UIL state championship football recaps: Check out winners from this week in Arlington
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Westbrook 72, May 66
Jimmy Roberts Jr. came up with the biggest play of his career with a fourth-down pass break up with two seconds left and the Wildcats beat the Tigers to win the Class 1A Six-Man Division 1 state championship on Wednesday at AT&T Stadium.
Westbrook (11-4) is the first UIL state champ with four losses since Cameron Yoe in 2014, according to Bally Sports Southwest analyst/Dave Campbell’s editor Greg Tepper. Westbrook made its first appearance in the state final while May (14-1) finishes runner-up for the second straight season.
With six ties and six lead changes in the game, Cedric Ware scored three straight touchdowns for the Wildcats. His seventh and final score came from the 1 that put Westbrook up 72-60 with 38 seconds left in the third quarter.
Ware finished with 305 yards rushing and seven touchdowns, which was two off from tying the all-time record in a six-man state title game. He also had 14 tackles and was voted offensive and defensive MVP of the game.
Ware also recovered a key onside kick and scored on the ensuing drive to give Westbrook a 66-60 lead midway through the third quarter.
May pulled within 72-66 with just under nine minutes remaining on an 8-yard run from Kaden Halk, who led the Tigers with 171 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
Westbrook led 46-44 at halftime. The Wildcats largest lead was 14 (22-8 in the first quarter). May’s largest lead was eight (60-52 in the third quarter).
Strawn 73, Motley County 28
Led by freshman Grayson Rigdon, the Strawn Greyhounds beat the Motley County Matadors in the Class 1A Six-Man Division 2 state championship. Rigdon was voted offensive MVP with 222 yards rushing and eight total touchdowns.
Strawn (15-0) wins the program’s fifth title and third in five seasons.
The Greyhounds ended the contest with 3:09 left in the third quarter on Rigdon’s 5-yard run to make it 45 points, which is the minimum amount in six-man to end the game. Rigdon’s score came after his brother Griff’s one-handed interception and 50-yard return.
Motley County (14-1), at state for the fourth time, took the early 8-0 lead on Jake Richards’ 30-yard touchdown pass from Kayden Roys with 8:44 left in the first quarter. But the Greyhounds scored the next 36 points to pull away.
Lorenzo Garcia, who was voted defensive MVP, scored on a touchdown catch and run and Griff Rigdon caught a 47-yard pass from Grayson, who also added a 79-yard touchdown run during the stretch. Grayson Rigdon threw for 159 yards on 6 of 7 passing and made a game-high 12 1/2 tackles.
Shiner 47, Hawley 12
For the second straight season, it was the Brooks show as the Shiner Comanches pulled away from Hawley to go back-to-back in the Class 2A Division 1 state title game to close out Wednesday night.
Shiner secured the perfect 16-0 season and won its fourth title in program history in front of 10,103 in attendance at AT&T Stadium. The Comanches handed the Bearcats their first loss (15-1).
Hawley kept it close in the first half, only trailing 14-12, but a late Shiner touchdown just before intermission sparked the Comanches to score 33 unanswered points.
Rodney Hooper threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Will Scott to pull the Bearcats to 14-12 with 8:24 left in the second. Both teams had a scoring drought for the next eight minutes until Shiner scored with under a minute to play that started the onslaught.
Senior Doug Brooks scored from 28 yards to put Shiner up 21-12 at the break.
Junior Dalton Brooks scored in the third and Doug scored his second early in the fourth. Tyler Bishop caught a 22-yard score from Drew Wenske and Makylin Burchell capped the night with a 7-yard run with 3:12 remaining.
Doug, who was voted defensive MVP last season, was voted offensive MVP this time with 210 yards rushing, 13 yards per carry and the two scores. Dalton added 196 yards rushing, three touchdowns and 63 yards receiving.
Eli Fric was voted defensive MVP with six tackles, two for loss, a pass breakup and one interception.
Stratford 39, Falls City 27
Behind a dominating second half, the Stratford Elks rallied to beat the Falls City Beavers in the Class 2A Division 2 state championship to open play on Thursday at AT&T Stadium. It’s the program’s fifth trip to the state final, fourth title overall and first since 2008.
Falls City (14-2) was denied its second title and first since 2010.
The Beavers led 21-13 at halftime, but the Elks (15-1) outscored Falls City 14-0 in the third quarter and 26-6 in the second half. Dru Jones caught a 32-yard touchdown from Cody Rinne to up the lead to 39-27 with 1:24 left in the game. The score came on the heels on a fumble recovery by the Stratford defense.
Jones capped the win with an interception on the final drive.
Jones caught nine passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 83 yards. His nine catches were tied for third most all-time in a 2A final. His 205 receiving yards were also third all-time at the 2A level.
