Crosby 49 C.E. King 12
The Cougars finish first unbeaten regular season in 67 years.
CROSBY — Crosby didn’t feel like sharing this season.
The state’s fourthranked Class 5A team completed its first 10-0 regular season in 67 years with a 49-12 win over C.E. King on Friday night at Cougar Stadium, giving it the District 21-5A crown outright.
Crosby and King shared the championship a year ago after King’s upset in the finale.
“That hurt us last year, losing the (outright) district championship,” Crosby coach Jeff Riordan said. “We had a chance to be 10-0, and something that Crosby’s (rarely) done is be 10-0, so to be 10-0 and win a district championship (this year) is a great feeling.”
The Cougars went on to the Class 5A semifinals last season, falling 49-21 to Cedar Park at Texas Memorial Stadium.
They’re poised to make another deep run this year.
The Cougars (10-0, 8-0) open against Lumberton in the 5A Division II playoffs at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Texans Drive Stadium in New Caney.
Sophomore running back Craig Williams, who’s played hurt most of the year, was healthy Friday, running for 99 yards and three touchdowns.
His 5-yard run late in the second quarter gave Crosby a 21-3 halftime lead.
Trevian Edwards — who moved to RB with Williams banged up and Carlos Grace out since Week 2 with a seasonending knee injury — carried 16 times for 220 yards and a 25-yard scoring run in the fourth.
Edwards’ TD gave the Cougars a 35-12 advantage with 10:05 remaining.
“Trevian was a big surprise,” Riordan said.
“He was a receiver, a very good receiver — one of our best receivers — and we had to move him to the backfield when those guys got hurt, but Tre fills a hole that we have right now at running back.
“He’s very physical, he’s very hard to tackle, and he had an unbelievable game tonight.”
The Williams-Edwards tandem helped Crosby rack up 378 rushing yards and 503 total yards to go with 22 first downs Friday night in the win.
The Panthers started strong, reaching Crosby’s 13 on their opening drive, but then they turned it over on downs.
Another long first-half drive ended with Jonathan Morales’ 43-yard field goal.
Quarterback Johnathan Brantley finally broke free for a 10-yard touchdown run with 4:03 left in the third, but it was too late.
King finished with only 109 yards on 39 carries — with no Trayveon Williams.
The TCU-bound back managed only 14 yards on eight carries in the first half, then sat out the second half with a toe injury.
King (8-2, 7-1) opens the 5A Division I bracket against Beaumont Central at 7 p.m. Thursday at Pearland Stadium.
“You’ve got to win with whoever’s out there,” King coach Don Price said. “You’ve got to play your best. We didn’t play well (and) they’re a good football team. You can’t give up big plays and win games.”