Jim Ned Overcomes 21 Point Deficit to Beat Hallettsville
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Updated: December 17, 2020
Class 3A Division I State Championship Game
ARLINGTON - The Tuscola Jim Ned Indians (13-1-0) vs. Hallettsville Brahmas (13-2) met Thursday evening at AT&T Stadium to with visions of winning their first ever state titles - this one for the Class 3A Division I crown.
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. The Brahmas took the win 31-14 over the Indians in what was a tight battle until the Hallettsville running game wore down their defensive opponents and when we simulated with the board game. It ended up looking much more one-sided than it felt during the game.
The Real Game
1Q
Tuscola Jim Ned remembering their matchup in October (which the Indians won) set about running their offense but Hallettsville showed the early fire. A three and out left the Indians punting on their first drive. The Brahmas began on their own 15 and Jonathan Brooks rambled ahead for six. His habit of breaking tackles en route to big gains is uncanny. He completed the drive he started with a 56 yard scamper down the left sideline outrunning everyone for the first Hallettsville score - his 60th of the season - leaving him 5 shy of Jonathan Gray's (Aledo) record . 7-0 Hallettsville 6:42
Jim Ned was unable to get anything going once again as Tate Yardley's pass and run didn't get it done. A shanked punt sent it out of bounds at the 35 of the Brahmas. Once again Brooks began the drive and played a key role throughout. A great pass from Trace Patek to Deven Wood earned a key 1st down along the way and it was right back to Brooks for big chunks of yardage. Patek slowed things down when his sweep got smothered for a 7 yard loss. Facing 3rd and 14 Patek threaded a needle to hit Ty Gerke in the front-right corner of the end zone for a score. 14-0 Hallettsville 1:07
Down by two scores the Indians seemed intent on getting standout RB, Xavier Wishert going. The quarter ended after two Wishert runs - his final one shut down by Johnathan Brooks playing on defense for the Brahmas. An incomplete pass knocked down by Brooks left Jim Ned punting again.
2Q
The Brahmas began their third drive on their own 19. To no one's surprise, they went straight to Brooks. After a couple runs and an incomplete however, it was Hallettsville with their first punt - yes, it was Brooks as the punter.
With a tiny bit of momentum, the Indian offense tried to capitalize. Wishert grabbed a couple on first down and then ran for no gain. On third, they finally converted with a pass to Caden Martin and finally breathed. Wishert again was confounded by a host of Brahmas stopping him for a two yard loss and Yardley tossed the next pass out of bounds. Just like that, the Indians were facing 3rd and long again. Chased out of the pocket he again threw away the ball and settled for a punt. The Indians elected to go for it on 4th and 12 but Hallettsville sniffed out the trickery of the flea flicker and stuffed then for an even bigger loss and the ball.
Hallettsville with momentum clearly on their side, and Brooks in their backfield wasted no time. Brooks took a toss to the left fighting tackles the entire way for big yards down to the 17. He followed that run with a first down inside the 10. From 6 yards out Brooks took the snap, dropped it but turned it into a small gain rather than a sack. Facing 3rd and goal from the 3, Brooks fought through three tackles but emerged standing in the end zone with another score. 21-0 Hallettsville 5:19
Jim Ned searching for an answer came up with nothing new as Wishert was again caught in the backfield on first down. Running straight up the middle he did much better but still left the Indians with 3rd and 9. An offside call against the defense shortened the needed yardage but they came up short on the conversion again. The punt went out of bounds on the Hallettsville 29.
A false start dug the Brahmas a hole before the drive even began and after the Patek bomb down the left side to Wood overshot him, it was back to the Brooks show to try to salvage the series. Third and 13 brought another pass. A holding call against Hallettsville was declined and the Brahmas lined up to punt. The Brooks punt went to the Jim Ned 34.
The Indians with 2:28 before halftime again went to Wishert on back-to-back carries earning a first down. A toss over the middle to Hunter Wilson was incomplete when Luke Bludau hit him early earning a pass interference call and another first down. Yardley uncorked another pass, this one incomplete to Zach Henderson before hitting Braden Lewis for 34 yards that set up a 1st and goal at the 5. Jim Ned to use their workhouse, Wishert for the final push. He went through untouched but a flag negated the score when the Indians were called for chop block and a personal foul. Both penalties were enforced moving the 1st and goal to starting at the 35. Unfazed, Yardley caught Henderson streaking down the left side in the front of the end zone for the first Jim Ned touchdown. 21-7 Hallettsville 0:59
Brooks received the kickoff and returned it to the 19 with 53 seconds before the break. On first down, he pinballed his way to 15 yards and another first. A quick screen pass to Gerke and another Brooks carry left Hallettsville with 3rd and 2 with 26 seconds left. Patek scrambled for a first before spiking the ball with 16 seconds. At midfield now, a flea flicker intended for Bludau fell short. A toss to Brooks was the final play of the half as he added 15 yards to his total that was well over 200 already.
