Mustangs’ run endures with win over Falcons
Kingwood started the year using mismatched helmets and equipment from other schools.
Hurricane Harvey’s damage to the high school forced its students into a campus share with Summer Creek.
If getting to the area round was playing with house money for the Mustangs, then getting to its first third-round game in 27 years is a dream.
Kingwood bested Clear Lake 38-30 Saturday at NRG Stadium in the Class 6A Division II Region III area playoffs.
The Mustangs haven’t lasted this long in the postseason since 1990 and face Langham Creek at noon Saturday at University of Houston’s TDECU Stadium in the regional semifinal.
Down to the wire
Kingwood led 14-10 at the half but needed 17 unanswered points in the fourth to win this game.
Players like standout Clear Lake junior quarterback Shae Suiaunoa always have big plays up their sleeve. He was 12-of-25 passing for 147 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions with 111 rushing yards and two more scores on 17 carries.
Clear Lake’s Brian Holloway blocked a Kingwood punt that rolled into the end zone, where Preston Schaulin fell on it for a touchdown and the 23-14 lead.
“There’s not a lot of times where you overcome a blocked punt for a touchdown,” Kingwood coach Barry Campbell said. “It looked pretty bleak at that point.”
Kingwood quarterback Matt Slayton, however, threw a floating 23-yard touchdown pass to Nolan Powell.
Kingwood’s Aaron Finch picked off Suiaunoa near the end of the third.
Slayton’s lateral pass to Braden Loiodice and Loiodice’s throwback pass back to Slayton left room for the quarterback to scurry to the Clear Lake 1.
Finch punched in the score and had the Mustangs behind 30-28 as the fourth quarter started.
“We’ve had that throwback pass in our playbook for about four weeks and we’ve never had the opportunity to use it,” said Slayton, who was 10-of-19 passing for 104 yards and one touchdown with 15 carries for 103 yards and another two scores.
Kingwood’s defense was stingy on what Clear Lake hoped would be the winning drive, sacking Suiaunoa twice.
Clear Lake actually allowed Kingwood’s Blake Parr to score on a 21-yard run on the next drive. It meant Suiaunoa would get the ball back behind by eight with 1:26 remaining.
But the game ended on a heave to the end zone that fell short.
A season of resiliance
Kingwood is one of the teams most affected by Hurricane Harvey. Campbell said sharing a campus with Summer Creek had gone smoother than some expected, but it still was not a normal year for the Mustangs on or off the field.
“Before the hurricane even showed up we had aspirations of doing this,” Campbell said of the season. “… I’m just proud of our guys doing it. They could’ve checked it in a long time ago and they never did.”