Manvel intercepted the Barbers Hill sophomore signal caller three times in his first five throws to open the second half, paving the way for 20 unanswered points by the Mavs in the third quarter and ultimately allowing Kevin Hall’s team to pull away with a 62-42 triumph on Thursday at AISD Freedom Field.
The victory moves the 9-2 Mavs into the area round on Nov. 23, where they will meet Huntsville at NRG Stadium in Houston with a noon kickoff.
The Hornets routed Nacogdoches 57-7 in their bi-district game on Friday.
“We really didn’t change much at halftime,” Hall said following the game. “We just went in there and told them that all week long we had told them that this team (Barbers Hill) can play and that they won’t quit. It took a half of football for our kids to really believe that.
“The kids were talking amongst themselves at halftime in the dressing room and they said that we‘re going to go out there and end this right now.”
While the upstart Eagles recovered their second onsides kick of the evening to start the second half, Trevion Robertson intercepted Dunham’s fling at the MHS 26-yard line on the next play to quickly quash the threat. Manvel promptly drove 74 yards in nine plays following Robertson’s pick, as Garrison Johnson powered in from 1 yard out to regain the upper hand for Manvel at 35-28 with 9:27 left in the third.
The Mavs weren’t quite done with the pick session, though. Robertson swiped another Dunham pass in the end zone on Barbers Hill’s next possession to halt a scoring opportunity, while Kameryn Alexander grabbed the third interception a few moments later to set up Josh Coltrin’s 11-yard scoring toss to Ladarius Owens to make it 42-28 with 4:14 remaining.
Owens racked up a combined 204 yards (123 rushing, 81 receiving) of total offense and five TD’s, while Coltrin (23 of 35) threw for 381 yards and four TD’s.
Owens rambled in from 11 yards out on the ground to increase the margin to 48-28 heading into the final period and although Dunham’s 30- yard strike to Christian Rhodes pulled the Eagles back within two scores, Johnson’s second 1-yard run and Owens’ 29-yard catch-and-run reception on consecutive series put the game out of reach.
“We had some alignment issues, but it was just basic technique that we got out of and we had to get back in,” Hall said. “It all starts with technique and when it’s bad from the start, you give up plays. We fixed it and we did a great job in the second half.”
Manvel and Barbers Hill combined for eight touchdowns during a crazy first half, which featured the Eagles using the first onsides kick, along with a fake punt pass, Rhodes’ 87- yard kickoff return and big pass plays for scores to both Rhodes (54 yards) and Spencer Long (64 yards) to keep the contest at a furious back and forth pace.
Both squads held a pair of seven-point leads with the Mavs taking 7-0 and 14-7 edges and Eagles doing the honors at 21- 14 and 28-21. Manvel’s first three TD’s came on 1-yard and 24-yard runs by Owens and Coltrin’s 35-yard TD pass to Jalen Paxton.
However, a fourth-down gamble by the Eagles backfired in the second period’s closing moments with Dunham’s fourth-and-nine throw attempt falling incomplete from the Manvel 39. The Mavs immediately motored the 61 yards in seven plays, capped by Coltrin’s 4-yard scoring toss to Roland Kimble with just five seconds left to tie it at 28-28 at intermission.
“Being tied at halftime of the Willowridge game really helped prepare for tonight’s situation,” Hall said. “We got to convince them that they got to do this for four quarters and not two, though.
“My credit goes to them. Coach (Tom) Westerberg is an unb... Click here to read full article
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