Ganado rallies past Shiner, 22-21

With 10:26 left in the game, the Shiner football team looked primed for an upset Friday night.

The Comanches held a 21-7 lead over Class A No. 1 Ganado – a team who runs the football more than 90 percent of the time. After all, it has been said that it is difficult for a primarily-running team to overcome a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter.

But, Ganado is No. 1 in the state for a reason. The Indians showed why as they scored 15 unanswered points to rally past Shiner (2-5, 0-1 in Division I-District 15-A) for a 22-21 victory Friday at Comanche Field in Shiner.

Prior to the final 10 minutes of play, the Comanches did everything they were supposed to do in order to win. Shiner committed fewer turnovers, ran more plays and gained more yards than Ganado (7-0, 1-0 in DI-15-A).

But Josh Labay had a long kick return following Caleb Curtis’ 20-yard touchdown run with 10:26 left in the fourth quarter to set the Indians up with stellar field position. Trey Thedford scored on a 12-yard quarterback keeper and Labay added the two-point conversion to pull Ganado within six, 21-15, at the 9:17 mark of the fourth quarter.

Following a Comanches’ punt, Labay struck again as he scored on a 64-yard run before Brian Bubela hit the go-ahead extra point to put the Indians ahead for good, 22-21. Shiner didn’t give up though as the Comanches drove to the Ganado 20-yard line before time expired.

Labay began the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run to give the Indians a 7-0 lead with 1:51 remaining in the first quarter. But Shiner came back and put its first points on the board at the 4:03 mark of the second quarter as Jacob Stafford hit Donavan Mardis for a 10-yard score.

Lucian Blaschke’s extra point tied the game. The Comanches struck again right before halftime as Zach Lawrence scored on a 29-yard run to give his team its first lead of the game, 14-7, with 1:33 left before halftime.

Neither team scored again until Curtis’ 20-yard scoring burst to give Shiner a 21-7 lead – the largest of the contest. Curtis led the Comanches in rushing with a season-high 166 yards on 32 carries.

Labay led all rushers with 189 yards on 23 carries. Neither team threw the football much at all as Shiner ran on 52 of its 58 plays and Ganado kept the ball on the ground for 40 of its 42 plays.

The Comanches visit Yorktown at 7:30 p.m. Friday in a pivotal DI-15-A contest.