Tam High Football beats Drake 13-10

With only 19 players, the Tam High football team does not pass the look test when the players stride onto the field before a game. The scant number might not make opponents shiver, but judging by the Red-tailed Hawks' effort Saturday in their victorious opener against Drake, the combined efforts of those 19 can get the job done.
Aided by five interceptions by their defense, the roster-challenged Hawks jumped to a 13-0 halftime lead and held off a late Pirate charge for 13-10 victory in Mill Valley.
Although the teams are Marin County Athletic League opponents, the game was a preseason matchup and won't count toward their MCAL records.
Tam, which was 8-4 a year ago under first-year coach Kevin Goyer, returns only two starters and seemed destined for a rebuilding year. Popping out of the chute with a successful debut was huge for the Hawks.
"This means getting momentum for future wins," said Haynes Stephens, a sophomore who caught a 33-yard touchdown pass for a 13-0 lead and snagged one of the five interceptions.
"It's the first game and we're glad we got a win out of it," Goyer said. "Hopefully we'll continue to improve."  
Tam quarterback Graeme Black called the win "too close for comfort" and credited his offensive line for giving him time in the pocket.  
"We've got room for improvement, but we did pretty well for the first game," the junior returning starter said. "We showed we're resilient and we can face adversity. It's always good to come out on top."
The momentum turned in Drake's favor with 4:54 left in the game when quarterback Andrew Brown connected with receiver Ross MacAusland for 92-yard touchdown. Near his own goal line, Brown heaved his pass down the left sideline and found MacAusland at about the 50. The 6-foot-2 junior shook off one defender as he grabbed the ball and raced into the end zone to cut Tam's lead to 13-8. Brown rolled right and found Connor Lind in the end zone on the two-point conversion.
The chances continued to brighten for Drake when Lind recovered a fumble by Tam's Mac Huffman at the Tam 36-yard line with 2:36 remaining in the game. The Pirates eyed a come-from-behind win but were stuck at fourth down and 16 yards to go following a sack by Kevin Le and Jacob Garrard.
Opting to go for it with 1:32 left, Brown dropped back and tossed a wobbly ball into the end zone that was picked off by Black. Black then kneeled down to kill the clock two plays later.
"I thought, 'Finally!' because we were going both ways (on offense and defense)," Tam senior Brian Scott said of Black's interception.  
Drake outgained Tam 272 yards to 210, but the outcome was swayed by the five interceptions by Tam defenders and eight penalties on Drake. Tam rushers were held to 2.15 yards per carry by the Drake defense. Huffman carried 18 times for 54 yards to lead the Hawks, and Casey Hogan added 47 yards. Black was 9-for-16 for 122 yards passing with one interception.
Brown completed seven of 24 passes for 180 yards, and MacAusland was the leading receiver with three receptions for 140 yards. Brown also was the leading rusher for Drake with 13 carries for 47 yards.
Tam drove 40 yards in 10 plays to score on its first drive of the season. Scott hauled in a pass from Black that was tipped in the end zone by Drake's Jeremy Steele. The 13-yard scoring play, followed by Jonny Wachtel's extra-point kick -- also tipped by Steele -- put Tam ahead 7-0 with 6:36 left in the first quarter.
The Hawks stretched the lead to 13-0 when Stephens raced past the Drake secondary and caught a  33-yard pass from Black with 3:35 left in the first half. Wachtel's PAT was blocked.
Tam missed a chance to put the game away just before halftime when it had the ball on the Drake 8-yard line following a 24-yard pass connection between Black and Scott.  Black threw into traffic and Drake's Steele picked off the pass at the goal line with 23 seconds remaining, setting up Drake's rally in the second half.
Scott said the victory was particularly satisfying because of Tam's short roster. "We're really young and we're really thin," he said, "but we came out and hit hard and played like a varsity team."