But Jack Welch showed up at Cove in 1994, beat Temple 7-0 in his first try, and now his Bulldawgs are displaying dominance reminiscent of that from the Wildcats’ heyday.
And on this Friday night, it was at the Wildcats’ expense.
Showing no signs of slowing down in its return to Class 5A, No. 10-ranked Cove rushed for 367 yards and scored three touchdowns in a four-minute span to close the first half on its way to a 56-14 victory at Wildcat Stadium, putting a damper on Temple’s homecoming and keeping the Wildcats winless at 0-5.
Afterward, a matter-of-fact Temple coach Bryce Monsen took full responsibility for his team’s performance.
“There’s not much to say. Cove did a great job tonight of executing, and it was a poor job by me,” Monsen said. “I’ve got to do a better job of getting our kids ready. I’m the head coach. It’s never on the kids.”
Temple got 126 rushing yards, including a 74-yard touchdown, from junior Lache Seastrunk as it dropped to 0-2 in District 12-5A. Next for the Wildcats is a crucial game at Killeen Ellison (3-2, 1-1) next Thursday as they strive to remain in contention for one of 12-5A’s four playoff berths.
“We just have to burn the film and get ready for Ellison on Thursday,” said Monsen, whose 2007 team went 6-0 in 13-5A. “We’ve got to find a way to start over in the second half and it starts with Ellison.”
Meanwhile, Cove (5-0, 2-0) - which reached the last two 4A Division I state championship games - keeps rolling. It was the Bulldawgs’ third straight win over Temple dating to 2004, and they’ve won their last 16 games in the local 5A district.
Josh Boyce, Brandin Byrd and William Wright scored two touchdowns apiece and the Bulldawgs scored TDs after both of Temple’s turnovers in turning what was a close game well into the second quarter into a blowout.
“The key to us was right before the half,” said Welch, whose team wrapped two short Byrd touchdown runs around Chris Miller’s score on a 25-yard interception return to seize a commanding 35-7 lead. “Even at 28-7, you’re not out of hot water, because Temple is a good football team. That was a big swing for us there.”
Temple rushed for 225 yards and had some success in the passing game, but other than Seastrunk’s long scoring sprint the Bulldawgs contained the Wildcats’ Wing-T offense.
Cove two-time all-state linebacker Tanner Brock, like Boyce a Texas Christian commitment, said it was simply a matter of sticking to the gameplan of his coaches, including his defensive coordinator father, Reb Brock.
“Temple has a really powerful offense with so many good athletes, so our goal was to keep them on the inside,” said Tanner Brock, who has almost 500 career tackles. “Seastrunk got to the outside once, but we kept them on the inside most of the night.”
After defense ruled early, Cove got the scoring started on its second possession.
From the Dawgs’ 38-yard line, quarterback Cody Vaughn rolled out to the right and cornerback Toravion Belcher had tight coverage on Boyce. But when Belcher crept up to defend a possible run, Vaughn lofted a pass over his head and an open Boyce grabbed it before racing in for a 62-yard TD and a 7-0 lead with two minutes left in the first quarter.
Temple receiver Tevin Reese then fumbled after a 16-yard gain and Cove recovered at the Wildcat 41. Juniors Wright and Byrd each had a 13-yard run before Boyce came in motion from the left, took a handoff and cruised in for a 5-yard touchdown to make it 14-0 one minute into the second quarter.
A week after failing to score a rushing touchdown for the first time in 15 varsity games, Seastrunk responded to give Temple a spark. He ran through a big hole on the right side and blazed down the sideline for a 74-yard score, cutting Cove’s edge to 14-7.
However, the rest of the half was all Bulldawgs.
Byrd scored easily on a 3-yard run off right tackle to make it 21-7 4:05 before halftime, then Miller stepped in front of Kevin Lock’s pass to the left side, picked it off and raced 25 yards for a 28-7 game. And after a quick stop, Cove drove 70 yards in two minutes before Byrd scored from 2 yards out with only two seconds left to complete the three-TD, four-minute flurry for a 35-7 game.
Wright added a pair of 11-yard touchdown runs and Brelan Chancellor had a 43-yard TD on a reverse before Temple’s Marcus Jones capped the scoring on an 8-yard run.
gwille@temple-telegram.com
