‘They just outplayed us.’ Brock has no answer for Lorena, falls in state title game
Brock came back to beat Mount Vernon in overtime during the state semifinals to clinch a spot in Thursday’s Class 3A Division 1 state championship.
Needing another second-half rally, Brock’s run ran out against Lorena.
Lorena scored on its first two drives and never trailed as the Leopards defeated the Eagles 35-18 in front of 13,337 in attendance at AT&T Stadium.
“Who knew second place would hurt so much, but hats off to Lorena. They’re a good football team,” said Billy Mathis, who came to Brock in the spring.
“Great season. We just played a tough Lorena team. They were dialed up tonight. We came out and played well, but they just outplayed us, out-coached us. They were better than us tonight.”
It was Brock’s third trip to the state title game and first since 2017. The Eagles won a title in 2015. Meanwhile, Lorena snapped its drought, winning the program’s first state championship since 1987.
The Leopards started the season 0-2 and won their final 14 games.
“Our kids prepared all week long. Brock has a history and we had to match their physicality and play as clean of a game as possible,” said Lorena coach Ray Biles, who’s in his 30th season.
“Lot of leadership. The moment wasn’t bigger than they were.”
Momentum seemed to shift to Brock (15-1) when running backs Kutter Wilson and Brett Tutter had big gains to the Lorena 7-yard line and quarterback Tyler Moody hit Minnesota bound tight end Nathan Jones on a 4-yard touchdown.
Brock couldn’t get the conversion and Lorena led 21-12 with 5:38 left in the third quarter.
The Eagles then picked off a Lorena pass as Dillon Mueller got the interception, but Brock was dropped for no gain on an ensuing fourth-and-6 to turn the ball over on downs.
Lorena (14-2) responded with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Ryne Abel to Camden Brock to give the Leopards a 28-12 lead with 27 seconds to play in the third quarter.
Rhett Hanson pitched to Cason Pitts, who scored for the Leopards in the fourth and Moody hit Elijah Potts for a 34-yard score with 1:22 left to play. Hanson finished with 28 carries for 196 yards and three touchdowns, and was voted the game’s offensive MVP.
Lorena’s Baxter Bankston was defensive MVP with six tackles, three for loss, two sacks and one hurry.
“We had to play with a sense of urgency on every play and if we could do that, then we didn’t have to push the panic button,” Biles said.
Wilson led the Eagles with 24 carries for 171 yards and one touchdown.
Brock had trouble blocking at the line of scrimmage early as Lorena appeared to be the more physical team up front. Moody was pressured for most of the first half with only 85 yards on 6 of 11 passing.
Lorena looked great on the game’s opening drive, going 66 yards on eight plays in just under three minutes. Abel hit Khi Ritchie for a 35-yard gain and Hanson capped it off with a 2-yard run with 9:18 left in the first quarter.
Brock did pick up back-to-back first downs to start its drive, but the Eagles would eventually punt and the Leopards extended their lead just past the midway point of the period.
With the ball at the Lorena 2, the Leopards embarked on a 98-yard drive on only five plays.
Hanson scored from 54 yards to make it 14-0 with 5:12 on the clock.
“You put yourself behind the chains like that against a good football team and it’s hard to overcome,” Mathis said. “Being down 14-0, we were missing tackles and they were off to the races. At that point, you can’t go into panic mode and we didn’t. We dialed in and started to make plays, but we missed on a few opportunities.”
The Eagles finally got some movement by answering the Lorena touchdown with a nine-play, 80-yard drive that lasted over five minutes. Moody hit Potts for a 47-yard gain and Wilson scored from the 1 on the first play of the second quarter. But the extra point was no good and Lorena’s lead was 14-6.
Both teams were nearly identical in offensive yardage with Lorena outrushing Brock 207-189. The Eagles had more passing yards, 170-163. Mueller and Colton Stephenson led Brock on defense with eight tackles apiece.
“As a coach, you feel like you let them down, like you didn’t do your part,” Mathis said. “These are young men that give us everything they have. That’s how it’s been the day I walked into Brock in March. They’re like family, like my kids and little brothers. I love them. It hurts to see the pain and hurt in their face.
“They’ve done everything for this school and this town.”
This story was originally published December 16, 2021 at 6:00 PM.
