Defense shines as Brock knocks off Malakoff, Eagles clinch spot in state title game
Unlike the previous two playoff games, Brock got out to a comfortable lead on Thursday night.
The Eagles rallied to beat Bushland and Whitesboro to clinch their sixth appearance in the state semifinals during the past eight seasons and set a date with Malakoff.
Brock scored 21 straight points and its defense clamped down on the Tigers for the 21-10 victory at the Ford Center to advance to the Class 3A Division 1 UIL state championship game.
Brock (11-4), which started 0-4, has won 11 straight and will take on Franklin (15-0) at 7 p.m. next Thursday Dec. 15 at AT&T Stadium.
It’s Brock’s fourth state title game appearance. The Eagles lost to Lorena in last year’s 3A D1 final. They also went in 2017 (lost to Rockdale) and 2015 (defeated Cameron Yoe).
Franklin defeated Edna 41-13 on Thursday night.
“Very excited for the opportunity. I tell people all the time, you start out losing in the state final last year and it’s something that motivates you throughout the off season and the summer,” Brock coach Billy Mathis said. “We wanted to get that bad taste out of our mouth.
“But we didn’t stop believing, we didn’t stop working hard. Now it’s 11 games in a row. God is good at 0-4 and God is good at 11-4. We got one more and we’re going to lay everything out on the line.”
After Malakoff forced a punt on Brock’s opening possession, the Tigers drove down and got a 32-yard field goal from Juan Gonzalez with 5:52 left in the first quarter.
The Tigers picked up a first down on three consecutive plays, but Brock had a 2-yard tackle for loss and got an incomplete pass that Reid Watkins defended before Malakoff settled for three.
Brock’s defense clamped down after the field goal. The Tigers gained 51 yards on their first drive, but the Eagles held them to only 44 yards on their final three drives of the first half.
Malakoff gained 160 yards for the game.
Brock’s offense started to click on its second drive, going 13 plays in nearly six minutes. A flag backed the Eagles up to a second-and-16 at the 46 when Tyler Moody hit Zachary Brewster for 22 yards and a first down.
Watkins rushed it four straight times and got to the 1 before Moody scored on a keeper to give Brock a 7-3 lead to end the opening period.
Cam Harris sacked Malakoff quarterback Mike Jones and the Tigers had to punt on their ensuing drive.
The two teams traded interceptions when Malakoff’s Chauncey Hogg picked off a Brock pass. But three plays later, Malakoff threw an interception as Carson Finney gave Brock the ball back with just under eight minutes left in the second quarter.
“Our front seven is what I believe is the best in the state,” Harris said. “We pride ourselves in shutting down the run game. Early on, they found some creases to hit us. We came back on the sideline, made some adjustments and really shut them out for the rest of the game.”
Brock turned it into points during a 11-play, 58-yard drive.
The Eagles went 3 for 3 on third down, the last one resulting in a Watkins 8-yard run to the Tigers 24. On the next play, Watkins gained 17 to the 7 before punching it in on the hand off from Moody to extend the Brock lead to 14-3 with 2:44 left in the half.
“We started a lot better. The lead wasn’t comfortable. The lead is never comfortable unless you’re up five touchdowns. Proud of the guys staying with it and the game plan,” Mathis said. “We won the line of scrimmage for most of the night and when you do that, you keep moving the ball and moving the chains and good things happen.”
Malakoff would drive down with little time left, but a 25-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Finney, who came around the left side untouched and got a hand on the ball.
“I saw the end step down so I just ran over his leg and the ball hit me in the bicep so I had a lot of time,” Finney said. “It stopped the momentum. It could’ve been 14-6, instead it’s still a two-possession game, so great feeling.”
The Tigers began the third quarter on offense, but the drive stalled near midfield when Brock held them to a yard on fourth-and-2 to retain possession.
The Eagles responded with an 8-play, 56-yard drive, capped off with a 2-yard run by Watkins to up the lead to 21-3 midway through the quarter.
“Thankful for our O-line, so strong and good, they opened up holes for me and Tutter to run through,” Watkins said. “We’re really excited. Like we always say, we’re battle tested
“We started the year slow, but we’re ready for next week.”
Malakoff’s offense continued to struggle so the Tigers turned to its special teams. After a Brock punt, Hogg took it 92 yards for the touchdown that cut the lead to 21-10 with 8:57 left in the game.
Malakoff was held to 77 yards rushing and Jones was 6 of 21 for 83 yards and two interceptions. Watkins picked off a pass in the fourth quarter.
“Boys up front dominated. You could see how fast Malakoff was and the secondary did a great job keeping things in front of them and breaking up balls,” Mathis said. “The linebackers ran to the ball, but the key was the D-line. They put the pressure on at the right time and we were able to stuff holes.”
Brock gained 276 yards with Watkins leading the way. He rushed 24 times for 137 yards. Brett Tutter added 71 yards on 13 attempts. Moody was 6 of 11 for 53 yards passing.
This story was originally published December 8, 2022 at 10:00 PM.
