Texas Championship Roundup: Allen wins Class 5A Division I championship

HOUSTON - Tucker Carter completed 20 of 29 for 253 yards and three touchdowns, all three in the second half, as Allen rallied to a 21-14 victory over Fort Bend Hightower in the Class 5A Division I state championship game Saturday night.

It was Allen's first state championship. The Eagles finished 15-1 while Hightower, also playing in its first state title game, finished 13-1.

The Eagles went on a nine-play, 71-yard drive with Jeremiah Williams catching a 3-yard touchdown to tie it at 7-7 with 2:59 left in the third quarter.

With the score still tied early in the fourth quarter, Eagle linebacker Mitch Hartshorne intercepted a pass and returned it 26 yards to the Hightower 37.

On the first play after that, Carter connected with wide receiver Marcus Thomas who was all alone down the left sideline, to take a 14-7 lead with 9:05 to play.

On the next Allen possession, Carter connected with Justin Robinson for a 9-yard touchdown to make it 21-7 with 5:17 to play.

Hightower got a 77-yard return from Darius Johnson on the ensuing kickoff to set the Hurricane up on the Allen 11.

A.J. Highsmith, the son of former Houston Oiler Alonzo Highsmith who is headed to the University of Miami, found Bryce Edwards for the last 11 to make it 21-14 with 5:00 to play.

Hightower, which only opened in 1998, took a 7-0 lead on a 42-yard end-around by Darius Johnson late in the first quarter.

The Hurricanes went to Johnson almost exclusively on third downs in the first half and he converted the first three with receptions of 39, 22 and 23 yards. At the half, Johnson , who has committed to SMU, had five catches for 96 yards.

Carter kept the Eagles in it by completing 10-of-14 for 104 yards the first half. But he was intercepted in the end zone to kill one drive.

Class 5A Division II

Katy wins second straight championship

HOUSTON - Running back Will Jeffrey rushed 22 times for 142 yards to lead Katy to its second straight Class 5A Division II championship by beating Wylie 17-3 Saturday afternoon.

It was the fifth state title in the last 11 years for Katy. The Tigers, who also won a state Class A title in 1959, were playing in the finals for the ninth time overall and eighth since 1994.

Katy (13-3) opened this season with only two returning starters from its state championship team and lost its first two games, including 47-0 to The Woodlands.

But the Tigers won seven straight before losing in overtime to Cinco Ranch in the season finale, then won their first four playoff games by an average margin of 37.2 points per game.

"All of (the state championships) are satisfying," said Katy coach Gary Joseph, who was defensive coordinator on three of the titles and head coach the last two. "But this one is extra special because of where these kids came from and how hard they had to work.

"They deserve everything they got."

Offensive tackle Austin Sumrall said that this team had a lot of heart.

"After losing the first two games, we pulled together and had an amazing run. We overcame adversity and got great coaching," he said.

Wylie was led by quarterback Jerod Monk, who completed 17 of 38 passes for 166 yards. But he was intercepted three times and sacked four times.

"We knew we had to put pressure on him," said Carbajal, who was in on three sacks. "They have a tremendous offense and coach said we

d be blitzing a lot. That was fine with me."

Katy took a 3-0 lead Saturday on a 21-yard Raul Balbuena field goal with 4:35 to go in the first quarter. It was set up by a 40-yard run by Jeffrey, which brought Katy to the Wylie 18.

Wylie then drove to the Katy three early in the second quarter. But two plays later Monk was picked off by linebacker Caleb Chandler, who returned it 23 yards.

Late in the second quarter, Katy drove 52 yards to a 5-yard touchdown run by Michael Webber. The drive was highlighted by a 23-yard run by fullback Chris Roberson.

Katy opened up a 17-point lead in the third quarter by driving 86 yards in eight plays. Webber broke outside down the right sideline for 34 yards and the touchdown with 6:35 left in the period.

Wylie got a 31-yard field goal from Zac Ohannessian with 1:53 to play in the third quarter.

Class 4A Division I

Lake Travis beats Longview, 48-23

WACO - Garrett Gilbert threw for five touchdowns, ran for two more and set a Texas passing record in leading Lake Travis past Longview, 48-23, in the Class 4A Division I state championship game Saturday.

Gilbert completed 26 of 37 passes for 356 yards to finish his high school career with 12,534 yards, surpassing by two yards current Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell, who threw for 12,532 yards from 2000-03 at Ennis High School.

Gilbert completed TD passes of 26 and 46 yards to Cade McCrary. He also threw a 19-yard score to Chris Aydam, an 11-yarder to Andy Erickson and 1-yard TD to Conner Floyd.

Gilbert, who has verbally committed to the University of Texas, also broke his own single-season passing record with 4,852 yards this year.

"It's a cool thing, but that's not what it's all about," Gilbert said. "It's all about these other guys out here."

Lake Travis coach Chad Morris said he was well aware of how many yards Gilbert needed to break the record.

"On the sidelines, I told him he was 34 yards away from the record. I said we're going to get the record. He said, ‘Coach, I don't care.' I said, ‘I do. I care. We're going to get it.' And we got it."

Gilbert also led Lake Travis on the ground with 85 rushing yards on 14 rushes. He scored on runs of one and two yards.

