The Corpus Christi Hammerheads learned this the hard way Monday night as the Barracudas pulled off a 70-60 upset at Bell County Expo Center to improve to 8-4 and secure no worse than a third-place finish in the Intense Football League standings.
“We approached this game knowing we could still get second place,” Barracudas head coach Chris Duliban said. “We kind of came in as the underdog, as no one believed in us. Everybody thinks of us as a second-tier team, so we challenged each of the guys to go out and prove to themselves that we could do this.”
And they did. Thanks in large part to three-time IFL Special Teams Player of the Week Coleman, who had his fifth kick return for a touchdown and also had two touchdown catches on offense.
“I don’t know why they had me in single coverage,” Coleman said. “Most teams have been double-teaming me, so I’ve been a decoy. But they had single coverage on me, and I know I could take that.”
The one time that Coleman did see double coverage was the time he shined the most. After dropping a pass when he was wide open at the 5, he made up for it by securing a bullet from quarterback James Brown against the end zone wall under double coverage.
“That was on my mind ‘I have to make up for the drop,’” he said. “Even Jerry Rice drops passes. That’s just football. But you’ve got to make good.”
Still, it was Coleman’s special teams play - or sometimes lack thereof - that put the Hammerheads (9-2) in a bind.
Knowing Coleman had four kick returns for touchdowns and is second in the league in return yards, the Hammerheads didn’t want to mess with him much. Coleman got to return the first two kicks of the half, one which went for 28 yards and a second that ended after 17 as the only thing that stopped him from scoring was his own two feet.
“I think I just saw that hole and tripped over my own feet,” he admitted with a laugh.
But the Hammerheads got the message and for most of the rest of the half, they opted to kick short or kick out of bounds, which by IFL rules gives the receiving team the ball at the 25 - which still seemed like a better option for the Hammerheads.
“We’ll take it on the 25 every time,” Coleman said. “But I’d rather get it. But if they want to give it to us on the 25 our offense will drive it in.”
And since the Barracudas often started drives in great field position, it was easy for Brown to work the short field for a score. Every time the Hammerheads scored, the Barracudas answered right back.
The big difference came before halftime. Barracudas kicker Lance Garner nailed a 32-yard field goal to put the Barracudas, who would receive the second half kick, up 37-34.
“That was a huge field goal,” Duliban said. “It gave us the momentum going into the half.”
And to open the second half, Coleman took the kick return from the goal line to midfield. Brown fired to Coleman on the first play for a 44-24 lead, with Garner’s extra point.
Matching each other score for score the Hammerheads were able to cut it to 61-60 in the fourth quarter with successful two-point conversions after touchdowns. But they’d never take the lead, although the Barracudas gave them a perfect opportunity to at least tie it late.
Up 68-60 with the ball and 57 seconds to play, the Barracudas used two plays to get a first and goal and looked to ice the win. But a bad exchange between Brown and Matt Hoisington resulted in a fumble that the Hammerheads recovered at their own 6 with 38 seconds to play.
“My aneurysm went up an inch and a half with that fumble,” Duliban said. “But that’s what’s great about the game of football . . . anything can happen.”
The turnover didn’t matter though because on second down, the Barracudas’ Kevin Earvine broke through the offensive line to tackle quarterback Dustin Almond in the end zone for a safety that sealed the win.
“We have to build on this win,” Duliban said. “We have confidence going to (first-place) Louisiana and then to Corpus. Corpus has two more games besides us, and if we win ours and they lose theirs, we can get second.”
mhood@temple-telegram.com
