CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND—TEXAS BOWL

Day 1 featured game –day domination by star players as Munday claimed the 1A-Division II title, Stamford claimed 1A Division I and East Bernard won Class 2A-Division II. Small school games have a tendency to be showcases for star players and Thursday was certainly the case at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

Munday 42 Tenaha 14:

In a rematch of last year’s final, won by Tenaha on a terrific performance by Reginald Davis, now at Texas Tech, Munday gained revenge on the strength of the play of their star Dee Paul. Paul who owns numerous gold medals in track , rushed for 263 yards on 16 carries, scoring on runs of 57,55,and 60 yards. Paul, who suffered a first half wrist injury, show no effects after halftime, but never threw a pass in the second half. Junior DE L.J. Collier had four tackles for loss, caused a fumble, and intercepted a pass and ran 35 yards for another touchdown, as the Moguls shut out Tenaha in the second half.

Stamford 35 Mart 28:

Stamford’s Hagen Hutchinson (son of the head coach) won an unprecedented MVP on BOTH offense and defense in leading the Bulldogs to victory. Hutchins rushed for two touchdowns, passed for two, made 17 tackles from his free safety position, and intercepted Mart’s last pass of the game as time expired. For the day, Huchinson completed 22 of 30 passes for 248 yards, and rushed for 132 yards on 23 carries. Mart had kept the lead in a see-saw battle until Hutchinson’s 43 yard run with 6:16 to play in the third quarter tied it and his 9 yard run with just 32 seconds left was the game winner.

East Bernard 56 Corsicana Mildred 14:

TCU commit Ty Slanina dominated the game, rushing for 155 yards on just 7 carries, scoring three touchdowns on the ground, passing for one, scoring again on a 12 yard fumble recovery and returning a punt set up the Brahma’s first touchdown.. The senior, who is the defending Class 2A long jump champion, was also instrumental in holding Mildred QB Nic Shimonek (Iowa commit) to just 159 yards passing. East Bernard dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides and rolled to a 35-0 lead before Mildred dented paydirt.

DAY TWO: DAY Two featured tradition-rich small towns battling for state titles. The Crowds were bigger and louder and turnovers and mistakes dotted the landscape.

Cameron-Yoe 39 Daingerfield 20:

In a rematch of the 2010 title game in 2A Division I , the Yoemen took advantage of Tiger mistakes, scoring twice early and winning the turnover battle 5-0. Two pooch punts from Jason Kopriva pinned Daingerfield inside their own ten twice in the first quarter, resulting in turnovers and Yoe touchdowns. After the first one, Yoe picked off a pass inside the ten and converted for a quick 7-0 lead. A second one resulted in a botched Daingerfield punt recovered by all state DT Edgar Luna for a second touchdown. Cameron raced to a 28-0 halftime lead and cruised home.

Navasota 39 Gilmer 3:

The unbeaten Rattlers scored early and often to go wire to wire as 3A’s # 1 team. With star RB Xavier Creek in the hospital as a result of a Thursday morning car accident, the Rattles played inspired football with his #8 jersey on display in the bench area. WR Austin Collins scored three touchdowns to earn MVP honors. Collins rushed for 96 yards on just four carries and caught three passes for 64 yards, including a spectacular diving touchdown grab to give Navasota a 26-3 halftime lead. Navasota’s defense completely stymied the Buckeye offense and the result was never in doubt as the Rattlers won Class 3A Division II.

Cedar Park 17 Lancaster 7:

In the day’s most entertaining game, the 4A Division II title clash offered a real contrast in styles. Speedy, big- play Lancaster vs. old school power running Cedar Park. The Timberwolves eventually wore down the Tigers and claimed the title. Lancaster scored first as Demarcus Ayers weaved 57 yards to paydirt on the Tigers first possession. But that point on Cedar Park dominated with their ground game and Lancaster gave up 93 yards in penalties, many unforced and/or dead ball. Cedar Park finally took the lead in the fourth quarter on a 22 yard Zac Hancock field goal, and tacked on a 14 yard Mikal Wilson td run with just over 3 minutes remaining to clinch the win. Lancaster’s big play guys, Ayers, Nick Harvey, and Nick Alexander were seemingly one play away from breaking the game open, but penalties, turnovers, and missed opportunities thwarted the Tiger big.

DAY THREE:

Day three was for the big schools as the 4A Division I crown was settled and both of the Class 5A games. A reported 46,000 fans watched the middle game between Katy and Cedar Hill. Like Thursday
outstanding performances by outstanding players was the standard.

Denton Guyer 48 Georgetown 37:

Denton Guyer, making its second trip to the finals in three years pulled away from unbeaten Georgetown in the second half as the Wildcats claimed the 4A Division I title. Junior QB Jerrod Heard, who came into the game with just shy of 4000 yards of total offense, split almost evenly between running and passing, was the star for Denton Guyer. Heard completed 7/12 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 145 yards on 24 carries and scored five touchdowns on the ground. Heard’s seven touchdowns were the top performance of the day.

Katy 35 Cedar Hill 24:

Katy claimed its seventh state title with a see saw win over Cedar Hill in 5A Division II. Nebraska bound RB Adam Taylor became the first RB to take home an MVP award for the weekend by rushing 30 times for 275 yards and five touchdowns. Taylor scored from all distances, but his crushing blow was touchdown #4, as he raced 52 yards on a 4th and 1 , as Katy took the lead for the last time. Cedar Hill had battle back from an early deficit on two touchdown passes from Arkansas State bound Damion Hobbs to Iowa State bound Brandon Harris, plus a 24 yard Hobbs touchdown run. But Katy closed the deal with Taylor breaking off another long td run in the final three minutes to give Coach Gary Joseph his third state title.

Allen 35 Houston Lamar 21:

Marcus Ward’s 67 yard touchdown run with just over six minutes remaining turned the tide for Allen, as they shook off Lamar to win 5A Division I. Ward scored two second half touchdowns as the Eagles held off Lamar who threatened numerous times in the second half, but Allen’s defense came up big. Allen took a 21-15 lead in the first half as sophomore QB. Kyler Murray scored twice from long range, the first on a 55 yard scramble and the second on a 68 yard run on a zone read. Murray also threw a first half touchdown pass to earn game MVP honors. Allen finished 15-1, losing only to Coppell, while Lamar suffered its first loss of the season.