CUBS FALL IN WILD-WEST SHOOTOUT, 49-47

If you went to Friday night’s Brenham Cubs game against Liberty Hill, looking for a hard-hitting, low-scoring defensive battle, you were certainly in the wrong place.

The Cubs and the Panthers lit up the scoreboard for almost 100 total points and combined for nearly 1000 yards offense, as Liberty Hill defeated Brenham, 49-47.

Earnest Patterson small
Earnest Patterson scores on 39 yard run.

Hunter Lindsey of Liberty Hill gave an early indication of what was to come as he raced 65 yards for a touchdown on the game’s second play.  Just two plays later, Ernest Patterson countered with a 39-yard scoring run.

The frantic pace continued throughout the first quarter as the two teams totaled five touchdowns on five possessions, with Liberty Hill holding a 21-14 lead after the first 12 minutes.

Lindsey added a 49-yard touchdown run and Logan Barnes added a nine-yard run for the Panthers.

The Cubs’ second score was the start of a record-breaking night for senior wide receiver Jaquay Cross, who scored on a 73-yard pass from Caleb Hill.

Jaquay Cross catch small
Jaquay Cross pulls in one of his 10 receptions for the night.

By the end of the night Cross would have 10 catches for a single-game record 272 yards and six touchdowns.  The 272 yards breaks the old record of 213 set by Brandon Collins against Port Neches-Groves in 2006.

Cross would catch two more scoring passes before halftime (five and 55 yards) to knot up the score at 28-28 at intermission.

The game swayed back-and-forth throughout the second half, with Liberty Hill scoring and the Cubs responding.

Cross’ fifth touchdown reception cut the Panthers’ lead to 42-41, but a missed extra point kept the Cubs a point back.

Fullback Jon Shannon extended the lead for the Panthers to 49-41.  But the Cubs came right back with Hill (11 of 18 for 298 yards) hitting Cross for a 37-yard touchdown, but Brenham’s try for a two-point conversion and the tie fell short.

Defence problems
Cub defence tries to contain Liberty Hill Fullback Jon Shannon.

The Panthers were able to run the final 4:36 off the clock and escape with the 2-point win.

Coach Glen West laid the blame for the loss on his own shoulders, “There’s nothing you can give them that they cannot adjust to.  Our plan just absolutely did not work.  We stated making adjustments and it’d work for a play or two then they’d adjust to it.

“We just got out-coached”, said West.  “We played really, really bad on defense—which is too bad because we played pretty well on offense. “

“We will come back…but I take full blame for this one.”

“We will recover…we will get better.  Just because we’re Brenham, we can’t just step out on the field and think we’ll win.  We need to play with some urgency and get this turned around”.

The Panthers piled up 564 yards offense, 553 yards on the ground.  The Cubs finished with 418 yards, with 298 through the air.

Jon Shannon led Liberty Hill with 189 yards on 21 carries; Lindsey had 145 yard on nine runs; and, quarterback Nick Hernandez ran the ball eight times for 96 yards and two scores.

The Panthers’ defense held Ernest Patterson to just 70 yards on 12 runs.

Next up for the Cubs is Homecoming.  The city will celebrate with a parade downtown, Wednesday night at 6:30.

Houston Westside will be in town for the Homecoming game, set for 7:30 Friday night at Cubs Stadium.

The game can be heard beginning at 7:00 with the pre-game show on KWHI and www.kwhi.com.

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