| By: Leman Saunders - |
Top 10 Games in Texas Class 1A (Six-Man) Football of 2014:
#10 - Week 1: Robert Lee 58 Bronte 49
The old rivalry was revived this year as Bronte agreed to play six-man for the first time ever and traveled to Robert Lee for the Coke County Championship. Bronte jumped out to a 16-0 lead after one quarter of play and lead 26-22 at the half. Robert Lee owned the second half outscoring the Longhorns 36-23 to win the first game in this rivalry in 10 years. Robert Lee presented a balanced offensive attack that was to much for Bronte to account for; the Steers were 14-18-0 passing for 312 yards and 4 TDs to the Longhorns 48 yards and zero TDs, on the ground they gained 234 yards and scored 4 more TDs…Bronte did win the ground attack by rushing for 364 yards and 7 TDs and coming up just 4 yards shy of having 3 different players with over 100 yards rushing in the game. This was the only game of the year pitting a 1A school against a 2A school
#9 - Week 7: Patton Springs 98 Benjamin 81
These two squads short on numbers and battling injuries agreed to play this contest as a 5 on 5 game. High scoring and exciting throughout Patton Springs avenged their 65-19 loss suffered at the hands of Benjamin two weeks prior. A game like this is only possible in this classification and shows the true meaning of sportsmanship and fair play!
#8 - Week 5: Water Valley 58 Grady 56
This game was tied 34-34 entering the 4th quarter and each team scored three times in the final quarter however Water Valley converted all their extra point kicks and Grady missed one. Extra Points doomed Grady as the scored 8 TDs to Water Valley’s 7, won the turnover battle 0-1, and out gained WV offensively 524 to 430. Water Valley’s Kade York had a hand in 5 of his teams 7 touchdowns (4 passing, 1 rushing) while Grady’s E. J Rodriguez helped with 7 of his team’s 8 (4 passing, 3 rushing) and accounted for 463 yards of total offense by himself (242 passing, 221 rushing).
#7 - Semi-Final: Throckmorton 76 Calvert 72
In a battle to see who would represent the East in the Division II State Title Game…Throckmorton edged out Calvert in this 76-72 thriller. Calvert held an early 20-8 lead on the Greyhounds, but the game was tied 40-40 at the half. The teams battled back and forth in the second half and Calvert lead 64-62 early in the 4th quarter, but Throck jumped out to a 76-64 lead by mid quarter. Calvert would score once more and then late in the fourth Quarter Calvert held Throckmorton on 4th and 1 at the Calvert 2 yard line to force a turnover on downs and gave Calvert one last possession to try to play the spoiler, but it was not to be. Throckmorton would go on to win the DII State Championship. Quan Thompson had a hand in all of Calvert’s touchdowns passing for 4, rushing for 5 and returning a kickoff for another. Calvert scored 10 touchdowns to Throckmorton’s 9 but the difference in the game was extra point kicks…Throck was 7/9 while Calvert was just 6/10
#6 - Quarter-Final: Groom 38 Follett 32
This playoff game transpired much like the Week 5 game between these two Panhandle Powerhouses, which Groom was down 22-7 to the hometown favorite Panthers, only to hold Follett scoreless in the second half and reel off 26 unanswered points, 16 in the 4th and final quarter, to win 33-22 . In the playoff game rematch Groom held a 22-12 halftime lead only to see Follett battle back to take a 32-30 lead into the fourth and final quarter and that lead held up until the final 2 minutes of the game when Groom’s Trenton Fields scored the go ahead and final touchdown of the game with 1:40 left on the clock.
#5 - Week 11: Kress 50 Lazbuddie 42
In a game that would decide the DII District 3 title on the last week of the regular season, Lazbuddie scored with 59 seconds left in regulation to tie it all up at 42-42. Kress then took possession and with 19 seconds left in the game running back Jordan Reyes scored on a 13 yard TD run and the PAT was good to put Kress ahead 50-42. Lazbuddie got the ball back and was able to run 3 plays but their Hail Mary on the last play of the game was broken up and Kress won their first district title since 1981.
