Mustangs fall short in finale
MAGNOLIA — Magnolia West won’t take its perfect record to the playoffs.
College Station running back Marquise Collins rushed for 234 yards and three touchdowns, and the state’s No. 2 Class 5A Division I team, according to the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football rankings, pulled away in the second half of a 41-20 win Friday at Mustang Stadium.
The Cougars (10-0, 8-0) finished as undefeated District 8-5A Division I champions.
After suffering their first setback of the year, the Mustangs, No. 10 in the state, will open the bi-district round at 9-1, 7-1. They’ll face Tyler next week at home after Longview beat Tyler 49-0 in District 7-5A-1 play.
“Everybody’s 0-0 at this point, and we get to start this thing over,” Magnolia West coach Ben McGehee said.
“We had a great regular season, finished 9-1 and our only loss was to that group over there. That’s nothing to hang your head about. That’s a great football team. They’re No. 1 or 2 in every poll you look at, and we played them tough — tougher than anybody has all year. So I still think we’ve got a really good football team, and we’ve still got things going in the right direction heading to the playoffs.”
Magnolia West was within 2720 at halftime, but the second half was all College Station.
Collins’ 67-yard touchdown run gave his team a 34-20 lead after three quarters. His 4-yard scoring run in the fourth sealed the outcome.
College Station quarterback Jett Huff added 217 yards and three touchdowns on 17-of-21 passing.
Magnolia West was aggressive from the outset, electing to receive the opening kickoff, and the strategy paid off with an early lead. The Mustangs marched 75 yards on 15 plays and scored on quarterback Brock Dalton’s 1yard plunge.
Then College Station showed its big-play ability — and why the Mustangs were intent on keeping the ball away from the team’s explosive offense for as long as possible. On the third play of their first series, Huff threw a short pass to wide receiver Dalton Carnes, who sprinted down the left sideline for a 59-yard touchdown.
But the extra-point attempt failed, leaving Magnolia West up 7-6.
After a Magnolia West punt on its second series, the Cougars scored on the second play of their second possession — a 56yard scoring run by Collins that, after a failed two-point pass, put them ahead 12-7.
Buoyed by the home crowd, the Mustangs regained the lead with a little luck.
After driving to the College Station 25, Dalton hit Colton Adcox, who escaped a tackle and took off for the goal line but fumbled just before crossing. Fortunately for the Mustangs, teammate Daniel Horn fell on the loose ball in the end zone for a touchdown and a 13-12 advantage after Dalton came up short with a two-point pass.
Then Hunter Bilbo displayed his own big-play ability.
The senior halfback took a carry up the middle, fought through the first line of defense and exploded out the other side for an 81-yard score.
Bilbo’s big play gave Magnolia West a 20-12 lead with 55.57 seconds left in the second quarter.
That was plenty of time for the Cougars.
They tied the game with their best drive of the first half, a 13play, 63-yard drive capped by Huff ’s 9-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Houston Thomas. That score was followed by a three-and-out by the Mustangs, and College Station took advantage with Huff finding wide receiver Traylen Suel for a 13-yard score with eight seconds remaining.
The Cougars took the 27-20 lead into the locker room.
Magnolia West amassed 312 yards and 19 first downs in the losing effort.
Dalton completed 21 of 34 passes for 154 yards, with Adcox hauling in 12 balls for 91 yards. Bilbo finished with 112 yards on 16 carries.
College Station racked up 429 yards and 20 first downs.
“We came out, started fast and took the fight to them a little bit there at the start,” McGehee said. “But we lost a little momentum before halftime whenever we punted and allowed them to score with eight seconds left in the first half. And then in the second half, we had a couple opportunities offensively. The onside kick to start the second half and then a stop that our defense made in the third quarter gave our offense a couple chances to go score and get us right back in the mix, but we just weren’t able to convert on those.”