Nolan Catholic’s football season falls short in state semifinals against Prestonwood
Indefatigable workhorse AJ Sibley led Plano Prestonwood past Fort Worth Nolan Catholic, 56-21, in a TAPPS Division 1 state semifinal on Saturday at Birdville Fine Arts Athletic Complex.
Prestonwood (9-2) advances to the state title game and plays Dallas Parish Episcopal next week in Waco. Parish beat Prestonwood in district play 42-14 in Week 11.
Parish (12-1) beat Houston St. Thomas 42-7 on Saturday.
Prestonwood picked up its second win over Nolan this season. The Lions beat the Vikings 42-7 on Oct. 14.
Sibley, a senior, rushed 38 times for 320 yards and two touchdowns. He left late in the third quarter. Quarterback Maguire Martin threw for four touchdowns and rushed for one.
Prestonwood scored on all but one of its’ six possessions in the first half to take a 35-14 halftime lead. The Lions led 21-0 after the first quarter. After forcing a three-and-out after the opening kickoff, the Lions drove 48 yards in five plays when Sibley went off-tackle for the last 10.
The second touchdown drive also began on Nolan’s side of the field after a shanked punt went only nine yards to the Viking 39-yard line. Again after five plays, Tag O’Neal took a 3-yard pass from Martin for a 14-0 lead.
The third touchdown was also a pass from Martin, this time to Luke McGary for 5 yards after the quarterback rolled right and his receiver rotated with him. It climaxed an 11-play, 60-yard drive.
Finally, late in the first quarter, Nolan (4-9) got its initial first down as the Vikings put together a touchdown drive. Their dual-shot running tandem of big running backs DK Smittick and Robert Jones got in gear to help engineer a 14-play, 83-yard scoring drive. There were only two passes attempted.
It was capped by Smittick’s off-guard run for two yards to make it 21-7, Prestonwood. The Lions, however, replied with a touchdown in just three plays. Sibley burst up the middle for 50 yards breaking tackles en route including a stiff-arm behind him to reinstate the 21-point advantage, 28-7.
Nolan, a proud team with a rich tradition, was not about to give up easily, and reciprocated with an 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive. It was finished with Smittick’s second touchdown, a 3-yard run. The drive featured a fake punt on fourth-and-6 that Cooper Sorokolit converted with an 11-yard run to the Prestonwood 49- yard line.
Prestonwood also gambled on fourth-and-9 for its’ last touchdown of the first half, a 54-yard pass to an open Charis Jackson from Martin. Martin caught it at the 19 and ran the rest of the way. It came with 3:34 left for a 35-14 lead.
Prestonwood added three more touchdowns in the second half. One was a 10-yard pass from Martin to Enzo Bingham after Nolan failed to convert a fourth-and-1 at its’ 20-yard line. Another was a 1-yard keeper by Martin late in the third quarter for a 49-14 lead. It came after a lost fumble by Nolan at its’ 43-yard line. The third was also a keeper 6 yards by backup quarterback Brady Bricker for the game’s final score with 1:48 left.
Prior to Bricker’s touchdown, Nolan’s other score was a fourth quarter 2-yard run by Jones to culminate a 10-play, 88-yard drive.
Martin completed 12 of 13 passes for 135 yards and four scores. Prestonwood amassed 558 yards total offense to 333 by Nolan. Smittick finished with 124 yards rushing on 18 carries and two touchdowns. Jones rushed for 108 yards on 25 carries and a touchdown.