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Round Rock, TX; Lake Travis Cavaliers wide receiver Chernet Estes (10) unable catch the pass as North Shore Mustangs defensive back Jacoby Davis (5) defends during the second quarter at the Class 6A Division 1 state semifinal playoff on Saturday, Dec 11 2021, at Kelly Reeves Athletic Center.
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The game is winding down, and many of the 40,000-plus fans at Irving’s Texas Stadium have left.
With the Plano East Panthers trailing them 41-17 in the Region II semifinal in class 5A Division II, the Lions of Tyler John Tyler High School (John Tyler) are thinking beyond the next round of playoffs. Instead they’re dreaming of a state championship “Basically, the game was over. It was in our control,” John Tyler quarterback Morris Anderson told D Magazine in a November 2014 article. “And all we had to do was finish it out.”
His teammate, kicker Nico Hernandez remembers their coaches coming down from the press box. The Lions even put in their second-team defense. Both teams had come into the game with 12-0 records.
Plano East was a blue-collar group with a few all-stars peppered in, John Tyler basically a track team in football uniforms. Opponents feared their defenses. That season, John Tyler had been giving up, on average, about 14 points a game; Plano East less than nine. The Associated Press ranked Plano East No. 2 in the state poll; John Tyler at No 3.
It had been a relatively close game up until this point.
The Lions came into the fourth quarter with just a seven-point lead (24-17), soon after scoring a field goal to put the score at 27-17. Toward the end of the quarter with the Panthers on first and goal, the aggressive John Tyler defense stripped the ball away from Plano East quarterback Jeff Whitley. The Lions recovered the resulting fumble, and returned the ball 90 yards for a touchdown.
The Lions were by now ahead 34-17. Four minutes and 24 seconds remained in the game. “Then the next series,” Whitley said in the same article, “I dropped back to pass, they hit me, I fumble, and they [ran] it back for another touchdown. I mean, I was just devastated.”
Now the game is looking like a blowout.
The Lions lead 41-17, only three minutes and three seconds left to play. “Why the hell am I going back in this game?” Whitley said, admitting he expected the backup quarterback to come in at this time. “We thought it was over.”
But the Panthers are relentless, scoring on a two-play 70-yard drive, but miss the two-point conversion. The score is now 41-23, the Lions still holding on to the lead. Only two minutes and 36 seconds on the clock.
Then a little bit of Texas football magic.
Terence Green, Plano East’s wide receiver, is filling in for the usual kicker who had been booted from the team the week before. Green, in the final minutes of the game, executes three consecutive onside kicks.
Again that’s … Three. Consecutive. Onside. Kicks. (Green also caught a touchdown pass that brought the score to 41-23, and set up another touchdown with a 44-yard catch). And each time, Plano East – magically, unbelievably – not only recovers the ball but also drives it down the field for touchdowns.
Green later told D Magazine it was his first time doing onside kicks. “I did it with my toe. I toe-punched the ball. You don’t ever see someone toe-punching an onside kick, it’s always soccer style,” he said.
“But I was just thinking, ‘Hey, get this thing end over end, then change the speed up on them. See what we can do.’ I was wanting to get that end over end, almost like a ground ball in baseball. A bad hop can pop up and hit you in the mouth.” The first Plano East touchdown takes six plays, then a two-point conversion. They still trail 41-31 with a minute and 29 seconds left.
The second requires another six plays but ends with a failed two-point conversion, bringing the score to 41-37. There are just 56 seconds to play. An extra point follows Plano East’s final touchdown, a pass from Whitley coming in just three plays. Only 24 seconds remain in the fourth quarter as the Panthers take the lead, 44-41.
“I just remember thinking that I have never seen – from the field looking up into the stands – people going that crazy,” Whitley said. “It was a surreal moment. … I guess after the second onside kick, and then we score, then you start saying, ‘Lord, if we get this, then we’ll probably win this game.’ ”
But in the final seconds of the game, there is quite the twist.
On his final kickoff, Green sends the ball high into the air. It falls into the hands of John Tyler kick returner Roderick Dunn, who had already mishandled two of Plano East’s onside kicks.
Lions coach Allen Wilson, also in the D magazine article, said he thought the ball was going over Dunn’s head. “Rod could’ve just looked at it and let it go out the back of the end zone. But instead he goes back and fields it on the three-yard line. The rest is history.”
Dunn then runs the ball up the field 97 yards for a touchdown with 11 seconds left on the clock, the only touchdown of his entire high school career. Truly amazingly, John Tyler has taken back the lead at 48-44.
