Sharks pull a win from jaws of defeat again
Shadow Creek again denied Foster the chance to finish what it started as a historic varsity debut for a Texas high school football program continues.
Shadow Creek rallied from a 14point deficit to defeat Foster 25-21 Saturday at the University of Houston’s TDECU Stadium.
The Sharks (14-0) are Class 5A Division I Region III champions, but more importantly, they are on the cusp on a state championship in the program’s first year in University Interscholastic League play.
Shadow Creek was established in 2016 and played an independent schedule for two years. Now only San Antonio Wagner in the state semifinals stands between the Sharks and AT&T Stadium.
Saturday’s game was similiar to Shadow Creek’s 35-34 win over Foster in an October district meeting.
Foster (9-5) was ahead 21-7 at halftime and carried a 34-14 lead into the fourth quarter of that game before Shadow Creek scored 21 unanswered points. Quarterback Jamarian George’s last-second touchdown pass to Jared Jackson made the difference.
On Saturday, it was 18 unanswered points and George’s three rushing touchdowns in the second half.
“Man, we don’t know,” George said of how Shadow Creek flipped the switch again against Foster. “Sometimes we just turn that dog on and just go from there.”
On Saturday, Foster was limiting Shadow Creek’s big plays and taking those plays for itself.
Foster quarterback Ryan Stubblefield threw a 78-yard touchdown pass to Cody Jackson and a 64-yard pass to Sean Kelly, which led to a 1-yard rushing score from Chidozie Nwankwo and a 13-7 lead right before the break.
Nwankwo sacked George and ended the next Shadow Creek drive.
Foster applied more pressure to start the second half thanks to Jaden Smith’s 64-yard kickoff return to the Shadow Creek 29-yard line. Stubblefield found Kelly once again, this time for a 9-yard score, and Stubblefield’s pass to Zac Hopper for a two-point conversion rounded Foster’s lead to 21-7 early in the third quarter.
The big plays were fine, but Foster coach Shaun McDowell noted the Falcons’ run game wasn’t at its best. With sacks and tackles for losses, Foster finished with 18 rushing yards.
“They were able to shut down our running game with their front six or seven dudes,” McDowell said. “That really put us in a bind. Hats off to them.”
Shadow Creek’s lone score through two quarters came via Marquez Huland. Actually, without Huland’s 86 first-half yards, the Sharks would’ve been staring at 78 yards of offense at halftime.
George’s 16-yard touchdown run as a response to Kelly’s thirdquarter touchdown catch gave Shadow Creek life, as did a defense that bunkered down. George’s legs continued working magic on a 5yard score with nine minutes remaining in the game and, suddenly, Saturday started feeling like deja vu.
George and receiver Kealon Jackson building the rapport that was missing in the first half was the spark for Shadow Creek, too, especially on a 32-yard pass and catch in the fourth quarter.
That and defensive pass interference led to George’s 6-yard touchdown run and the 25-21 lead with 4:27 remaining. It was Shadow Creek’s first lead since 7-0 in the first quarter.
A Foster false start, block in the back and delay of game penalty stunted one final say from the Falcons. Butler said it’s about the program’s seniors, who waited two years for wins like this.
“These seniors, they’ve kind of just been working hard in the background and now they’ve got a chance to put their stamp on it,” Butler said.