Klein Collins 21, Westfield 18
A 75-yard touchdown pass with 9½ minutes remaining proves decisive for the Tigers.
SHENANDOAH - Friday’s meeting between Westfield and Klein Collins was a good one to have on the scoreboard for bragging rights, let alone a spot in the state semifinals.
The schools share Ella Boulevard and spent years sharing a district, too. It was the 11th meeting but first in the playoffs. No reason it would be any different than the previous encounters – extremely close.
“Everybody that knew the rivalry that we have with Westfield shouldn’t be surprised at the physicalness of the game, the back-and-forth of the game,” Klein Collins head coach Drew Svoboda said. “Really very similar to last year’s game against them.”
This time, it’s Klein Collins that withstood and outlasted Westfield in a 21-18 win in the Class 6A Division II Region II final Friday at Woodforest Bank Stadium. Klein Collins is in a state semifinal for the first time.
Quarterback Brett Bridges’ dart of a throw to Quinton Newton for an 80-yard touchdown with 9:34 remaining ended up being the decisive score along with Bryson Powers’ sneak on the two-point conversion.
Westfield (10-4) fumbled on its next drive, thought to be the dagger, but the Mustangs gave themselves another shot with 2:40 remaining after stopping Klein Collins (131) on a fourth-and-3 near midfield.
Missed kicks costly
Mustangs quarterback Blair Benton converted a fourth-and-13 with his 21yard pass to Ali Walter to the Klein Collins 21-yard line. Westfield faced another fourth down, this time fourth-and-10, from the Klein Collins 21 with 35 seconds remaining and opted to kick the field goal, but it missed.
“The thing about it, we kept fighting, used our timeouts, defense stopped them on third and fourth down and gave us a chance,” Westfield coach Matt Meekins said. “That’s all you can ask for.”
It’s remarkable considering Tigers only had 62 total yards at halftime, which Mustangs running back Daniel Young eclipsed alone with his 84 first-half yards on the ground with two touchdowns. The Mustangs, with some failed extrapoint attempts, led 12-7.
The Tigers’ response was crucial. It took until the beginning of the fourth quarter to do so when a solid drive ended with Bridges’ quarterback sneak with 11:24 remaining. Even though the twopoint conversion failed and the lead was just 13-12 at that point, it jump started a Klein Collins offense that was dormant early on.
Then, there was Bridges pass to Newton. The Tigers had been looking for a play like that all night, and it was the biggest response to yet another Westfield score.
“I made the corner turn his hips,” Newton said. “I made it go vertical and I broke it off. It was just there and it just hit stride and I just took off running.”
Familiar foes
Bridges said the play put the Tigers over the hump.
“I think it set the tone for the rest of the game,” Bridges said. “All of the momentum shifted toward our side.”
Klein Collins and Westfield have long been two of Houston’s best Class 6A Region II teams and the two are used to having to go through each other for playoff spots, not state semifinals. Klein ISD and Spring ISD in general built longstanding rivalries, but that was put on hiatus momentarily because of realignment. Klein Collins is in District 15-6A and Westfield in 16-6A this year and next.
Klein Collins is already in the middle of its best year.
The Tigers didn’t necessarily have the playoff success to show for its solid regular seasons with just two regional semifinal berths all-time.
Now the Tigers will face one of the Metroplex’s brand name programs at NRG Stadium next week. DeSoto and Cedar Hill play Saturday.
“I will definitely be watching that game,” Bridges said. “We’re going to play whoever we can.”