Rinne was voted offensive MVP with 282 yards on 14 of 17 passing and two scores.
Falls City’s quarterback/safety Luke Shaffer was voted defensive MVP with 20 tackles and 13 solo tackles. Shaffer threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns on offense and also rushed for one score.
Franklin 49, Gunter 35
Malcolm Murphy put together a classic state title performance to lead the Franklin Lions past the Gunter Tigers for their first state championship during the Class 3A Division 2 game to close out Thursday night at AT&T Stadium.
Franklin (16-0) was the No. 1 team in the preseason 3A D2 rankings and finished as the best team in the state. The Lions were 0-2 in previous state finals, including last season.
Murphy was voted offensive MVP with 15 carries for 280 yards and four touchdowns. He averaged 18.7 yards per carry. He had the second most rushing yards all-time in a 3A championship and was 20 off from breaking the record set by Hallettsville’s Jonathon Brooks (299) last season.
Murphy also picked off two Gunter passes on defense.
Colby Smith was voted defensive MVP with 11 tackles and one interception.
With the game tied at 35 after three quarters, Murphy scored on a 61-yard touchdown run to put Franklin ahead for good, 42-35 just nine seconds into the fourth. About two minutes later and Murphy took a hand-off, bounced off several tackles and went 86 yards for his fourth and final touchdown.
Gunter (15-1), No. 2 in the state rankings, still had a chance, but the Tigers were shut out in the fourth quarter. Murphy’s two interceptions came in the final period.
Franklin rushed for 523 yards and attempted only three passes for zero yards. Bryson Washington added 165 yards rushing and three scores. Bobby Washington rushed for 96.
Hudson Graham led Gunter with 149 yards passing and three touchdowns, and 57 yards rushing.
China Spring 31, Gilmer 7
Gilmer attempted a field goal to end the first half that would’ve put the Buckeyes ahead 10-7, but China Spring’s Jacob Mott blocked it and Gabe Watkins scooped it and scored 86 yards later to spark the Cougars to a win in the Class 4A Division 2 state championship game on Friday.
China Spring (16-0) wins its first football title since 1978.
Gilmer (14-2) scored first midway through the second quarter on a 2-yard run from Ashton Haynes.
China Spring tied it up on a 3-yard run by quarterback Major Bowden, who was voted title game offensive MVP with 34 carries for 191 yards and three touchdowns.
After Gilmer scored its only touchdown, China Spring put up 31 unanswered points.
Bowden added two more touchdown runs (14 yards, 2 yards) in the fourth quarter to extend the Cougar lead from 17-7 to 31-7 with 4:52 on the clock. China Spring had just 28 yards passing, but rushed for 240.
Isaiah Williams added 13 carries and 56 yards for the Cougars.
The Buckeyes were in the state final for a seventh time and have won three titles, their last coming in 2014. Gilmer was held to 233 yards on offense led by Haynes’ 67 yards on 12 carries. Quarterback Brandon Tennison threw for 136 on 18 of 34 passing.
China Spring’s Tre Hafford was defensive MVP with a team-high seven solo tackles, including two for a loss.
Katy Paetow 27, College Station 24 OT
Jacob Brown scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to send the Paetow Panthers to their first state football championship over College Station in overtime during the Class 5A Division 1 final on Friday night at AT&T Stadium.
College Station (15-1) took the ball first in overtime and settled for a 24-yard field goal from Dawson Schremp.
Paetow (15-1), which is in its fourth season, faced a fourth-and-1 at the 3 and ran a quarterback sneak. The initial call was a first down to the 2 before the officials reviewed the play.
After a couple minutes, the head official ruled that the play stood for a Paetow first down and Brown walked it off on the next play with his touchdown run.
Brown was voted offensive MVP with 112 yards rushing and the one score. Kentrell Webb was defensive MVP for Paetow with seven solo tackles, nine overall and one interception.
The game was tied at 14-14 at halftime.
College Station got an 80-yard touchdown from quarterback Jett Huff to Traylen Suel and a 23-yard scoring run from star running back Marquise Collins, who finished with 192 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Paetow’s first-half scores came from a Bryan Del Cid 7-yard run and Gene Kendall 1-yard run that tied it at 14 with 2:28 left in the second quarter.
The Panthers went ahead 21-14 early in the fourth on a 1-yard run by CJ Dumas Jr. and the Cougars tied it at 21 with 4:04 left on Collins’ 71-yard scamper.
Saturday’s schedule
11 AM: South Oak Cliff vs. Liberty Hill
3 PM: Duncanville vs. North Shore
7 PM: Guyer vs. Westlake
This story was originally published December 15, 2021 at 2:01 PM.
