Elysian Fields Holds Off Late Deweyville Rally For 24-22 Win

[By Anthony Hawthorne, Special to ETSN.fm]

LUFKIN -- The Elysian Fields Yellow Jackets needed someone to make a big play.  With the Deweyville Pirates driving for the lead with just under a minute remaining, Don Deramus stepped up and made it.

Deramus chased down Deweyville quarterback Cody Dupuy down and stripped the ball with 40 seconds remaining, Braden Jett recovered and the Yellow Jackets held on for a 24-22 victory over Deweyville in a Class 2A Division II Region III area playoff Saturday night at Abe Martin Stadium.

Elysian Fields (9-3) moves on to play Arp in the regional semifinals next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Carthage. The Tigers defeated the Yellow Jackets in Week 2 this season by a score of 43-13.

Trevor Spear accounted for 196 of his team's 224 yards of offense to lead the way for the Yellow Jackets, including all three scores, each coming on the ground. Spear scored from 26 and 21 yards out in the first half and the eventual game winner from 48 yards out early in the third quarter.

Deramus, Bruce Woods and Tanner Norman spearheaded a defense that bent but didn’t break. The Jacket defense forced four turnovers and got an early safety, despite giving up over 300 yards on the ground.

Several long drives by the Pirates kept the Yellow Jacket defense on the field for long periods, including a 22-play, 70-yard drive in the first half which consumed nearly 11 minutes of clock yet yielded no points. The Pirates ran 40 second-half plays, compared to only 13 by the Yellow Jackets.

Nearly half of those yards came from Dupuy, who finished with 145 yards on 24 carries and a score. The 5-6 QB was elusive all night, picking up key first downs and hitting for big gains, including a 70-yarder that set up the Pirates' (8-3) first score from a yard out on a keeper by Dupuy.

The Yellow Jackets nearly had their 24-8 fourth quarter lead erased as the Pirates put together two 10-play drives to close the gap. A 65-yard drive was capped by tight end Daniel Brinson, who lined up at fullback and barreled in from 4 yards out. The 2-point conversion was good.

The Pirates went right down the field again after a successful onside kick, with Brinson once again bullying his way in for 3 yards out. This time, however, he was stuffed on the 2-point conversion.

The Yellow Jackets attempted to run out the clock but their drive stalled as Spear’s fourth-down pass was incomplete, setting up the Pirates' final drive. Behind the legs of Dupuy, Deweyville reached the Elysian Fields 35. However, a Lonzo Macon blitz forced a fumble that the Pirates recovered.

The following play ended things as Deramus forced the fumble with Jett recovering to seal the deal.

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Class 2A Division II Region III Area Playoff
At John Outlaw Memorial Field at Abe Martin Stadium, Lufkin
Elysian Fields 24, Deweyville 22 
Deweyville            8   0   0  14   --   22
Elysian Fields        8   8   8    0   --   24
First Quarter
EF--Safety, 6:46.
EF--Trevor Spear 26 run (kick failed), 5:44.
DEW--Cody Dupuy 1 run (Ryan Collins run), 4:31.
Second Quarter
EF--Spear 21 run (Lonzo Macon pass from Spear), :08
Third Quarter
EF--Spear 48 run (Nathan Hall pass from Spear), 7:21.
Fourth Quarter
DEW--Daniel Brinson 2 run (Ryan Collins run), 10:37.
DEW--Brinson 3 run (run failed), 5:10.

                                   DEW                EF
First Downs                      18                  8
Rushes-Yards            59-304          21-139
Passing Yards                   17                85
Comp.-Att.-Int.             2-6-2          7-12-0
Punts-Avg.                  2-47.0              0-0
Fumbles-Lost                   5-2              3-3
Penalties-Yards               7-64            5-46

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Deweyville, Ryan Collins 18-70, Brenden Waldrep 7-49, Cody Dupuy 24-145, Joey Greer 5-27, Daniel Brinson 4-11, Bryceson Davis 1-2. Elysian Fields, Trevor Spear 11-111, Tanner Davis 6-18, Lonzo Macon 2-9, T.J. Clark 1-(-4), Christian Smith 1-6.
PASSING--Deweyville, Cody Dupuy 2-6-2--17. Elysian Fields, Trevor Spear 7-12-0--85.
RECEIVING--Deweyville, Daniel Brinson 1-11, Joey Greer 1-6. Elysian Fields, Lonzo Macon 4-30, Zane Barge 2-21, T.J. Clark 1-34.