Legacy Prep season ends in state final
Legacy Preparatory Christian Academy wraped up the most successful season in school history Saturday with a 14-0 loss to Colleyville Covenant Christian Academy in the TAPPS Division 4 state finals at Waco Midway High School.
Covenant scored a touchdown early in the first quarter, then added another in the third quarter to pull away. The Lions, playing in the state finals for the first time in school history, finished the season with a 10-2 record.
Legacy Prep coach Clint McDonald went down the line, hugging each of his players one by one as the red ribbons dangling from their necks displayed the state runner-up medallions they had earned by getting to this point.
Standing in the glare of the afternoon sun on their sideline at Panther Stadium, this was not the storybook ending the Lions had envisioned. But what a ride it was.
Legacy Prep saw its historic season come to a close on Saturday as the team fell to Colleyville Covenant 14-0 in the TAPPS Division IV state championship game.
In what turned out to be mostly a defensive battle, the Cougars made just enough plays to edge Legacy, which advanced further in the playoffs than any other team in program history.
“I’m just proud of them,” McDonald said. “Nobody expected us to be here, and they’ve done such a great job throughout the season to even get to this point. Our seniors, they’ve set the bar very high. I just told them there’s no reason to hang their heads.”
Covenant leaned on its running game all afternoon, feeding the ball to workhorse tailback Alan Maldonado 28 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns.
The Cougars (11-3) were also stout on the defensive side of the ball, holding the Lions (10-2) to just 209 total yards and forcing three turnovers.
“Our defense won this game,” Covenant coach Rick Jackson said. “They got stop after stop, generated turnover after turnover, and they did everything we asked them to. Our defensive coordinator Eric Anderson, he does a great job with game planning. So defense definitely won this one for us.”
Covenant used nearly half of the opening quarter to take a 7-0 lead with 6:25 remaining on the clock. Maldonado capped the 69yard drive with a 15-yard touchdown run up the middle.
Aside from the opening drive, Legacy did a nice job of corralling the Cougars’ offense and came up with two big turnovers. Jared May collected the first of his two interceptions on a deep pass into Lions territory in the first quarter, and Patrick Locke recovered a fumble at the Legacy 7 after a 40-yard pass play.
The Lions’ defense also kept points off the scoreboard in the second quarter, blocking a 41-yard field goal attempt.
Legacy, however, struggled to move the ball, heading into halftime with only 77 yards of total offense. The Lions attempted a fake punt on their opening possession after running just three plays, but Covenant snuffed it out. May also tossed an interception in the second quarter, and Legacy failed to advance the ball past midfield.
“Field position hurt us all day,” McDonald said. “We did a great job of getting those turnovers, but we just weren’t able to capitalize on them. But credit to those guys — it just wasn’t our day, and they just played great defense. They’ve got a great team over there.”
Covenant extended its lead on its first possession of the third quarter as Maldonado broke free for a 31yard score up the left side of the field.
The Lions began to find a rhythm on offense late in the third, driving the ball down to the Covenant 10, but Daniel Turner came up with his second interception of the day, picking off a pass by Jay Smith and returning it to the Legacy 21-yard line.
That turnover led to another 41-yard field goal attempt by the Cougars, but the ball bounced off the left upright and the crossbar before falling into the end zone.
Neither team could get much going in the fourth quarter as they traded possessions, and Covenant was ultimately able to hang on for the victory.
Dion Pinkard led the Lions with 55 rushing yards on 11 carries, while Smith and May finished with 49 and 45 yards rushing, respectively. Turner finished with six catches for 106 yards for Covenant, and Locke had two grabs for 29 yards to lead Legacy.
“Our seniors, they’ve set the bar very high. I just told them there’s no reason to hang their heads.” Clint McDonald, Legacy Prep football caoch