Cimarron-Memorial slides past Legacy

By Case Keefer (contact)

Friday, Nov. 13, 2009 | 11:56 p.m.

This all sounded almost too familiar.

Earlier in the season, Cimarron-Memorial appeared to beat Legacy when a Legacy extra point missed going through the uprights. But a roughing the kicker penalty on Cimarron allowed Legacy to run one more play — a two-point conversion that gave the Longhorns a 30-29 victory.

Fast forward to Friday night. Legacy missed another extra point late in the game. And there was no penalty this time. Cimarron took down Legacy 21-20 in the second round of the state playoffs.

“What happened the first time we played them was a long time ago,” Cimarron coach Rod Vollan said. “We weren’t thinking about it. We were excited to move on to the Sunrise Region Championship.”

Cimarron advanced behind the usual strong efforts from James Poole and Stephen Nixon. Both piled up the rushing yards and Nixon scored a receiving and rushing touchdown. Poole had one rushing touchdown.

The Spartans took an early 7-0 lead and never relinquished it. After Legacy missed its extra point attempt, they failed to recover an onside kick.

Cimarron will meet Bishop Gorman next week for the right to go to the state semifinals.

“It’s another formidable opponent,” Vollan said. “They’re talented, they’re physical, they’re skilled, they’re well-coached. It’s another challenge.”