pass and it was incomplete.

--J.J. Finch ran for 33 times for 292 yards and six touchdowns as Hart beat Bovina 47-24.

--Sophomore Stephen Gonzalez ran 24 times for 285 yards and two touchdowns (86 and 59) as Bishop beat Orange Grove 31-28.

--Jermaine Allen ran 20 times for 284 yards and three touchdowns as East Chambers beat Deweyville 48-10.

--Jody Lucas ran 22 times for 284 yards and three touchdowns in Hico's 47-18 victory over Ranger and caught a 33-yard touchdown pass. He also made 11 tackles at linebacker.

--Brandon Reese ran 25 times for 276 yards and two touchdowns, plus had two 2-point conversions as the Texas School for the Deaf defeated Lexington Academy 40-0.

--Howard Verdell scored six touchdowns and ran for 237 yards as Poteet defeated Greenville 45-27. He had a five-touchdown game two weeks ago.

--Kenneth Johnston ran for touchdowns of 34, 34, 1 and 42 yards, all in the first quarter of Huntsville's 62-23 victory over A&M Consolidated.

--James Edwards ran 33 times for 261 yards and touchdowns of 49 and 82 yards in Calallen's 29-15 victory over Alice.

--Robert Lee Fernadez ran 18 times for a career-high 244 yards and two touchdowns as Harlingen rebounded from its first loss of the year to beat Brownsville Pace 56-0 to clinch its fourth straight playoff berth.

--Robert Lolohea ran for 237 yards on just 13 carries in Euless Trinity's 28-7 victory over Wichita Falls Rider.

--Fred Talley ran 17 times for 219 yards and three touchdowns as Longview drilled Nacogdoches 42-3, enabling the Lobos to move up to No. 1 in Class 5A for the first time since 1984.

--Clint Potter ran for a career-high 220 yards and a touchdown as San Antonio Southwest beat San Antonio East Central 41-34, ending East Central's 22-game district winning streak. Potter, a senior, also became the school's career rushing leader (3,644), and he kicked five PATs and two field goals.

--Allan Adkison broke the 200-yard mark for the third straight week, rushing for 204 yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries in a 49-26 victory over Dalhart.

--Terrence Calhoun ran just nine times, but gained 175 yards and scored three touchdowns and he returned a punt 57 yards for a touchdown in Austin Reagan's 50-15 victory over Austin Travis.

IN THE AIR

--Spencer Stack was 28-of-47 for 506 yards and four touchdowns in Flower Mound Marcus' 35-20 victory over The Colony, giving him 2,434 yards and 26 touchdowns with just eight interceptions. The single-game total broke the school record of 455 set in 1995 by Chris Sanders, Class 5A's all-time passing leader. David Foster caught six passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns.

--Patrick Hutka continued his amazing year, going 21-of-29 for 370 yards and seven touchdowns in Rogers' 49-14 victory over Holland.

--Brad McDaniel was 16-of-27 for 360 yards and three touchdowns and a 2-point conversion, plus ran 10 times for 110 yards including a 64-yard touchdown, as Sterling City pasted Robert Lee 43-14.

--Adam Kessler was 24-of-26 for 375 yards and four touchdowns in Carrollton Newman Smith's 41-33 loss to South Grand Prairie.

--Jordan Wilson was 19-of-30 for 293 yards and four touchdowns in Grapevine's 50-24 victory over Coppell.

--Chavis McCollister was 10-of-13 for 261 yards and five touchdowns and he ran for 136 yards and a touchdown in Tenaha's 50-8 victory over Maud. His favorite target was Kenneth Henderson, who caught five passes for 147 and four touchdowns (61, 47, 18 and 11).

--Stephen Oliver completed all nine passes he attempted for 214 yards and five touchdowns in Clifton's 47-21 victory over Glen Rose.

--Randy Hames was 14-of-26 for 239 yards and four touchdowns as Hitchcock came from behind to beat Stafford 27-26, preserving the luster of Friday night's game between No. 8 Hitchcock and No. 1 Sealy, both unbeaten.

--Travis Hardin was 6-of-10 passing for 162 yards and three touchdowns, and he threw a 2-point conversion that gave Blanco a 28-27 overtime win over Marion.

--Neil Anderson was 16-of-27 for 262 yards and three touchdowns and Elijah Mallery caught nine of the passes for 151 yards and a touchdown, but Clear Lake lost 27-21 to Angleton. For the winner, Walter Hayes caught seven passes for 109 yards.

--Orlando Garza was 17-of-25 for 244 yards as Freer beat Premont 27-7.

--Patrick Zapata was 9-of-12 for 240 yards and touchdowns of 31, 58 and 55 yards as Runge beat Falls City 47-13. Jacob Esparza caught six of the passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns.

--Tarron Brooks caught five passes for 118 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown catch with 48 seconds left, in Austin McCallum's 20-18 come-from-behind win over Austin Anderson.

DEFENSE

--Aaron Bartula, who later said he'd never made an interception, picked off four passes and returned them 156 yards, including a 97-yarder for a touchdown as controversy-plagued Palestine beat Athens 29-13.

--Jermaine Griffin, a sophomore, had 12 tackles, including two on the goal line and an interception returned 63 yards. He also broke up a Hail Mary pass to help Fort Worth Brewer beat Boswell 14-7.

--Chris Pavelka had two tackles for losses, forced two fumbles, recovered two and blocked a punt in Fossil Ridge's 7-6 loss to Springtown.

--Jared Sanderson had his second 20-plus tackle game (17 unassisted tackles and 10 assisted), caused two fumbles, broke up a pass and had an interception in Breckenridge's 60-15 victory over Clyde.

--A.J. Tucker made nine tackles, caused a fumble and returned an interception for a touchdown in Arlington Bowie's 20-18 victory over Arlington Sam Houston.