Brock overcomes third-quarter woes, beats Mount Vernon in OT for state title berth
Brock hasn’t trailed in many games this season, let alone late in a playoff game.
The Eagles faced some adversity after giving up 21 straight points in the third quarter against Mount Vernon on Thursday night.
But coach Billy Mathis’ group stayed composed and never quit, forcing overtime.
Then on fourth-and-goal from the 3, quarterback Tyler Moody hit tight end Nathan Jones for the go-ahead touchdown that helped send Brock to a 35-28 victory during a Class 3A Division 1 state semifinal at McKinney ISD Stadium.
The Eagles sealed the win when sophomore Carson Finney intercepted Mount Vernon on the final play of the game.
“What a game. Two great teams taking it to the wire like you knew it was going to be,” Brock coach Billy Mathis said. “14-0 and 14-0. We knew it was going to be a battle. They came out in the third quarter and jumped all over us, but we never backed down, never panicked.
“Our offensive staff did a great job, defense kept battling and finally got some pressure on the quarterback and we came out and won this game.”
Jones lined up at center and was ruled eligible, and after snapping the ball, Moody rolled out to the right and Jones peeled off to the left and was wide open for the score.
“It’s one of those plays that we work on every day all year long.” Mathis said. “You save it for a big time moment like that and we run it and it’s open and just perfect.”
“Felt that last play could work,” added Jones, who’s committed to Minnesota. “I turned around and thought someone might be there to jam me off the line, but no one was on me.”
A few plays before, Brock had a fourth-and-5 and Mathis brought the field goal unit out. But after a timeout, the offense returned and Moody hit Zachary Brewster for the first down.
“Our offense is too good and I have too much confidence in those guys. I said let’s go win this game,” Mathis said.
Brock (15-0) will make its third trip to the UIL state championship game and first since 2017. The Eagles will play Lorena (13-2) at 3 p.m. Thursday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Mount Vernon’s lead vanished when Brock receiver Elijah Potts ran in a 20-yard touchdown that tied the game at 28-28 with 2:28 left to play in regulation.
“I never had a doubt that we’d come back and win this game,” said Potts, who finished with 11 catches for 107 yards.
After trading punts, the Tigers still had time to pick up the win.
Following a short Brock punt, Mount Vernon had the ball at the Brock 39 with 17 seconds left. The Tigers got to the Brock 19 and attempted a 36-yard field goal with four seconds on the clock, but Mount Vernon bobbled the snap sending the game to overtime.
“I always have good confidence and believe no matter what situation we’re in, we’re going to prevail,” said Jones. “That was a good booster for us and our crowd to get back in it.”
The Tigers also bobbled the snap on an earlier field goal attempt that kept them ahead 28-21 with 10:11 to play in the fourth quarter.
Moody threw for 181 yards on 18 of 31 passing. The Eagles rushed 45 times for 192 yards, led by Kutter Wilson’s 61 yards on 18 carries.
Braden Bennett did everything he could to will Mount Vernon to a win.
He accounted for 369 of the Tigers’ 406 total yards. He had 21 carries for 105 yards and threw for another 264.
Mount Vernon (14-1) took the opening drive 55 yards and converted a key third-and-12 when Bennett hit Nicolas Lacy on a 16-yard pass to the Brock 41. Five plays later and the Tigers went ahead 7-0 on a 13-yard pass from Bennett to Raif Ramsay with 10 minutes left in the first quarter.
The Eagles were forced to punt on their opening drive, but the defense showed up holding Mount Vernon to minus-5 yards on three plays. After a short punt and nice return from Potts to the Mount Vernon 20, Brock tied the game at 7 on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Moody to Potts with 4:44 left on the clock.
It only took 18 seconds for Brock to grab the lead on a 30-yard fumble return from Reid Watkins. After the game was tied at 7, Brock’s defense held Mount Vernon to 10 yards on its next five plays and forced two turnovers.
Brock’s second takeaway came on the ensuing drive when Potts intercepted a third-down attempt. But the Eagles fumbled on offense and Cross Dimaggio recovered for the Tigers.
A few drives later, Mount Vernon was able to get a first-and-goal inside the 5, but Brock made the stop and a forced a high throw on fourth down to get the ball back at the 3.
The Eagles responded with a 17-play 97-yard scoring drive that lasted over 8 1/2 minutes. Moody hit Potts and Jones for first downs and running back Brett Tutter, who scored three times last week against Whitesboro, gained 24 yards to the Tiger 31.
Tutter capped off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to give Brock a 21-7 lead with 1:36 left before intermission.
Coming out of the break, the Eagles got into Tiger territory looking to up their lead, but Kam Doss came up with a big defensive interception for the Tigers and returned it 43 yards.
It was the momentum shift Mount Vernon needed as the Tigers responded with 21 straight points in the period to lead 28-21 after three.
Following the pick, Bennett hit Jaden Horton to the Brock 1 and Bennett scored a play later to make it 21-14. Brock was then backed up to a third-and-19 and forced to punt.
On the next Mount Vernon drive during a second-and-25, the Tigers got 32 yards from Horton, who broke a tackle and picked up the first down. Bennett hit Caydon Coffman to the Brock 3 and the Tigers tied it at 21 on Makenzie McGill’s TD run with 2:53 to go in the quarter.
Brock was called for a 15-yard penalty on the extra point, which was enforced on the kickoff and Mount Vernon got a perfect onside kick and recovery from Ramsay. The Tigers capped it off with a 22-yard scoring run from Bennett to give Mount Vernon a 28-21 advantage.
“They didn’t gripe at each other on the sideline when things weren’t going good,” Mathis said. “They were picking each other up and that’s why we ended up winning this game. That’s why were 15-0 and getting ready to play for a state championship.”
Brock lost to Rockdale in the 2017 championship game, but did win its first title, 43-33 over Cameron Yoe in 2015 at NFG Stadium in Houston. Lorena, which defeated Lago Vista on Thursday, makes the trip to state for the first time since 1989.
This story was originally published December 9, 2021 at 10:30 PM.