In the final seconds of the game, Plano East’s brief possession ends in merely two plays with an interception, and the Lions win the game.
And then the state title. The Lions then won the Class 5A Division II championship, beating Lake Highlands, Arlington and, finally, Austin Westlake in the title game. The game was such a powerful story that it won ESPN’s 1995 ESPY Award as Showstopper of the Year.
Coach Wilson, in the same article, said the game wouldn’t have the same resonance it does today if the winner hadn’t went on to win the state title. “It lives in the lives of the kids who were there, the fans who were there. They relive it, probably not every day but periodically,” Archie McAfee, then the Plano East principal, told D Magazine.
“When they watch another team get down, they think, ‘Aha. Maybe this will be another Plano East-John Tyler comeback.’ It gives people hope that things like this can happen.”
The Vandegrift Vipers have already served notice to the rest of Class 6A that their program is an up-and-coming powerhouse in Central Texas.
While most teams hang their hats on an explosive air-raid attack or a dominant running game, Vandegrift is taking the opposite approach. Head coach Drew Sanders’ Vipers have become known for their suffocating defense, which has led to three district championships in the past four seasons.
Defeating Cedar Park this season 42-7 in week 1, Killeen Ellison 31-14 in Week 2 and San Angelo Central 45-13 in week 3 the vipers kicked off district play with a defeat of Stony Point 56-21 off to a 4-0 start.
During the pandemic-riddled 2020 campaign, Vandegrift finished second in District 25-6A behind a resurgent Round Rock team that stunned the state by taking out Lake Travis in the first round of the 6A Division I postseason. This year, Sanders and his retooled defense will look to regain their form following a fourth-round playoff exit against Hays in early January.
The Vipers graduated each of their top five tacklers from last season, but there’s no shortage of depth for Vandegrift. Along the front line, senior defensive end Tucker Harrison returns after a stellar year in 2020 that saw him register 79 tackles, five sacks and four forced fumbles en route to earning all-state honorable mention. Harrison will likely be joined at the point of attack by junior Oliver Yndo, senior Sterling Emerson, senior Lucas Cummings and senior Cristion Davis.
The linebacking corps will search for replacements for the trio of Austin Skoglund, Logan Arnold and Michael Mastrodicasa, who combined to make 342 total stops in 2020 while finishing as the team’s top three tacklers.
However, there’s plenty of experience back in the secondary, which is led by senior Jaxon Oliver, senior Griffin Shaffer, senior Clayton Moore and versatile senior Reece Beauchamp, who might see more time on offense in 2021. Oliver tied for the team lead in interceptions last year with three.
Vipers Defense in 2020 gang tackel a Round Rock Dragon runner in last years game.
Beauchamp could end up taking the reins for 2021 graduate Ryan Back at quarterback — or perhaps it will be junior Brayden Buchanan. Whichever player settles into the signal caller role will allow the other to become an instant play-maker in a different spot, whether it be at wide receiver or in another position.
The starting running back job appears locked up, as senior Ryan Sheppard returns after leading the team with 922 yards and six touchdowns as a junior. Sheppard is also a reliable receiver out of the backfield, as he made 13 catches a year ago.
Along the O-line, the Vipers will reload with one of the top groups in District 25-6A despite seeing only one starter — Ethan Barnard — return. Barnard is set to move from guard to center as a senior, and help is expected to be provided up front by senior Juan Gutierrez, senior Luke Collins and junior Ian Reed, who is a budding collegiate prospect at tackle.
When league play rolls around, the Vipers will look to battle past Round Rock and reclaim their familiar perch as district champs. Challenges from Hutto, Stony Point and Cedar Ridge are also expected, but Sanders’ team looks to have the inside track in the race for 25-6A’s top spot.
Vandegrift’s first 11 seasons of varsity competition have yielded an overall record of 94-40, and the Vipers’ 4-6 campaign back in 2010 — the program’s inaugural year — remains the lone losing season in school history.
ARLINGTON — Argyle’s 49-21 victory over Lindale in the UIL Class 4A Division I state championship felt more like a coronation than an actual competition.
The Eagles (16-0) wrapped up an immaculate 2020 season after jetting to a 28-point lead and cruising to the finish line from there. Along the way, senior running back Tito Byce rushed for 152 yards and found the end zone four times en route to being named the game’s Offensive MVP.
