Fourth-quarter miscues end historic run
4 late turnovers prevent Tigers from earning first trip to final
Up three points with 10 minutes to play, Klein Collins’ first state championship game was well within its grasp.
Then DeSoto ripped it away in the blink of a teary eye
The Eagles turned two Klein Collins fumbles into two 42-yard touchdown returns in 23 seconds, clinching their first state final with a 42-31 victory Saturday in the Class 6A Division II semifinals at NRG Stadium.
“A state championship (game) would have been great, but the hardest part is not lining up to practice on Monday with these guys,” said banged-up star Bryson Powers, who supplied two first-half scores.
“We’re a family, that’s what we say, and we truly believe it.”
The Tigers’ belief buoyed a historic season, including their first regional title and 13-win campaign. They finished the year at 13-2.
DeSoto (15-0) will face Cibolo Steele, a 35-14 winner over Cinco Ranch in the other semifinal, in the 6A Division II final at 4 p.m. Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
The Eagles forced five turnovers and scoring two defensive touchdowns — all in the second half.
“You can’t give the ball away like we did, or they took it,” Klein Collins coach Drew Svoboda said. “You’re not going to win any football games doing that. They’ve got a good football team. They built a lot of momentum there as they started getting those turnovers, and we couldn’t stop the bleeding.” Powers provides boost
Powers did his best to power another victory.
He entered the contest with tape on his injured elbow, which kept him from throwing the ball the last seven weeks, and a bulky brace on his injured knee, which made him a non- factor the last two weeks.
But those issues didn’t deter him from putting in work Saturday.
When he wasn’t in motion as a receiver, he was blocking and making every run and reception an impact play.
The senior’s first five touches went like this: 4-yard touchdown run, 30-yard reception, 17-yard touchdown run, 8-yard run on a third-and-2 play and a 24-yard run on fourth-and-2.
“I was pretty determined, but that really wasn’t me,” Powers said. “(The offensive line) set that up well. Both those first two touchdowns runs, the hole was wide open, and that’s the line. That’s not me.”
The Tigers scored 14 points in the final 49 seconds of the first half.
Brett Bridges, under center since Powers injured his elbow Oct. 21 against Stratford, extended across the goal line for a 4-yard touchdown. Then, after J’waun Adams recovered a fumble by DeSoto quarterback Shawn Robinson, Jaylon Johnson gave the Tigers a 28-14 halftime lead with a 6-yard touchdown reception.
Klein Collins slowed down in the third quarter but still led 31-21 late in the quarter after a 40-yard interception return by Tate Thomlinson set up Jona- than Bucio’s 22-yard field goal with 2:13 showing. Wheels come off
But the fourth quarter was a disaster — four possessions, four turnovers.
DeSoto’s Byron Hanspard Jr. intercepted Bridges twice in the second half.
Ashton Brooks’ 42-yard fumble-return touchdown gave DeSoto its first lead, 35-31 with 7:46 left in the game, and Isaiah Stewart’s 42-yard strip-six — he wrestled the ball away from Josh Powell — gave the Eagles a 42-31 lead with 7:23 remaining.
“We just didn’t execute,” Powers said.
Robinson led the way offensively for DeSoto, throwing for 132 yards and rushing for 119 yards and one touchdown.
“Any time they had a misstep, we capitalized on it in the first half, and the roles flipped in the second half,” Svoboda said.
“It was a tale of two halves.”