Argyle Handles Lindale en route to 2nd State Title
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Updated: December 18, 2020
Class 4A Division I State Championship Game
ARLINGTON - The Argyle Eagles (15-0) vs. Lindale Eagles (13-2) may share the same mascot but were not sharing when they met Friday night at AT&T Stadium. Each was attempting to add a state title - the one for the 2020 Class 4A Division I crown. Argyle has played 5 times for the title, winning once. Lindale is playing in their first ever state title game.
Jordan Jenkins
Game Simulation
To get ready for the real thing, LSG played the game with the board game Friday Night Legends using teams created with their real 2020 statistics. In our playing, Argyle took the win. To hear the drive-by-drive of the game, listen here.
The Real Game
1Q
The Lindale Eagles kicked off first and Argyle in the blackout uniforms took the field at their 25. Quarterback, CJ Rogers opened the game uncorking a long pass down the middle into the waiting arms of of Cash Walker for 48 yards. Rogers' next pass was thrown into coverage and batted away and on second down he hit Riley Page in stride who couldn't bring it in. Facing 3rd and 10 Rogers passed again to Cole Kirkpatrick for the first down. The first run was handed to Tito Byce for a short game and with his second carry next, reached first and goal. Byce's third carry reached the 5 and his 4th run took him to the goal line. On the next play it was once again Byce who dove across the goal line to score. 7-0 Argyle 9:51
After the quick Argyle start, Lindale starting at the 40 set about implementing their game plan. Sam Peterson took the snap and tossed to Jordan Jenkins for just a single yard. Peterson took a shotgun snap next on a designed run managed a couple yards before a fumble - which Lindale recovered. Another short run left them looking at their first 4th down and punting. The Peterson punt rolled to the Argyle 13.
The passing game to Walker got things rolling again and the fast-paced spread offense continued to roll. Rogers was hit as he threw a long pass down the right side and a pass interference call gave Argyle a quick 15 yards. Byce tried a run up the middle with no effect followed by a pass out to Hayden Stewart for a nice gain with a fumble at the end. The ball squirted into the hands of a Lindale player. Jenkins started things off for Lindale with a nice 6 yard run around the right side and Peterson tried a run up the middle with no gain. Third and four saw Peterson with a lot of time finally tossing downfield but overthrowing his receiver. Their second punt followed.
Argyle took over looking to build on their lead. A run by an unstoppable Byce moved the team forward 30 yards. That was followed by another Byce carry and yet another. Between those two he came just a couple feet from a first. Byce reached that goal on the next carry. Argyle continued to rely on his running with his 11th and 12th carries of the game before taking a breather. Handing instead to Braden Baker harvested no result and left Argyle with a 4th down. A jump by Lindale rescued the drive and gave Argyle an easy first down. A play-action pass to TE Jasper Lott for 22 yards set them up with first and goal at the 9. Baker netted 5 on his next carry and Byce entered the game just in time to get his second TD going up the gut untouched. 14-0 Argyle 2:12
Lindale may have felt they were in for a long night after fumbling the kickoff return to Argyle's Dax Horany at the 2. Argyle went straight to the run for the two yards with Byce's 14th carry and 3rd touchdown. It was his 2nd in 9 seconds. 21-0 Argyle 2:03
Lindale no stranger to being down, set about righting the ship after recovering the bounce kick at their 40. A swarming Argyle defense shut down the first and second runs leaving a 3rd and 7. Attempting a shotgun pass, Peterson was met by Michael Madrie in the backfield for a sack forcing another Lindale punt. Peterson at this point had more punts than pass completions.
Rogers faked a handoff and tossed the ball to no one before and salved the incomplete with a run on the left side for 11. Lindale's DE Jaymond Jackson didn't let him do it again blasting in for the sack on the next play to end the quarter.
2Q
Argyle shook off the sack with a handoff to Byce for a big run down the left side but it was called back after a holding call. A 16 yard play-action pass by Rogers to Ward Mccollum diving to grab it off the turf made up for the penalty. After a review to confirm the catch, Rogers rolled out of the pocket but came no where near the first down. The first Argyle punt set Lindale at their own 20. It was Jenkins on the ground for Lindale first and a pass behind the receiver on second down that left them facing 3rd and 9. Another incompletion by Peterson and Lindale was punting again.
