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Show After tough fight Tigers overthrow Rams PAROWAN Disappointed is th single word that best describes the Parowan High School reaction to a 13-7 loss last week to the Milford Tigers in a non-league game played here. The predicted defensive struggle materialized, and it wasn't until the Rams suffered a come-apart in the last half of the final quarter that Milford socked away its victory. Parowan is now 0-2 for the year. Milford is 2-0. "We played a good defensive game, and except for a couple of long plays, we could have outgained them in total offense," Scott Doubek, Parowan coach, said. "Offensively, we still seriously lack the consistency we need to win. We will work hard this week with the offensive line in an effort to make our offense go. We also need some work on avoiding penalties, especially in crucial situations." The Rams and Tigers fought to a scoreless first half tie, with both teams threatening, only to have the other's defense rise to the occasion to prevent any scoring. Parowan quickly drew first blood in the second half when senior Dan Evans hauled in the opening kickoff at the 12 yard line, raced to the left sideline and outran the Tiger defense the final 20 yards for an 88-yard kickoff return and touchdown. Shawn Spendlove kicked the extra point, and the Ram team was delirious with a 7-0 lead. The joy didn't last long. Parowan's kickoff was flat and took a bounce a away from the Milford receiver, Chad Hardy. By the time Hardy chased down the ball, he was in trouble at the 10 yard line. He dodged two tacklers, however, got outside and sprinted the same sideline Evans used earlier to tie the score with a 90-yard kickoff return. Less than 40 seconds had elapsed in the second half. Noticeably, Parowan lost some of its steam at that point. Throught the latter part of the first half, the Rams had enjoyed the momentum in the contest. After 16 minutes of defensive second half standoff, Milford's Chad Hardy sprinted out to his left and found Shaun Dalton free for a 67-yard touchdown pass-and-run play. The extra point attempt failed when the kick went wide, but Milford had a 13-7 advantage with only 7:15 left in the final quarter. A 44-yard pass to Ram Tony Orton gave Parowan a big threat at the six yard line, and plenty of time left but penalties and lost composure pushed the Rams back to the 19 where they turned the ball over. It wasn't until only 28 seconds remained that Milford breathed comfortably. At that point, an Alan Burton pass was picked off, and Milford could tuck away its victory. Burton was the fourth Parowan quarterback in the game. Three others Spendlove, Neil Orton and Tony Orton suffered minor injuries in the game. All three will be back in the lineup this week at North Sevier. Parowan ran for 43 yards and passed for 75 for a total of 118 yards. Milford outgained the Rams with 198 total yards, 103 of that came on passes and 95 via rushing. "A lot of players got a lot of tackles," Doubek praised. "Renato Matheson had another good game, as did Randy Robinson and Troy Moreno. And, of course, we had interceptions from Shawn Spendlove, Dan Evans and Neil Orton; a blocked field goal attempt from Alan Burton and fumble recoveries by Randy Robinson, Mike Robinson and Blake Bentley." "We'll be looking forward to meeting Milford again, in the regular league contest. I think we will do well," Doubek said. |