Eagles bounce back in district finale
Quick take
Quarterback Zion Brown had 19 carries for 250 yards with three touchdowns as Atascocita, ranked eighth in the state in Class 6A, rallied to defeat No. 24 Summer Creek 21-18 on Friday night in the District 21-6A finale.
Atascocita (8-2, 6-1) leads the overall series 9-0 against Summer Creek (6-4, 5-2).
“It’s good to see them make plays to win the game for sure,” said Eagles coach Craig Stump, on bouncing back after the North Shore loss. “We were able to overcome three turnovers and a few extra points, but we gave ourselves a chance to win the game, and that’s what we did.”
Highlights
Summer Creek scored on its opening drive with junior running back Lloyd Avant’s 8-yard TD run to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead with 7:05 left in the first quarter.
With 59 seconds left in the first, Brown had his first touchdown off an 8-yard run. Atascocita’s two-point attempt fell short, leaving Summer Creek ahead 7-6.
Summer Creek kicker Julien Cano hit a 40-yard field goal to push the Bulldogs’ advantage to 10-6 with 2:47 left in the second quarter.
Brown then scored off a 70-yard TD run to give Atascocita its first lead of the game, 12-10, with 2:47 left in the second quarter.
The Eagles ran the ball all night and wanted to come out being the more physical team against the Bulldogs.
Atascocita led Summer Creek 12-10 at halftime.
Bulldogs quarterback Jahrik Jones connected with Melvin Nichols for a 4-yard TD pass with 46 seconds left in the third quarter. Summer Creek went up 18-12 after Nichols connected with receiver Roriyon Richardson on the two-point conversion.
Atascocita’s defense later came up with a safety to close the gap 18-14 with 9:22 left in the game.
Brown capped the scoring for the night with his third touchdown — a 19-yard run — as Atascocita reclaimed the lead 21-18 with 3:12 left in the game.
“It was the offensive line,” said Brown, on the successful running game. “I have to give credit where credit is due. They were pulling and having great blocks all game. Without them we don’t move the ball.”
What it means
Both teams were playing for bragging rights in the Lake Houston area after clinching playoff berths already. Atascocita will be the No. 2 seed in the Class 6A Division I playoff bracket while Summer Creek will be the No. 1 seed in the Class 6A Division II playoff bracket.
Game balls
Brown scored three touchdowns for Atascocita. Avant had 25 carries for 112 yards with one touchdown for Summer Creek. The Bulldogs’ defense had two interceptions and recovered a fumble.
Quotable
“It’s always great to win a game and move forward to understand what the playoff are,” Stump said. “It was good for us to overcome some adversity. And we have things that we have to clean up so that we’re not in that situation again going into the playoffs.”
Up next
Atascocita will face Deer Park in a Class 6A Division I bi-district game at 7 p.m. Friday at Abshier Stadium. Summer Creek will face South Houston in a Class 6A Division II bi-district game a 7 p.m. Friday at Turner Stadium.