1992: 🏈 Regional Playoff: Refugio vs Schulenburg

1992: 🏈 Regional Playoff: Refugio vs Schulenburg November 28, 1992: Refugio 13, Schulenburg 37 Shorthorns Roll Past Refugio Schulenburg to Play Randolph in Class 2A Quarterfinals By Mike Forman, Victoria Advocate November 28, 1992 The Schulenberg Shorthorns were looking to get off to a fast start against the Refugio Bobcats and they did just that. The No. 3 Shorthorns scored 16 unanswered points in the first quarter and went on to a 37-13 Class 2A regional playoff victory over the No. 6 Bobcats before nearly 7,000 on a frigid Friday night at Gobbler Stadium. With its 10th straight win, Schulenburg improves to 12-1 on the season and advances to the quarterfinals against Universal City Randolph, a 22-13 winner over Boling. Refugio ends the year at 12-1. “We knew we had to come out hot from the start because Refugio has such an explosive team,” said Schulenburg coach David Husmann. “We had to play just about a perfect game and we were able to come through with the big play early.” The Shorthorns struck swiftly on a 46-yard touchdown pass from Casey Taber to Daryl Janecek to take a 6-0 lead with 7:29 left in the opening quarter. Schulenburg quickly got another scoring opportunity when defensive end Lance Vanek forced a fumble on Refugio’s first play from scrimmage and Shane Hollas recovered at the Refugio 37. The Shorthorns stalled at the 18-yard line and Barry Shepard kicked a 35-yard field goal with 4:34 remaining in the first quarter. Schulenburg then stopped Refugio on three plays before driving 44 yards to take a 17-0 advantage. Wes Deagan scored on a 10-yard run with 41 seconds to go in the first quarter. “They’ve got a great team,” said Refugio coach George Harris. “We made a lot of mistakes. But a lot of them were forced by them.” Refugio was also forced to go most of the game without running back Dana Robinson, who had hurt his left leg in last week’s 13-6 area playoff win over Freer. Robinson attempted to play but had only one carry for no gain and was limited to kicking duties. “I was afraid Dana couldn’t go judging from what I’d seen in workouts,” Harris said. “I’m not going to make excuses, but there’s no question I’d like to have had him out there,” Robinson’s absence also seemed to give a lift to the Schulenburg defense, which held Refugio to 67 yards rushing on 34 attempts and had five sacks. “We were worried about Dana Robinson,” admitted Schulenburg defensive guard Larry Hernandez. “When we saw he was limping, our confidence seemed to get better. We just buckled down and started wrapping up.” The Shorthorns defense also set up one of Taber’s two touchdown runs and scored the only points of the second half when Glen Linblade recovered Refugio quarterback Brent Thomas’ fumble in the end zone. “Our defense created the breaks and we also got points from our defense,” Husmann said. “We wanted to contain their speed and we felt fortunate they only got away one time.” After linebacker Calvin Klesel recovered a fumble to set up Taber’s 2-yard touchdown run. Refugio got back in the game on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Thomas to Roy Herron and a 41-yard touchdown run by Herron. “I think we were a little tight at first,” Harris said. “We made a little comeback but we couldn’t stop them.” Schulenburg extended its lead to 30-13 at halftime when it drove 54 yards in five yards before scoring on Taber’s 15-yard run. The Shorthorns were content to play ball control in the second half. Jason Houston, who had 114 yards on 18 carries and Deagan, who had 55 yards on 10 carries, did most of the work. “When we had the lead, we figured it was time to back off, let our defense play and control the ball,” Husmann said. “We did a real good job of that.” The Shorthorns did pay a price for the win as offensive guard Cale Kobza sprained an ankle and Klesel left the game with an undetermined knee injury.