Prairie Lea uses 2nd half surge in rally for win
LPR staff
A halftime tongue-lashing from Prairie Lea Head Coach Steven Brown was just what the Indians needed, shutting out the visitors from Summit Christian Academy in the final two periods as the Indians rallied to a 52-32 victory.
SCA, out of Cedar Park, jumped on top of Prairie Lea 24-0 at Indian Field and led the home team 32-19 at intermission.
“I was about to lose my mind, but I stayed as calm as I could,” Brown said. “I ripped into them pretty good.”
Things started off poorly for Prairie Lea as the Eagles returned the opening kickoff and kicked the 2-pointer for an 8-0 lead.
SCA then recovered an onsides kick, went in and scored to make it 16-0. A third score gave the Eagles a 24-0 advantage before Prairie Lea could finally begin fighting its way back.
Jimmy Soberanes scored a 40-yard run, followed by Lane Fiscus running in the extra point to make t 24-7.
Still in the first quarter, Edwin Canepa scored on a 20-yard run for Prairie Lea. The extra point failed, and Prairie Lea trailed, 24-13.
Joe Zapata then hauled in an 18-yard pass from Gabriel Garcia to cut SCA’s lead to 24-19, but the Eagles scored their final TD late in the period to take a 32-19 lead.
The Indians responded to Brown’s stern speech at halftime by having Zapata return to the opening kickoff of the second half for a TD, followed by Canepa’s extra point run to cut the Prairie deficit to 32-26.
Later in the third quarter, Soberanes tied the game with a 28-yard TD reception from Garcia. Fiscus’ extra point run gave the Indians their first lead at 33-32.
The Indians tacked on three scores in the fourth period to seal the victory.
Soberanes scored first on a 28-yard run and followed that with a 30-yard scoring run. Fiscus’ extra point run made it 46-32, Prairie Lea.
The Indians’ final tally of the night came when Zapata scored on a 23-yard run.
“We were fighting with them back and back but finally got it going,” Brown said.
Soberanes finished with 210 yards on 11 carries and 3 touchdowns. Fiscus added 8 carries for 50 yards. Garcia was 5-of-7 passing for 45 yards and two touchdowns.
Zapata led the Indians defensively with 15 tackles, followed by Fiscus and Edwin Canepa with 7 each, and Garcia 6.
The excellent crowd at Indian Field was entertained by the Luling High School band.
Prairie Lea plays first-year program Pawnee Friday and is expected to play its starters for a limited amount of time Friday. Pawnee is 0-2 on this season and has failed to score in its first two outings.
