Sam Houston 55, Highlands 7

Quick take: The Sam

Houston Hurricanes clinched their first playoff berth in five years by defeating the Highlands Owls, 55-7, on Friday in a District 14-5A-II contest at SAISD Complex.

Sam Houston (7-2, 6-2 District 14-5A-II) won its fifth straight game and secured the fourth and final playoff spot in the district.

Highlights: Highlands (1-8, 1-7) took the early lead on a scoop-and-score fumble recovery. After that, it was all Sam Houston, as Amir Calhoun threw two first-half touchdown passes to put the Hurricanes up 22-7 at halftime.

Sam Houston cruised to the victory by outscoring Highlands 33-0 in the second half. The Hurricanes tallied 399 yards of total offense, rushing for 280 yards and passing for 119.

Sam Houston received contributions from several players with Jeremiah Espitia and Jaeden Servantez scoring two touchdowns apiece. The Hurricanes’ defense put Highlands on its heels, as the Owls finished with minus-16 yards of total offense, all of them rushing yards. Sam Houston also had three safeties and forced five turnovers, including one interception and four fumbles.

Second-year Sam Houston coach Jeremy Williams said it was a blessing to lead the Hurricanes to their first playoff berth in five years. Williams was Sam Houston’s defensive coordinator when the program last made the playoffs in 2018.

“I just got to thank God for giving me the strength to lead these young men,” Williams said. “It is just awesome.”

Highlands scored 41 seconds into the game when sophomore Benito Maldanado recovered a fumble off a Sam Houston lateral and converted it into a 31-yard touchdown.

The Hurricanes came back on their ensuing possession when Amir Calhoun threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Espitia on fourth-and-six, tying the score at 7-7 at 4:16 in the first quarter.

Sam Houston went up 13-7 with 44 seconds in the first quarter on an 8-yard scoring toss from Calhoun to Caevion Sweeney. That scoring play was setup by a 31-yard pass from Calhoun to Damann Goode, who outjumped a Highlands defender to make the catch at the Owls 10.

On Highlands’ next possession, Owls running back Nathan Sancho was trapped and tackled in the end zone by several Sam Houston defenders — the first of three safeties for the Hurricanes defense — upping

Sam Houston’s advantage to

15-7 with 6:48 left in the second quarter.

Servantez scored on a 30-yard touchdown run with 4:48 remaining in the first half, extending Sam Houston’s advantage to 22-7 at halftime.

The Hurricanes then broke the game open in the first three minutes of the second half.

Sam Houston defensive back Lebron Delane forced turnovers on the first two possessions of the third quarter, a 25-yard interception return for a score and a fumble recovery. That led to a 49-yard scoring run by Servantez, giving the Hurricanes a 36-7 lead.

Sam Houston closed out the scoring on a 70-yard touchdown run by Espitia and a 6-yard scoring run from Na’Qwentis Brooks.

What it means: By clinching its first playoff berth since 2018, Sam Houston is hoping it can extend its winning streak to six games. That will be a tough task as its next opponent will be undefeated Alamo Heights (8-0, 7-0) the second-ranked team in the Express-News Sub-6A rankings, which has already secured its second straight district title.

Highlands, which had made the playoffs three years in a row coming into this season, will hope to end its season on a high note and avoid the district cellar when its plays winless Brackenridge (0-8, 0-7) in its season finale.

With the win, Sam Houston ended Highlands three-game winning streak in the series between the two teams, which dates to 1966.

Sam Houston now leads the all-time series 30-20-2.

Game balls: Servantez led all Sam Houston rushers with 107 yards on 12 carries and two scores. Espitia tallied 92 yards of total offense (72 rushing, 20 receiving) and two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving). Calhoun was 7 of 20 passing for 119 yards and two touchdowns.

Quotable: “Our defense played lights out all year,” Williams said. “This is what they do. They play great defense. I’m so proud of them. They don’t let up on the gas. That’s just how we play defense.”

Up next: Sam Houston plays Alamo Heights at Orem Stadium, while Highlands wraps up its season against Brackenridge at Alamo Stadium. Both games kickoff at 7 p.m. Friday.