Midland Legacy narrowly defeats Euless Trinity in double overtime area-round thriller
Euless Trinity couldn’t convert a 2-point conversion in the second overtime period and failed to stop Midland Legacy, falling 57-55 at Pennington Field on Saturday. The Trojans fell just short of a spectacular Texas high school football area-round win.
Wide receiver Jordan Williams caught the game winning conversion as the Rebel fans erupted in cheers. Williams said he spoke with quarterback Marcos Davila alone in the huddle prior to the game winning play.
“I said ‘Marc, just trust me and give me the ball and let’s end this right here’ and that’s what he did,” Johnson said.
Williams’ teammates dog piled him after the winning catch. He said he was on the bottom of the pile screaming “we did it!”
“That was the funnest moment of my life,” Williams said. “I’ll never forget it.”
Midland Legacy head coach Clint Hartman said that in most games teams are forced to play checkers instead of chess, but mentioned that tonight was a different story.
“We had to play chess tonight,” Hartman said. “The kids had to be gritty and find a way to win the game. Damien (Johnson) was amazing.”
Running back Damien Johnson, who scored the second overtime touchdown, powered the rebels in the game, totaling 349 yards and 4 touchdowns on 26 carries. Euless Trinity head coach Aaron Lineweaver said the Trojans fought hard and added “hats off to Midland Legacy.”
“They did a great job, and they’ve always done a great job,” Lineweaver said. “They made one more play than we did.”
In the first overtime period, Johnson scored on the first play with a 25 yard rush. Trinity running back Josh Bell, who gained 336 total yards and scored three times, responded with a 25 yard scamper of his own.
“He’s just so tough, and he has such a big heart,” Lineweaver said of Bell. “And then, athletically, he’s low to the ground and strong. He’s just a really, really good running back and I’m glad that he’s on our team.”
An electric, offensive second half
Midland Legacy (10-2) took a 21-14 lead into halftime, and the game took a turn from there. Trinity (7-5) recorded the first stop of the second half with 2:50 remaining and the score tied at 42.
“It was a great game, an offensive battle,” Tupou said. “We tried to slow them down as much as we could on offense because we knew that their offense was powerful. It’s really hard when you score 55 points and you lose.”
The Trojans finally had an opportunity to take the lead for the first time in the game. The Trojans attempted a 43-yard field goal at the end of regulation that sailed wide left.
“I though we had it when our defense got that stop in the fourth quarter,” quarterback TJ Tupou said. “Every kick we had tried had gone through, but they tipped the field goal and sent it to overtime.”
The Trojans pulled some tricks out their sleeve for the opportunity to win it. Earlier in the drive, Trinity faced fourth down and went into punt formation, but didn’t send it away.
Fullback Buddy Leota took the direct snap and ran for it, falling just short of the first down marker. A face mask penalty extended the Trojan drive, and the Trojans eventually missed the game winning field goal.
In the first half, Midland Legacy jumped ahead with a 42 yard touchdown reception by wide receiver Brex Stevens and 24 and 16 yard receptions from Aiden Serrano.
Euless Trinity, the No. 9 team in the Star-Telegram’s Fort Worth-area Class 6A rankings, lessened the damage with 1 yard touchdown scampers from running back JT Harris and quarterback TJ Tupou.
“They play so hard and it really means so much to these kids here at Trinity,” Lineweaver said. “And that’s special to be a part of.”
Bell took over in the second half, recording a 69-yard touchdown run on the second play of third quarter. Trinity went back and fourth with Midland Legacy with short touchdown runs from Tupou and Bell.
Tupou tied it at 42, finding a wide open Leota in the end zone for a 12-yard score. A catch from wide receiver Caleb Robinson on 3rd-and-14 extended the drive.
“This team was absolutely amazing,” Tupou said. “We showed up and put in the hard work. Our senior class was really amazing. Great leaders. People like Jarvis (Heimuli), Buddy (Leota) and Peni (Masima) on the offensive line. It’s just heart breaking for them to go out like this.”
Midland Legacy, in the third quarter, kept control of the game with an 80-yard touchdown run from Johnson. Quarterback Marcos Davila, who finished with 229 yards passing, notched a rushing touchdown in the following drive. Johnson added the Rebels’ final regulation score, a 1-yarder with 6:50 remaining.
Up next
Midland Legacy will face Allen (8-4) at 4 p.m. CT on Saturday at Abilene’s Shotwell Stadium. WIlliams said “it’s going to take everybody” to carry the momentum into the next round.
“Everybody including bench players, even if they don’t get in to practice,” Williams said. “Just everything and everybody.”
Williams credited the offensive line for opening holes for him and mentioned coach Boe Smith drew up an outstanding game plan. Now, the Rebels are on a collision course with the Eagles.
“It’s going to take a lot of hard work, dedication, film study,” Williams said. “And just showing up every day.”
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