‘As tough as it gets’: Birdville misses playoffs after overtime loss to Dallas White

In a winner advance to the playoffs game Friday night at the Birdville Fine Arts and Athletic Complex, a furious 14-point comeback by Birdville in the last two minutes of regulation was not enough in a 38-35 loss to Dallas White.

Manuel Rodriguez booted a 42-yard field goal in the second overtime period. The win allows White to advance out of District 5-5A Division 1 while Birdville concludes its season with a 4-6 record.

“It was a tough loss, about as tough as it gets,” Birdville head coach Lon Holbrook said. “I am proud of our players for fighting back and finding a way to tie the game. We just failed to win at the end but we had our chances.”

The visiting Longhorns looked to put the game away with a 1-yard run by Markavious Justice with just 2:20 left in the game. With the extra point added by Rodriguez, White had a 14-point advantage for the first time.

The teams traded scores in the first half for a 14-14 tie and then were again tied 21-21 late in the third quarter.

The ensuing kickoff was the beginning of a hectic and heroic final two minutes. Birdville’s Lamar Leggins caught the kickoff at his 12 yard line and shot through a small gap to open field and then cut on a dime to the inside and raced 88 yards to the end zone.

The play sent a shock wave through the crowd and, with a Mario Minjivar extra point, Birdville was down only 7 points with 2:07 to play.

The Hawks executed an onside kick that was pooched to White and fumbled when Parker Green leveled the receiver and William Cheny recovered. The play was nullified due to an inadvertent whistle by an official prior to the kickoff.

White successfully recovered the next kick. With Birdville’s defense stiffening and the use of its remaining timeouts, White decided to let Paradez run or pass on a roll out and his pass was picked off by Hawk defensive back James Duvall. Birdville had a last chance with 1:36 still on the clock.

Normand hit senior receiver Caleb Kelley with two short out patterns and then on a 20-yard slant to put the Hawks in the red zone with under a minute to play. After a failed running play by Normand, he tossed a 7-yard pass to Brian Kent who made a one handed catch in the corner of the end zone.

The score was knotted at 35-35 with only 9 seconds to play.

There were 70 points and more than 700 combined yards in regulation, but defense ruled the overtime play. Birdville was stopped by two interceptions and the Hawks’ Green picked one off from White. Other standouts on defense for Birdville were lineman P.J. Mekuli and linebackers Jayden Nafegar, Jake Broom and Daniel Sabillion.

On its final possession, White was stopped but counted on Rodriguez, who made the winner after a first attempt was blocked.

Despite the overtime interceptions, Normand was successful through the air with 25 completions out of 41 attempts for 321 yards and four touchdowns. Kent had 11 catches for 121 yards and a touchdown and Kelley caught seven for 98 yards and a touchdown.

Legging had two catches for 87 yards and one TD on a 56-yard play and Mazen Eid caught a 16-yard strike for a score. On the ground, Birdville was led by Jamal Ramsey with 30 yards on 8 carries.

This story was originally published November 4, 2023 at 12:30 AM.