Travis 71 Dulles 42
The Tigers score 27 unanswered points to earn playoff spot.
Just because Travis was peppered with new faces this year, it didn’t mean the Tigers were pressing the reset button.
Making the playoffs was always the goal.
They didn’t disappoint this season.
Travis defeated Dulles 7142 on Friday night at Mercer Stadium.
It was simple: win and you’re in the postseason.
Travis clinched fourth place in District 23-6A and will be a No. 2 seed in Division II.
Amryn Jeffrey — a firstyear starter at quarterback as a sophomore — led a high-flying attack doing what it does: score in bunches.
He completed 25 of 34 pass attempts for 463 yards and four touchdowns.
Travis senior defensive end Fallah Popeh had three sacks.
“It’s one of those things where we talk about the process,” first-year Travis coach Trey Sissom said. “We started back in June when I came in.
“We asked the kids every single day to bring that workman’s mentality and they’ve done it.”
Once the Tigers found an opening, they only widened the gap.
After a 14-14 first quarter, Travis scored 27 unanswered points heading into halftime, which essentially sealed the victory.
Zac Martin’s 6-yard touchdown run broke the 14-14 deadlock for Travis with 7:42 left in the second quarter.
The Tigers forced a three-and-out.
Then, Travis’ Naveon Mitchell — pulled up from the junior varsity midway through the season — turned in one of many big plays with a 55-yard touchdown run.
Travis recovered a fumble on the ensuing kick and Jeffrey connected with Grant Griffin for a 28-yard score.
The Tigers forced another three-and-out, and six plays later, linebacker Tyler Jackson bulldozed his way into the end zone for a 4-yard score. Travis had a 41-14 lead suddenly.
“It was a great night for us obviously offensively,” Sissom said. “We played really well against a team like Dulles, who’s averaging almost 500 yards offensively.
“Our defense really stepped up and played.
The Vikings had a capable quarterback of their own in junior Luke Metzer. The Tigers didn’t let him breathe much.
That was mostly on the senior Popeh.
“It was tough,” Popeh said. “It wasn’t a one-man thing. Eleven guys running to the football. We had to hold the line of scrimmage and contain the quarterback because he’s very mobile.”
Travis meets Clear Creek in the bi-district round once again. The Tigers beat Clear Creek, 34-29 last year.
Dulles’ season is done, but the turnaround was huge.
“To go from a team that was 0-10 last year, laughing stock of Fort Bend to a team that’s fighting for a playoff spot in the last game of the season, winner-take-all ballgame,” Dulles coach Oschlor Flemming said. “That says a lot for our kids and what they put into the offseason.”