Flatonia Falls to Shiner in Stormy Playoff Battle
The only thing that could slow down Shiner’s march to the state quarterfinals Friday was Mother Nature.
An hour-long lightning delay briefly halted Friday’s third round playoff football game between Flatonia and Shiner in the third quarter.
Shiner was up by 14 points before the delay and then scored 24 unanswered points after the delay (at times in a driving rain) to beat the Bulldogs 45-7.
The loss ends one of Flatonia’s best football seasons ever and snapped a 10-game win-streak. The Bulldogs finish with a 11-2 record, and the school record for most points scored in a season.
But even this great Flatonia squad was overmatched by the defending state champ Comanches – and specifically their star senior running back Dalton Brooks.
A Texas A&M commit, Brooks ran for 297 yards and five touchdowns Friday.
Shiner (11-2) now advances to face Refugio (12-1) at 7 p.m. Friday at San Marcos’ Rattler Stadium.
As lopsided as this final score ended up being, Flatonia was more than holding its own against Shiner early in this one.
Shiner had the ball first and started the game with five straight runs by Brooks, the fifth of which he fumbled, and it was recovered by Flatonia’s Jaidyn Guyton.
But Flatonia’s offense couldn’t do anything with the chance and punted the ball back to Shiner, which went on a seven-play 93-yard drive capped by a 52-yard touchdown run by Brooks.
That long run came one play after Shiner converted a third-and-19 thanks to their only significant passing play of the game.
Flatonia fumbled away their next possession, but then stopped Shiner without a first down on their next possession.
The Bulldogs then went on a 10-play 66-yard drive, punctuated by a three-yard touchdown run by Guyton. The ensuing extra point by Uriel Manzano tied the game at 7-7 with 7:35 left in the first half, and the huge Flatonia crowd that had showed up in Hallettsville for this game erupted.
But Shiner would not be denied. A 28-yard touchdown run by Brooks put the Comanches up 13-7.
Shiner’s Carson Schuette then intercepted a Flatonia pass to set up a 38-yard Brooks touchdown and in the span of less than two minutes a tie game had become a 21-7 Shiner lead.
With the clock ticking down to the end of the first half Flatonia drove down 59 yards but Schuette grabbed another interception, this time in the endzone, with four seconds left, to end the threat.
Early in the second half the lightning came, clearing the field and the stadium for nearly an hour.
Flatonia could never regain any momentum. Bulldog senior quarterback Fidel Venegas led Flatonia offensively with 99 yards rushing. Fellow senior Jaidyn Guyton led in tackles with six and senior Reese Ramirez had two tackles for losses.
They are part of a 12-member senior class that will be sorely missed by the Bulldogs, but one that goes out with quite a final high school season.
Shiner 45, Flatonia 7
Score by quarters Flatonia 0 7 0 0–7 Shiner 7 14 8 16 – 45
Flatonia Shiner
Rushing Yds 124 374 Passing yards 68 22 Total yards 192 396 Comp-Att-Int 12-29-2 2-4-0 Fumbles lost 1 1 Penalties-yds 1-10 2-11 Scoring summary First Quarter
SHINER – Dalton Brooks 52 run (Ryan Peterson kick) 3:33 Second quarter
FLATONIA – Jaidyn Guyton 3 run (Uriel Manzano kick good) 7:35 SHINER – Brooks 29 run (kick failed) 4:09 SHINER – Brooks 38 run (Brooks 2pt conversion good) 2:27 Third quarter
SHINER – Brooks 7 run (Brooks 2pt conversion good) 4:40 Fourth quarter
SHINER – Brooks 4 run (2pt conversion pass good) 8:32 SHINER – Beck Bishop 3 run (Trace Bishop 2 pt conversion good) 2:06)
INDIVIDUAL STATS Rushing – Flatonia: Fidel Venegas 17-99, Keyshaun Green 2-12, Dayton Cliffe 2-7, Jaidyn Guyton 3-6; Shiner: Brooks 28-297.
Passing – Flatonia: Venegas 12 of 29 for 68 yards with 2 INTs; Shiner: Peterson 2 of 4 for 22 yards.
Receiving – Flatonia: Keegan Green 3-26, Jaidyn Guyton 2-28, Dayton Cliffe 2-15, Keyshaun Green 2-8, Reese Ramirez 2-2, Titan Targac 1-(-1); Shiner: Keenab Hailey 2-22.