Tigers win nail-biter
LUFKIN, Texas — Texas High did the improbable in spectacular fashion.
The Tigers out-dueled No. 5 Lufkin in double overtime and snapped the Panthers’ 9-game win streak with a 41-35 THS victory Friday in a Class 5A, Division I bi-district football game at Abe Martin Stadium.
Caleb Arnold intercepted a pass on 4th-and-goal from the 9-yard line to preserve the win after Braylon Stewart raced 6 yards for the go-ahead TD in the Tigers’ offensive possession of the second OT.
“We’ve had goals all year. Tonight our goal was just give it a better effort than Lufkin was willing to give,” Tigers head coach Gerry Stanford said. “My hat’s off to the because they gave a great effort; they’re the No. 5 team in the state for a reason.
“We wanted to make a statement that we can play with anybody. We know there’s more coming like that, but tonight it was about our effort and our kids.”
Texas High (7-4) will host Frisco Independence (9-2) next week for an area round game at Tiger Stadium in Grim Park.
In the first overtime, Kelton Wright caught an 18-yard TD from Jordan Moore for the Panthers (9-2) to break the 28-all tie. THS answered with a 26-yard strike from Rian Cellers to Kobe Webster, who had three TD receptions on the night.
Webster had a 3-yard scoring reception with 43 seconds left in the game, and Oscar Hernandez’s PAT tied the score to force the extra periods.
Lufkin out-gained the Tigers, 523385 in total yardage.
After a defense-dominant first half, Texas High scored twice in the third quarter, sandwiched between three Panther touchdowns.
Cellers had a 20-yard scoring run with 4:25 left and connected with Webster for a 26-yarder with 6:36 left in the third.
Webster finished with seven grabs for 126 yards and three TDs, and Tracy Cooper rushed 19 times for 87 yards and a score. Cellers was 14-of-32 passing for 264 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
Christian Reggie had nine catches for 207 yards and two TDs for Lufkin, and Caleb Berry rushed 31 times for 178 yards and two scores.
“On the final drive (in the second overtime) we had to play eight defensive snaps in a row due to the penalty,” Stanford said. “To do what they did, chasing their quarterback out of the pocket and all over the field, it came down to heart and effort.
“You can’t change somebody’s heart; you either have heart or you don’t. Down the stretch, we had a whole lot of heart and a whole lot of effort.”
Texas High tied the game with 1:43 left in the first half on a 62-yard drive.
Cooper followed a 36-yard pass from Cellers to Clayton Smith with a runs of 12, 6 and 3 yards, the final one to punch in the touchdown for the Tigers.
Oscar Hernandez’s extra point kick tied the score at 7-all.
On Lufkin’s third possession of the game, Berry broke free on a 37-yard jaunt up the middle, and Caleb Encarnacion booted the PAT.
The defenses dominated much of the first half, each team forcing three 3-and-outs and one turnover on downs in the opening 24 minutes.
LaJontae Wrightner intercepted a pass and returned it 21 yards to the Panther 41 midway through the first quarter, but the Tigers turned the ball over after a fourth-down pass was short of the first-down marker.
Texas High forced a 3-and-out on the ensuing drive, and THS went and scored on its next possession.
Lufkin was driving for a possible go-ahead score and, likely, setting up a field goal. However, Caleb Arnold forced a fumble on a pass to the 17, and Matt Arnold returned the fumble 40 yards on the next to the last play of the second quarter.