“It’s a joyous event,” Argyle head coach Todd Rodgers said. “I’m proud of my football team. I think they played like champions tonight. They were really focused the entire week. It was amazing to go out there and apply it in such an unusual environment. This is the biggest crowd we’ve played in front of all year. We loved it.”
Argyle left little doubt which team reigned supreme in 4A-I after flexing its potent offense on the opening snap of the contest. The Eagles saw quarterback CJ Rogers toss a 44-yard pass to Cash Walker, and eight plays later, Byce bulldozed his way across the goal line from 1 yard out.
Byce added three more scoring runs prior to halftime, and Argyle took a 28-0 lead into the locker room. Byce capped drives with TD rushes of 4, 2 and 2 yards as the Eagles left Lindale in a cloud of dust at AT&T Stadium.
The performance was even more meaningful for Byce given the fact that he was forced to watch the end of 2019 from the sidelines after suffering a torn ACL.
“It’s been a crazy journey,” Byce said. “I went right to work after I got surgery. All of my teammates and my coaches just pushed me super hard and I had the whole community behind me and it turned out great like we wanted it to.”
Lindale (13-3) broke up the shutout in the third quarter when Sam Peterson tallied a 6-yard TD run, but Argyle was content to trade scores with the Eagles during the second half.
Rogers threw three scores for Argyle after halftime, finding Jasper Lott on throws of 2 and 4 yards in addition to connecting with Ward McCollum for a 43-yard TD strike. The signal caller finished 23-of-30 passing for 357 yards as the Eagles romped to the program’s second state title on the gridiron.
“He’s been a fabulous quarterback and an amazing leader on our team,” Rodgers said of his QB. “I’m glad it all turned out that way for him and the rest of the people that did the work when nobody else was watching.”
Argyle’s defense also held up its end of the bargain by slowing down sensational Lindale running back Jordan Jenkins, who managed 112 tough yards on 26 carries.
“You’re never going to stop a great running back like that,” Rodgers said. “You just need to slow him down a whole bunch and kind of take him out of the game per se. And we were able to do that.”
Following the completion of the contest, Argyle senior defensive back Zach Stewart was named the Defensive MVP after he recorded 6 1/2 total tackles and also broke up a pass. “I think we played all year with an edge,” Stewart said. “We felt we needed to go out and prove ourselves every game, and I think we did that.”
Set to kick off an old rivalry rekindled between the 4-2 Austin Maroons and the 7-0 Westlake Chaparrals. UT commit quarterback Charles Wright lead the dangerous spread offense of Austin High. On the flip side you had a balanced attack from junior quarterback Cade Klubnik, senior running back Zane Minors and explosive sophomore receiver Jadden Greathouse.
Westlake received to start and blew the game open on the first play when Klubnik threw a quick screen pass to Zane Minors who exploded down the sideline for a gain of 28-yards. Westlake marched steadily downfield, capping off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run by Zane Minors. Austin High quickly surged downfield in their hurry-up offense with 8-yard strikes to Nick Anderson and receiving back Josh Garcia.
Westlake put a stop to the drive forcing a punt from makeshift punter Charels Wright. Westlake asserted their dominance with Jaden Greathouse rumbling downfield and breaking tackles for 28-yards. Nicholas Watanabe moved the Chaps into the red zone with a gain of 21 setting up Zane Minors for another touchdown run: this one for 4-yards. Now 14-0 the game quickly turned into a one sided affair with the Maroons picking up a few first downs but always being forced to punt. Cade Klubnik scored on a read option for a 3-yard TD run. Zane Minors padded the stats with his third touchdown rush for 9-yards.
Klubnik showcased his arm with a 29-yard laser down the seam to Luke Nicklos for another touchdown. Klubnik scored another rushing touchdown from 1-yard out, at this point the second team replaced the starters. Though losing 62-0 Austin High still has playoff chances. The offense showed moments of promise, consistently moving the ball, though they failed to convert, you know this will be a major talking point of the Austin High coaching staff. Another bright spot was senior receiver Nick Anderson who has been a stud hauling in the majority of touchdown passes and yards throughout the season. Austin High has a must win game against Del Valle next week.
Another solid game by Westlake though they knew it was not going to be much competition. Regardless a win is a win in the books as the Chaps look to have an undefeated season though that will not be easy as they match up against Lake Travis next week. Lake Travis had to cancel this week’s game against Akins due to a member of the coaching staff testing positive for coronavirus. Announcements will be made soon if there is any delay in the game against Westlake next week.