#4 - Week 10: Forestburg 58 Woodson 57
With Forestburg holding an 8-6 lead after one quarter of play Woodson busted out offensively in the 2nd quarter by scoring 33 points to take a 39-23 lead at halftime. Forestburg rallied and fought their way back in the 3rd holding Woodson scoreless and taking a 40-39 lead into the final stanza. The 4th quarter was back and forth and Forestburg scored with 17 seconds left in the game to win it 58-57 and secure them a playoff spot in a game that ended up deciding who would be the DII District 12 runner-up.
#3 - Bi-District: Savoy 101 Leverett’s Chapel 96
Leverett’s Chapel had a 96-95 lead with less than 2 minutes to play, however Savoy mustered together one last scoring drive in this track meet of a football game and scored made a long pass to get down field and set up a touchdown to take the lead 101-96 with 7 seconds left on the clock. In this game Savoy’s running back Alex Cadwell rushed for 582 yards 10 TDs and passed for another TD…almost equally impressive is the fact that Leverett’s Chapel kicker, Alex Castillo, was a perfect 12/12 with his PAT kicks on the night.
#2 - Week 9: Marfa 50 Garden City 46
Unranked Marfa upset top 10 ranked Garden City in this district battle that saw the lead change hands 6 times threw out the night. At the half Marfa lead 18-16 thanks in part to a rare 4 point 37 yard field goal for their first score of the game in the 1st quarter by Caleb Seegers. Marfa and Garden City would exchange scores in the 3rd quarter with Marfa making both their extra point kicks while GC missed one to extend Marfa’s lead to 4 points. In the final quarter Garden City scored first to take a 38-34 lead, Marfa then scored to take the lead back 42-38 and then held Garden City on their next possession to a turnover on downs. Marfa scored again to take 50-38 lead, their biggest of the night. GC scored on their last possession to bring the score within four points, but Marfa was able to run the clock out and hold on to a 50-46 lead…making the decision to kick that rare 4 point Field Goal back in the 1st quarter probably the most important decision of the game. Seegers’ 14 points in the kicking game were huge for Marfa. So was Salvador Roman, who rushed for 185 yards and 2TDs, passed for another TD, had 11 tackles and an INT of defense continually came up big on key plays of the game for Marfa. Marfa’s upset helped force a three way tie for the DI District 5 championship, to decide the playoff spots they used point differentials and Garden City was placed 1st and Marfa 2nd…edging out Rankin by 1 point!
#1 – Area Playoff Game: Calvert 32 Jonesboro 26 – In Over Time
After taking a 14-0 lead into the locker room at half time, Jonesboro was able to hold off a great Calvert team in a game that was a defensive battle from start to finish. The Eagles were still sitting pretty as they scored late in the 4th quarter to take a 26-12 lead over Calvert with 4:37 left to play…but it ain’t over till it’s over…Calvert with their backs to the wall returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown but failed their 2 point conversion kick making it 26-18. The Trojans then held Jonesboro, got the ball back and scored with 7 seconds left in regulation to make the score 26-24. The extra point attempt failed but Jonesboro was flagged on a roughing penalty which gave the Trojans a second chance to tie the game. Calvert’s second attempt was good (the only PAT they converted in the game) and tied it all up at 26-26. After a failed kickoff return by Jonesboro ran the clock out the game was forced into Overtime. Calvert had the first possession in overtime and scored to take their first lead of the game but failed their PAT attempt bring the score to 32-26. Moments later, a few plays into Jonesboro’s possession, Calvert picked off a Jonesboro pass to secure the victory and end one of the best defensive battles of recent memory in six-man football.
Honorable Mentions: Week 5 - Valley 84 Paducah 79; Week 5 - Groom 33 Follett 22; Week 3 - Abbott 44 Calvert 36; Week 9 - Gordon 60 Strawn 50; Area - Valley 66 Borden County 64
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