Wildcats clinch district title, stay unbeaten
ROSENBERG — Angleton faced Foster in a District 27-5A showdown without injured Texas pledge B.J. Foster.
His absence didn’t derail the Wildcats.
Senior My’kell Ross supplied two rushing scores and recovered a fumble on defense, helping Angleton, ranked No. 2 in the area in Class 5A, clinch the district title with a 34-7 win over No. 10 Foster on Friday at Traylor Stadium.
“He’s a heck of a player,” Angleton coach Ryan Roark said. “He’s a 155 pounds dripping wet, but he is a ballplayer.
“It was a total team effort. We’ve got two of our best offensive players — and two of the very best players on our football team — who didn’t even suit out (Friday), and it was a next-man-up mentality.
‘It’s big’
Angleton also improved to 7-0, 5-0 with its first win against Foster in five years.
“It’s big, and not only because we wanted to win the district championship, it’s big because we wanted to stay undefeated, and it’s big for the bracket,” Roark said.
Both teams will head to the 5A Region IV Division II playoff bracket, where the Falcons are defending champs.
They beat Dripping Springs in the regional finals, while Angleton fell in area.
After finding redemption for last year’s 35-14 loss to Foster, Angleton is eyeing a deeper playoff run of its own as the top seed in the playoffs.
The Wildcats certainly looked the part on Friday.
They scored 17 points off three turnovers, received an 87-yard kickoff-return touchdown from Evrin Hawkins and essentially sealed the win on Jason Williams’ interception in the third.
And their two-way stars made plays — good and bad — from the first whistle.
Ross, a corner/receiver, recovered a fumble on the game’s second play, setting up the Wildcats’ first scoring drive, and he scored on a 7-yard run on the second, giving them a 14-0 edge.
Then Hawkins missed a tackle on Quinton Oliver, who escaped for a 14-yard touchdown.
But the senior corner/ tailback responded by returning the ensuing kickoff 87 yards for a 21-7 Wildcats lead 13 seconds later.
“He’s been responding like that all year long,” Roark said. “He’s one of our team leaders, he’s one of our best players, and he’s been making plays like that all year long.”
Doomed by mistakes
The Falcons (5-3, 4-1) didn’t help themselves, spotting Angleton a 14-0 lead off two early fumbles.
They finished with six fumbles, losing two.
After Oliver’s on the opening series set up Angleton’s first score — an 8-yard reception by Hawkins, who hauled in their only first-half pass — they fumbled the ensuing kickoff, leading to Ross’ score.
Angleton started its first three drives in Foster territory.
The Falcons finally took flight in the second quarter, putting together an 18-play, 70-yard drive that lasted nearly 8 minutes — but after reaching Angleton’s 26, they turned the ball over on downs.
The drive at least kept the Wildcats from adding to their lead.
They took a 21-7 lead to the break after Jordan Jones’ lost fumble with 13 seconds left in the second quarter.
But the Wildcats solidified their standing by starting the second half with a 10-play, 65-yard series, resulting in Ross’ second touchdown on a 6-yard run for a 28-7 advantage.
Eduardo Rosales added field goals of 31 and 26 yards for a 34-7 lead with 6:39 to go.
“We knew it was going to be a dogfight,” Roark said.
“It’s two really good football teams, and we stressed, and harped and harped all week long, that special teams is going to win this ballgame for us, and it played a huge factor (Friday).”