Although it won’t host state finals for another three weeks, Texas was the center of the high school football universe on Friday night, showcasing wild endings, epic comebacks and huge crowds.
In the Class 2A-II playoff bracket, Munday escaped with a 40-34 victory over Muenster thanks to a big-time play call and execution in the game’s waning seconds.
With the score tied 34-34, Munday methodically drove down the field to Muenster’s 13-yard line with just seconds remaining.
Rather than attempt a game-winning field goal, Munday head coach Patrick Corcoran decided to go for it.
Quarterback Trevaul Mitchell evaded a sack and connected with Day’veon Dockins, who just barely crossed the plane for a touchdown, giving Munday a dramatic victory.
“The kids battled and didn’t quit playing,” Corcoran said afterward. “A seven-minute drive to end the game, which is what we wanted to do right there, take every second off the clock that we could and hopefully score on the tail end of it.”
In Class 6A-II action, DeSoto overcame a 24-7 deficit to stun Abilene 49-45.
DeSoto also trailed 45-35 with three minutes remaining. Quarterback Shawn Robinson found Laviska Shenault for a 55-yard touchdown pass to trim the gap.
Abilene recovered DeSoto’s onside kick attempt and appeared poised to run out the clock. However, Abilene fumbled and DeSoto recovered, setting up Robinson’s 13-yard, game-winning touchdown run with 47 seconds remaining.
With the victory, DeSoto (13-0) advances to face Cedar Hill in the quarterfinals. Cedar Hill boasts a dynamic quarterback of its own: Avery Davis, who will lead the U.S. Under-19 National Team in the North American Championship in January.
Perhaps the most highly-anticipated game of the day was the showdown between Allen and San Angelo Central. Fans lined up in the middle of the night on Wednesday to purchase tickets, which sold out in minutes.
A crowd of 20,000 saw Allen down host San Angelo Central 34-21. Despite the loss, San Angelo Central (12-1) performed admirably against Allen (13-0), a Dallas-area powerhouse.
San Angelo is located four hours southwest of Dallas and two hours east of a former bastion of Texas high school football, Odessa.
The excitement of hosting a huge playoff matchup combined with Allen’s significant following combined to form an amazing atmosphere:
Texas high school football doesn't mess around. #txhsfb #Txhsfbplayoffs pic.twitter.com/Y6I0EzwpS6
— Michael Florek (@michaelflorek) November 25, 2016
The crowd was larger than that which other states enjoy for their championship games. Perhaps not everything is bigger in Texas, but football crowds certainly are.
Grayson rolls in Georgia showdown
Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) and Colquitt County (Moultrie, Ga.) both competed in the USA Football 7on7 National Championship in July.
Colquitt County finished 5-1 in pool play and advanced far in the championship bracket before falling to eventual champion McGill-Toolen (Mobile, Ala.), looking every bit the part of a state title contender.
On Friday night, however, it was Grayson that shined, cruising to a 49-21 road victory, ending Colquitt County’s bid to win a third consecutive state title.
Grayson (12-1) has now won 12 consecutive games following a season-opening loss to IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.).
After four straight losses to open the season, Colquitt County rattled off eight wins in a row to reach the quarterfinals. It was one of Rush Propst’s finest coaching jobs. However, Colquitt County (8-5) lacked the firepower to hang with the talent-laden Grayson squad that now moves on to face Mill Creek.
St. Ignatius, St. Xavier to meet in battle of former National Team coaches
With a 24-14 victory over Olentangy Liberty, St. Ignatius (Cleveland) advanced to Ohio's Division 1 title game, where head coach Chuck Kyle will look to guide the program to state championship No. 12.
Its opponent next Saturday? St. Xavier (Cincinnati), a near-mirror image of the Cleveland school in the opposite corner of the state.
St. Ignatius and St. Xavier are both all-boys, Catholic, Jesuit high schools with enrollments of roughly 1,500. The two schools share the same fight song, save for a line about school colors.
There’s another element uniting the two schools: Each is coached by a former U.S. National Team head coach.
Kyle led the U.S. National Team to a gold medal in the 2009 IFAF Under-19 World Championship. St. Xavier head coach Steve Specht served as the defensive coordinator on that team before leading the 2012 Under-19 National Team as head coach.
Both Kyle and Specht are USA Football master trainers.
St. John Bosco survives
Last season, St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) appeared to be on its way to a CIF state title and quite possibly a national title. Centennial (Corona, Calif.) dashed those hopes with a stunning 62-52 upset.
On Friday night, St. John Bosco exacted some revenge, pulling out a 49-47 victory over Centennial to advance to the Southern Section Division 1 final, where it will have a rematch with Trinity League rival Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.).
St. John Bosco (11-2) was able to execute on the little things, something it struggled with in previous matchups.
”If you look at the previous games, we were the one making all the mistakes on special teams,” head coach Jason Negro said afterward. "We were able to turn the tables on this one.”
The game will be remembered as an instant classic:
As good as a prep football game as you'll ever see. St. John Bosco and Centennial. Two terrific teams fighting to the very end. Bosco wins.
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) November 26, 2016
Quotable
"We made it, so it turned out to be the right call," — Carmel (Ind.) head coach John Hebert, on his decision to attempt a game-winning field goal on his team’s first play from overtime. Junior Conner Coghlan drilled the 27-yard field goal to give Carmel a 16-13 win over Center Grove in the Class 6A title game.
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Stephen Spiewak
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Carmel celebrates a state title.
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Saturday, November 26, 2016 - 12:01