McLean’s Crockett sets UIL state 6-man record as Tigers score 100 in title game
McLean junior Ben Crockett shined on the state’s biggest stage in front of 3,971 at AT&T Stadium on Wednesday.
Crockett accounted for 12 touchdowns as the Tigers rolled to a 100-70 victory over Milford to win the 6-man Division I state title, a first in program history.
“This is a really big deal for the town,” McLean coach Clinton Linman said. “These guys have grown up there and have played together since they were little. It’s great to see the support from the town. We’re very proud of these kids.”
McLean (15-0) never trailed.
Crockett, who set a UIL 6-man state title game record with 9 TD rushes, scored on runs of 47 and 25 yards to put the Tigers up 16-0 in the first quarter. His 17-yard TD run with 2:04 left in the opening period made it 24-8.
“Whenever I had the ball, I felt like I needed to score,” Crockett said. “Milford could score in two or three plays so I wanted to score every time I touched the ball.”
Milford (12-2) senior TaRon Smith, who would’ve been offensive MVP had the Bulldogs won, scored on a 3-yard run and threw a 2-yard TD to Damyan Woodward to cut the lead to 24-16 with 40 seconds to play in the quarter.
But Crockett and Smith were far from done. The two traded off the next four scores as McLean took a 40-32 lead into halftime.
Smith and Woodward connected on a 28-yard TD pass to tie the game at 40-40 early in the third, but the Tigers would score four of the next five TDs, the last a 39-yard run by Crockett to put them in front 72-48 with 9:12 left.
Crockett added TD runs of 5, 6 and tied the record from 46, which pushed the McLean lead to 94-62 late in the fourth. His 57-yard scoring run with under a minute left set the record and capped off 44-point quarter for the Tigers.
Crockett, who also threw for three touchdowns, was named Offensive MVP after finishing with 377 yards on 35 carries. Senior Chism Henderson was named Defensive MVP with eight tackles, six for loss and two sacks.
“We came out here and wanted to win,” Henderson said. “We were able to control our ending.”
Smith led the Bulldogs, who made their sixth trip to state, with 294 yards total and 7 TDs, 5 through the air.
“He’s good. He’s so quick and explosive, and so smart,” Linman said. “He makes the right decisions. He’s the toughest kid we’ve seen all year long. I was impressed.”
The game featured three instant replay reviews with each one overturning the original call on the field. It’s the first year for replay with the first one coming in Strawn’s 6-man Division II win during the opener.