Brock loses heartbreaker on walk-off FG against Franklin in football state championship
No matter how many times Brock stumbled, the Eagles fought back.
But in the end, it’ll be a tough pill to swallow for the next few months.
Franklin kicker Cort Lowry hit a 20-yard field goal as time expired as Brock fell to the Lions 17-14 in the Class 3A Division 1 state championship on Thursday night at AT&T Stadium.
Franklin (16-0), the No. 1 team in the final 3A D1 rankings, completes the back-to-back after the Lions defeated Gunter for the 3A D2 title last season.
“That’s the way a state championship game is supposed to be. You got two great teams going head to head,” Brock coach Billy Mathis said. “Unfortunately you got to have a loser and tonight, Franklin got the best of us. It hurts, but you look at it and we did a lot of good things during the game.
“I’m most impressed by how we played every play as hard as we could.”
Trailing 14-7 in the fourth quarter, Brock faced a third-and-14 from the Franklin 34. Quarterback Tyler Moody rolled to the right and heaved a touchdown pass to Brett Tutter, who made a great leaping catch over a defender to tie it at 14 with 5:59 left in the fourth quarter.
“He wasn’t my number one look, but I went through my progression and I saw him,” Moody said. “I have faith in anyone and I’ll throw to anyone. He’s not the ideal receiver, that’s why we love him at running back and giving him the ball to run the edge, but I trust him to make a big play and it was. It was sweet.”
“Proud of Tyler on that play. They did a good job on coverage and he went through his progression,” Mathis added. “I think it was the third route, but what a throw and what a catch. Really impressive.”
But Franklin would march down the field and Brock never got the ball back.
The Lions completed their only pass attempt of the night for 14 yards on third down to move the chains to the Brock 16 with 1:32 left. Franklin kept driving while Brock called all three timeouts in hopes of getting the ball back with time left.
Franklin had first-and-goal at the 1, but Brock was able to get back-to-back tackles for a loss to the 3 before the game-winning field goal by Lowry.
Brock (11-5) was looking for its second state title in program history and first since 2015.
The Eagles lost in the state title game last season to Lorena.
After a punt and the game tied at 7, Brock began to drive, in hopes of a go-ahead score. The Eagles got across midfield and picked up a good chunk of yards, but on the same play, Franklin’s Fragiel Owens stripped the ball loose from a Brock receiver and returned it 64 yards for the touchdown and 14-7 lead with 8:22 left in the fourth quarter.
Franklin out rushed Brock 232-166.
Jayden Jackson was voted state title game offensive MVP with 146 yards on 24 carries and one touchdown.
Brayden Washington chipped in 87 yards on 26 carries plus five tackles on defense.
“Franklin’s offense is dynamic and hard to stop, but our defense did a great job,” Mathis said. “It was a war out there. D-line, linebackers, the secondary guys ran well and tackled well. So proud of them.”
Both teams missed on long drives in the first half.
Franklin took the game’s opening possession into the red zone in 15 plays and over eight minutes, but the Lions missed on a 37-yard field goal with 3:39 left in the first quarter.
The Lions converted a fourth-and-2 to the Brock 25 and even got to the 11, but a false start pushed it back to second-and-11 at the 16. Carson Finney got into the backfield and dropped a Lion for a 6-yard loss.
The teams then alternated punts before Brock had a masterful drive itself. With the ball sitting at their own 12, Moody ran for seven and a first down to end the first quarter. Finney caught three passes from Moody on the drive, the third going for 10 to the Franklin 32.
Reid Watkins then took the hand off three of the next four snaps and got to the 11, but on the next play, Brayden Youree picked off an Eagles’ pass attempt to kill a 13-play, 77-yard drive.
However, Brock’s D made a stop and forced a punt that stayed on Franklin’s side of the 50. With good field position, Tutter ran for 16 to the 25. Brock got to the 17, but Watkins was dropped for a loss out of the wildcat.
Brock would miss a 35-yard field goal to keep the contest scoreless with 3:14 left in the half.
The Lions capitalized on the miss and marched 80 yards on nine plays for the first score of the game.
Jackson stiff armed a Brock defender and raced 45 yards to the Eagles 21. Five plays later and Jackson punched it in from the 4 to give the Lions a 7-0 lead which they took to the intermission.
Franklin ran for 156 in the first half while not attempting one pass.
Brock received the second-half kickoff, but a misplay on the return team started the drive at the 7. Franklin picked up a tackle for loss before the Eagles had to punt from their own end zone.
The Eagles got a decent punt to the Franklin 49 and the Brock D made a huge stop on fourth down as Cam Harris stopped Washington short of the first-down marker.
Brock drove down to the red zone and looked prime to tie it, but Washington forced a fumble and Franklin recovered. However, the Eagles got the ball right back when Takoda Courtney jarred the ball loose and Hyatt Dunaway recovered.
Watkins scored on the next play from 22 yards out that tied it at 7 with 2:57 left in the third quarter.
“Huge, so huge right there. It was a game changer and ya’ll know this, if you’ve ever been a part of an athletic event, momentum is a real life thing,” Mathis said.
Brock out-gained Franklin 299-246.
Watkins led Brock with 76 yards on 14 carries. Tutter added 48 yards on eight attempts.
Watkins was also Brock’s leading tackler with 8 1/2 total. Luke Cearley added 7 1/2 tackles and Cearley, Finney and Cooper Massey had tackles for a loss.
Moody threw for 133 yards on 9 of 17 passing.
“Those four games prepared us for this game,” said Brock’s Zachary Brewster of the Eagles’ first four games of the season, which were against four state-ranked teams. “We’re a young team and not a lot of teams our age can play the kind of football we did tonight.”
Added Mathis, “[The mental toughness] is what makes a good team. They love each other and hang out with each other. They will go to battle for each other all the time. The best teams I’ve been a part of are when the guys are best friends.”
This story was originally published December 15, 2022 at 10:39 PM.