Longview's Da'Cedric Hunt rushed for 106 yards and three touchdowns. He scored on a 6-yard run the first time he touched the ball. Longview running back Tyler McCray - who was the Lobos' leading rusher with 111 yards a game and 26 rushing TDs - limped off the field after being injured late in the first quarter and was walking with crutches on the sideline during the second half. He had gained 52 yards on seven carries before leaving the game.

Longview quarterback Aaron Johnson was 10-of-23 for 123 yards.

Late in the second quarter, Lake Travis took advantage of a 2-yard Longview punt and put together a quick three-play drive that culminated in a 2-yard scoring run by Gilbert with 43 seconds left in the first half. Lake Travis held a 28-7 lead at the half.

Class 4A Division II

Sulphur Springs beats Dayton 69-49

SAN ANTONIO - Tyrik Rollison accounted for seven touchdowns Saturday to lead Sulphur Springs to the Class 4A Division II title with a 69-49 victory against Dayton in the highest-scoring 11-man championship game in Texas history.

Rollison passed for four touchdowns, ran for three more and compiled 517 yards total offense in a game that produced 1,402 total yards and 17 touchdowns.

The 118 points were by far the most in an 11-man title game, surpassing the 92 scored in 1996 when Lewisville beat Converse Judson 58-34 to win the Class 5A Division I championship. The six-man championship game scoring record is 152 points.

The Wildcats (14-2) amassed 784 yards. Rollison was 22-of-29 passing for 398 yards. He rushed 22 times for 119 yards.

Dayton (13-2) produced 618 yards offense, led by 330 yards passing from Cody Green.

The Broncos trailed 42-41 less than two minutes into the second half when Green connected on a 50-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Lecour.

But Sulphur Springs finally got the momentum when the Wildcats answered the TD with Rollison's 30-yard scoring pass to Rashad Hall. It gave the Wildcats a 49-41 lead with 6:54 left in the third quarter.

Sulphur Springs recovered an onside kick and needed five plays to go ahead 56-41. With 5:36 left in the third, the Wildcats owned their biggest lead of the day on Ryan Young's 5-yard TD run.

Young rushed 28 times for 247 yards and three scores. He also scored on runs of 54 and 11 yards.

The closest the Broncos came after that was a 14-point deficit when Green threw a 31-yard TD pass to Damian Berotte. Sulphur Springs led 63-49 with 6:39 left in the game.

Young scored on his 11-yard run to finish the scoring with less than three minutes remaining.

Green completed 21 of 34 passes with six TDs. He completed his first nine passes while Dayton jumped out to a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game. It was the only time the Broncos would lead.

The early TD was the first of three scoring passes to A.J. Dugat.

Rollison, who scored on a 48-yard run, also had a pair of TD passes to Jace Jackson.

Class 2A Division II

Sophomore leads Daingerfield to title

WACO - Sophomore Tyler Boyd passed for 220 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score to lead Daingerfield to a 26-8 victory against Cisco in the Class 2A Division II championship game Saturday.

The Tigers (15-1) won their fourth state title after championships in 1968, 1983 and 1985. Cisco (14-2) has lost each of its three state championship game appearances - all since 2002.

Boyd completed 10 of 15 passes, including touchdowns of 25 and 33 yards to Chris Jones, during the Tigers' 19-point second quarter. Jones finished with five catches for 134 yards.

Boyd also ran for 55 yards, including a 5-yard score in the second quarter. His 38-yard run set up KoKo Smith's 3-yard touchdown that gave Daingerfield a 26-0 lead with 10:11 to play.

Smith finished with 95 yards on 13 carries.

Cisco avoided being shut out when Robert Medina scored on a 3-yard run with 6 seconds remaining.

The Loboes drove inside the Tigers' 20-yard line two other times but lost a pair of fumbles. Down 19-0, Cisco opened the second half with a 15-play drive that took up 7:10 before fumbling at the Tigers' 4.

Tanner Garcia rushed for 48 yards, and Josh Bridges passed for 81 yards for Cisco.

Class 1A Division II

Stratford beats Cayuga 24-13

ABILENE - Kaleb Horsford threw two touchdown passes, recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass Saturday to lead Stratford to a 24-13 victory over Cayuga in the Class A Division II state championship game.

Klinton Keener also scored a pair of touchdowns as Stratford (14-1) won its third state title in this decade.

The key to the victory was Stratford's defense, which held Cayuga's Traylon Shead, the Associated Press Sports Editors' Class A offensive player of the year, in check. Shead had 171 yards rushing on 20 carries, but 120 of those came on just three carries.

The Elks' defense didn't allow a Cayuga first down in the second half until 1:40 remaining in the game. Stratford's defense forced five Cayuga turnovers.

Stratford scored on its first two possessions on an 8-yard pass from Horsford to Angel Resendes and Keener's 2-yard run to grab a 12-0 lead. But two late second-quarter scores - a 47-yard run by Shead and Broc January's 26-yard pass to Malcome Kennedy with five seconds to go - put Cayuga ahead 13-12 at halftime.

Stratford, however, took advantage of great field position and a stingy defense to dominate the second half. Horsford hit Manuel Chavoya with a 3-yard TD pass in the third quarter, and Keener added a 14-yard scoring run in the final quarter to seal the victory.

Cayuga finished the season with a 13-3 record.