Argyle took over at their 28 yard line. Rogers again handed off to Byce for 8 but a late flag indicated another holding call. On first and 20, Byce tripped over his own lineman and gained only a yard. Under pressure from Lindale, Rogers tossed the ball out of bounds. On 3rd and 19 a play-action pass to Lot came up very short and Argyle punted for the second straight time. Lindale backed away and the ball rolled to their 32. Peterson faked the handoff to Jenkins and found Jacob Seekford for a rare first down. Peterson kept the ball and ran to right of center for 5 yards. A handoff to Jenkins lit things up for 41 yards but a flag holding penalty from the spot of the foul still ended with a first down. Jenkins' next carry looked like he was caught behind the line until he managed to gain a couple out of it. A tipped pass hit the turf on the next play. 3rd and 8 and the handoff to Jenkins managed to gain nothing. The holding penalty was declined making it 4th down. Lindale in four down territory saw Peterson launching a pass that again found nobody and gave Argyle the ball back.
With 6:17 left in the half and a 21 point lead, Argyle handed off to Baker for 6 yards. His second carry netted -2 yards and third down saw Rogers roll out of the pocket to the left and cross the first down marker as he stepped out with a new set of downs. Kirkpatrick caught his next pass for 15 yards and another first which was followed with another 7 to Kirkpatrick. The 2nd and 3 call was a first down run by Baker. Rogers tossed the next ball away as his receivers were covered and the pocket was collapsing. The next play Rogers found Lott wide open over the middle for 20 big yards. Byce carried from the 11 to the 5 and then carried again to the 1 yard line. Byce notched his fourth TD on the next run. 28-0 Argyle 3:17
Lindale with just over three minutes started on the 39 after a big Jenkins return. Peterson on the option keeper grabbed 5 yards and his next pass found Seekford for a first. Peterson took the snap off the ground and was stopped behind the line. A play-action pass to Evan Alford down the right side gave Lindale a first down. The next run by Jenkins lost three and was followed by a Peterson toss to Seekford who coughed up the ball on the tackle. The review revealed he was down and Lindale kept possession. The solid Lindale drive was running out of time with just 1:16 in the half. The first down play from the 22 was a handoff to Jenkins for 6 yards followed by an inside dive to the 12 for a first down. A lob pass to the end zone was jump ball that was knocked to the turf. With 24 seconds before the break, Peterson rolled left and found Cody Swaim to to the 4 yard line and Lindale faced 4th and 3 for a 1st or 4th and 4 for a score. Either way, they had 16 seconds to do it. Peterson found Seekford wide open running right along the goal line but it bounced off his hands and gave the ball to Argyle.
Argyle's Rogers downed the ball immediately with one foot in the end zone but touched the ball in the field of play as time expired.
3Q
Lindale set about trying getting involved in the scoring in the final 24 minutes with the ball at their 41. A fake to Jenkins and a pass to Seekford moved the chains right away. This time Peterson handed the ball to Jenkins who was unable to find anything up the middle. A fumble that Peterson just fell on left them facing 3rd and 11. Dropping back to pass, Peterson waited and waited before launching, The ball was knocked down by a pass interference call gave them a first down. Another play-action missed the target and on the next play Peterson again handed to Jenkins up the middle - this time for 5 yards. Yet another play-action to Seekford was unable to connect but again drew a pass interference call and a first down. From the 22, Peterson found Alford open in the right flat to the 10. When Jenkins again looked stopped, he fell forward for 3 yards and on the next play took the ball to the 6. A 3rd and 5 saw Peterson keep the ball and sprinted left to the end zone for the first Lindale score. 28-7 Argyle 8:50
Argyle began on their 24 by passing to McCollum for 4 yards. Rogers found him again on the next play fir a first down at the 44. Tito Byce then carried on the left side for a first and up the middle for 8 more. Rogers faked the handoff to Byce and then delivered a strike to Kirkpatrick for another first at the 20. Byce took a pitch to the left and as he flared it outside was caught from behind by Levi Thornton for a 3 yard loss. Rogers flushed out of the pocket tossed it away and on 3rd a handoff to Byce earned a first down as he broke several arm tackles for 14 yards to the 9. He was given the rock once again and carried it down to the 1. Lindale bit on the handoff thinking Byce would try for his 5th TD but Rogers pulled up and found wide open tracing the goal line for a score and notching is 200th passing yard. A personal foul flag on Lindale will be assessed on the kickoff. 35-7 Argyle 5:36