3Q
Brooks picked up where he left off grabbing a first down with his first run of the second half. Another first down was followed by a holding call with left them with 3rd and long just a few plays later. Patek was flushed out of the pocket and only managed a couple yards before being grabbed from behind by Wishert. The Brahmas punted and Jim Ned started their drive on their 30. Wishert started the action for Jim Ned as his running seems to get better as the game goes on. More Wishert on the next three plays eventually slowed him. Yardley connected with Martin for 11 yards to grab another first down at midfield. Yardley's next toss was picked off by Deven Wood and the Brahmas were back in the driver's seat.
Brooks tallied six more on the ground but was tripped for no gain on the next carry. The Indians dropped Patek for an 11 yard sack and forced yet another Brahma punt. Brooks' punt and the unsportsmanlike conduct call backed Jim Ned up to their own 17. This time Wishert notched 15 yards on his first down carry but a false start erased some of that gain on the next play. Wishert added another 20 yard blast and a short gain to Hallettsville territory. A Yardley run to keep them honest grabbed a couple yards and on 3rd and 3 Yardley completed their 4th of eight 3rd down conversions with his run. From the 41 Wishert got around the right side for 7 more which was followed a deep 35 yard pass to a well-defended Henderson in the end zone. He came down with the ball cutting the lead to 7. 21-14 Hallettsville 1:21
Hallettsville unable to get anything going in the second half did not panic. They decided to keep dancing who who brung them and continued to have Brooks handle the bulk of the running. Gaining only 6 yards on two carries the quarter ended.
4Q
On 3rd and 4 Brooks again carried but came up a yard short. Despite being on their own half of the field the toss was again to Brooks who converted for the first. On his 5 straight carry Brooks coughed up the ball which was recovered by Jim Ned. The Indians with a wave of momentum went straight back to Wishert who reached the marker after two carries. His next carry moved them inside the Brahmas 30 and his next carry earned another first down. There was no rest for the weary as Yardley kept handing the ball to Wishert and he kept producing. Two more carries had him bring Jim Ned inside the 15 burning clock the entire time. Another Wishert run set them up first and goal at the 7. Yardley tossed into the end zone incomplete but giving Wishert a quick breather. The next play he connected with Lewis on a slant in the end zone. 21-21 Tied 4:07
Hallettsville with no momentum and reeling from giving up a 21-0 lead did what they do best - run the ball. This time starting with Patek on the keeper and then Brooks finally broke his first long run of the half. Unfortunately for the Brahmas it was called back from an illegal block call - when it rains it pours. Patek connected with Woods over the middle on the next play to the 43. Brooks then got another carry but was dragged down by Wishert for no gain. An incomplete pass setup a 3rd and 10 which was a busted play when Brooks dropped a wide open pass. The punt pinned Jim Ned at their 7.
Wishert blasted straight up the middle for 8 and then got a first down with a run around the left side. An incomplete pass followed by a missed snap pushed the Indians to 3rd and 23 from their 9 with 1:08 remaining. Wishert blasted for 15 yards but was still far short and punted 52 yards. Hallettsville started with a quick pass to the sideline and then Patek launched it deep down the middle but nobody could come down with it. A jump pass on the next play gave them a first down before the spike stopped the clock. Another incomplete left 13 seconds on the clock from the 48 Patek scrambled down the field and ran out of time as the teams headed to overtime.
OT
Jim Ned elected to start on defense in the first overtime. Hallettsville began 25 yards from the end zone and Brooks got the first carry and turned it into a first down. Brooks took the next toss from the 12 to inside the 5. On his 3rd carry he got only a yard and left the Brahmas facing 3rd and 2 at the 4. The teams took turns with timeouts before Brooks ran in for the touchdown 28-21 Hallettville
Jim Ned used Wishert several plays before bowling into the end zone to score the TD. The Indians lined up for the winning 2 point conversion. The conversion was good as Yardley flipped a short one over Brooks to Woods for the game winning score. 29-28 Jim Ned
The Offensive MVP went to Jonathan Brooks and the Defensive MVP was Xavier Wishert.
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