Tigers outlast Panthers to stay unbeaten
SUGAR LAND — Dreams can come true even in a nightmare scenario.
With two key playmakers suspended for the biggest game of the season, Travis, ranked No. 7 in the Class 6A area media poll, dug deep and upended defending district champion and 11th-ranked Ridge Point for the first time in school history, winning 27-23 Thursday night at Mercer Stadium.
“This feels really good,” said quarterback Eric Rodriguez, who had 298 yards and two touchdowns (one rushing) on 27-of-37 passing. “Travis has never done this in history, and we’re trying to stay undefeated.”
Travis hadn’t defeated Ridge Point in three previous attempts. The win sent it to 7-0 overall, 4-0 in District 20-6A, and, more importantly, placed the Tigers in the driver’s seat for a higher playoff seed.
The Panthers (5-2, 3-1) lost for the first time in 6A district competition.
As if unseating five-time reigning district champ Ridge Point wasn’t difficult enough, Travis handicapped itself with the suspensions of two standout players in highly rated wide receiver Parker Washington, a Penn State verbal commit, and defensive back Cameron Moore. Both were ejected late in last week’s blowout of Fort Bend Austin after picking up their second unsportsmanlike penalties.
“It made all the other guys practice 10 times harder,” Rodriguez said. “They all had to be more focused. Replacing one of your key starters is tough, but our guys stepped it up and came through with a big win.”
The players who showed up answered the bell — with a few disconnects.
The first came on the Tigers’ opening series, when it appeared they opted for a fake punt on fourth-and-6 from their own 28 but instead Mason Muchaw was tackled for a nine-yard loss on a play, setting Ridge Point up at Travis’ 19 for its opening drive.
The Tigers defense held, forcing Ridge Point into a 35-yard Ben Weaver field goal.
The Tigers snatched the lead with a quick seven-play, 82-yard march featuring a 45-yard run by running back Aundre Smith and Rodriguez’s spinning eight-yard scoring run for a 7-3 lead.
The Panthers fumbled on their ensuing possession in a dramatic turn. They went for it on fourthand-1 and Marcus Wright broke the first line of defense and nearly was gone but Muchaw caught him and stripped the ball, and linebacker Mickael Oliva recovered for Travis, which pushed its lead to 10-3 on Sergio Rubio’s 20-yard boot.
Travis benefitted from a defensive holding on a fourth-and-1 overthrow by Rodriguez on the drive, and also converted a fourth-and-1 from the Ridge Point 16, before deciding to take the field goal from the 3.
The Panthers didn’t miss their chance to go big.
After two short runs by Wright, they set up another effective screen pass, with quarterback Will Pendergrass finding John Paul
Richardson, whoturned on the jets for a 50-yard score, tying the game 10-10 with 7:45 left in the first half.
The Tigers returned to the red zone but again settled for Rubio’s kick from 29 yards.
The score remained 13-10 Travis at halftime after the teams exchanged punts, and a pair of turnovers down the stretch in the second quarter. Rodriguez fumbled and LB Joe Sniffin recovered on the first play of a drive, and Ridge Point gave it back when Cameron Oliver picked Pendergrass.
Travis, which sustained long drives all night, pushed its lead to 20-10 with a 14-play, 78-yard drive that burned 5:11 off the clock and ended with running back Kaelen Shankle crossing the goal line from 1 yard out.
But Ridge Point big-played its way back into the lead.
Micah Ceaser returned the ensuing high, short kickoff 65 yards for a touchdown, and then, after Travis reached the Ridge Point 17 only to go backward and turn the ball over at the 50, the Panthers hit back with a 50-yard Pendergrass pass to a wide-open Keith Jackson for a 50-yard score.
Oliver blocked the extra-point try, leaving Ridge Point up 23-20.
Trailing for the second time on the night, Travis went back to work, cobbling together another 5minute-plus possession that covered 75 yards on 13 plays, leading to Rodriguez’s 10-yard pass to fully extended Colin Mushinski in the end zone for a 27-23 advantage with 6:56 left in the contest.
“(RidgePoint)coach(Brett)Sniffin’s always going to have a tough defense. We knew that coming in,” Travis coach Trey Sissom said. “So whether we were one point or 100 points up, all that matters is we got a win.”
Muchaw’s interception with 2.2 seconds left sealed the historic win.
Travis finished with 474 total yards and 28 first downs. With Washington out, Jarrell Farr was the No. 1 receiver, and he delivered, racking up 101 yards on 12 receptions. Shankle had 89 on 21 carries.
Ridge Point managed only 244 yards and 10 first downs.
“We’ve been close the last couple years, and my hat’s off to Ridge Point,” Sissom said. “That’s a heck of a football team.
“We had to play our best, and at times we didn’t. We still made some mistakes, but our kids kept fighting, kept digging, and early on the season, when we had some adversity and the kids had to overcome it, that gave us the confidence (Thursday) to make some plays.”