Kicking from Lindale's 45, Argyle tried the onside but did not recover. Lindale started at their 35, Peterson handed to Jenkins for a quick 6 yards. Another play-action bounced harmlessly to the turf and on 3rd down Jenkins ran up the middle for a first. A pass for -1 yards to Seekford did not help the effort but his next catch gained 6. On 3rd, Jenkins ran right and again earned the first down at the 40. Peterson rolled right on the keeper for only 2 yards and then handed to Jenkins for no gain. Again facing 3rd down, Peterson found Seekford sprinting down the left side and he breezed into the end zone for the 38 yard TD catch. 35-14 Argyle 2:47
A fair catch gave Argyle the ball at their 25 and a fake to Byce led to a 6 yard pass to Kirkpatrick. The same play netted the same result and a first down. Flushed out of the pocket again, Rogers sprinted to the other side of the field to salvage a 1 yard gain and it was time to hand to Byce again on the next play. He burst through the line for 20 yards and without missing a beat, Rogers snapped the ball and tossed to Mccollum for an easy touchdown. 42-14 Argyle 1:30
Lindale started the drive on their 33 with a great fake to Jenkins that opened Peterson for an 8 yard run. The next play saw Jenkins run left and slip for a 2 yard loss. Peterson tossed the ball to nobody and left them looking at 4th and 4 and a punt. Argyle started on their 27 after the fair catch. A handoff to Byce netted only 1 but 140 for the game as the quarter ended.
4Q
Continuing their drive Rogers was caught behind the line and brought up 3rd and 10. Standing in the pocket, Rogers found Kirkpatrick 43 yards down the left side. He stepped out at the 31 yard line with over 100 yards receiving on the day. A fresh set of downs saw an old play choice as the handoff went to Byce for no gain. An Argyle shove to a flopping Lindale player earned set Argyle back 15 yards. Rogers tossed away the next pass bringing up 3rd and 25. Coach Todd Rogers called his 21 yard play - the quick hit to Lott down the middle. A personal foul against Lindale moved the ball half the distance to the goal. 1st and 10 at the 12 called for another Byce run that proved to go for no gain. On second down, a pass to Lott was stripped at the 2 and bounced into the end zone but Williams grabbed the fumble and downed it for a Lindale touchback.
Starting at their 20, Lindale started with a pass in the flat to Jenkins that lost a yard. Peterson had a lot of time looking for an open receiver but finally threw the ball away after seeing none. His next play, he found the tight end for a short gain. On 4th and 5 Lindale again punted to the Argyle 27.
A Byce run found nothing on first down and Baker carried the ball through a huge hole in the left side for a big 40 yard gain on the second down. He again carried on first and netted a quick 6 inside the Lindale 30. Rogers rolled right and tossed back across the field to Baker for another first at the 13. The next play was some trickery that ended up losing 7. Byce took the 2nd down run for 3 and on the next play Rogers was flushed out of the pocket, spun backward to the left and looked like he was going to throw the ball away but instead found Sutton Lee on the sideline for a first down. A roughing the passer call added to the gain and set up Argyle at the 6. Baker ran off center to the left for just a yard and on second down Rogers found Jasper Lott for another score off the play-action pass. 49-14 Argyle 4:55
Lindale started at the 20 with 4:47 remaining. Jenkins carried on the right side for 6 yards and Peterson found Alford for a first on the next play. Jenkins rolled ahead for 6 and then Peterson tossed another for a first before handing it back to Jenkins again. Again a rollout pass gained the first. Brooks caught the next pass and brought up 2nd and 4 before another pass gained another first. Jenkins finally broke won for a TD and broke 100 yards rushing for the night. 49-21 Argyle 1:57
The onside kick was not to be and Argyle set about burning the clock by taking out the starters and running the ball until the game was over and their state championship was sealed.
The Offensive MVP went to Tito Byce (pictured) and the Defensive MVP was Zach Stewart.
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