‘Proud of the kids’: Decatur’s playoff run ends in Class 4A D1 semifinal against Anna
Anna broke open a 1-point game in the second half, scoring 24 unanswered points to pull away from Decatur for a 38-27 final at C.H. Collins Athletic Complex in a Class 4A D1 state semifinal.
As a result, Anna (14-1) will advance to the state championship to face Tyler Chapel Hill, a 56-33 winner over San Antonio Davenport in the other semifinal. It was being played the same evening at McLean Stadium at Baylor University in Waco.
The matchup against Chapel Hill (13-2) will be at 11 a.m. Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
The game was a repeat for Anna who also won 37-30 over Decatur in the first game of the season.
Decatur (10-5) head coach Steve Huff said his team has nothing to hang its’ heads about.
“I’m so proud of the kids,” he said. “We started the season 1-4. And for us to be in the state semifinals after that start is a real tribute to our senior class. And then the kids were just playing their tails off the whole night. I’m so proud of them.”
Indeed, the Eagles did not quit until the final gun sounded. Anna went up 38-13 with 1:55 left when quarterback Ziondre Williams scored on a keeper from the 3 yard line. It came at the end of a time-consuming 10-play, 61-yard, all-run drive after Decatur failed to convert a fourth down on a last ditch effort.
That would normally be the end of the game. Instead, the die-hard Eagles replied by scoring two more touchdowns even though their situation was hopeless.
First, they drove 63 yards in six plays with Antwan Gilbreath taking a swing pass near the left sideline and near the line of scrimmage from quarterback Jed Ross and converting it into a 14-yard touchdown with 19 seconds left. He also caught passes for 17 and 14 yards on the scoring drive.
The senior then followed that up by recovering the ensuing onsides kick at the Anna 47-yard line. Two plays later, on a trick play, Ross hurled a lateral to receiver Landon Felts who, in turn, threw to a wide open Luke White downfield from the same distance for the final score with four seconds left.
Ironically, that was the same amount of time remaining when the Eagles scored the game-winning touchdown with a one-yard pass from Ross to star running back Nate Palmer last week in a 38-35 regional final win over Brownwood.
At the start of the second half, Gilbreath took the kickoff and returned it 82 yards to the Anna 14-yard line. However, the Anna defense held and the Eagles were forced to settle for Greg McDonnell’s 30-yard field goal. Still, it pulled Decatur within one, 14-13.
The Coyotes then embarked on what may be described as the game-defining drive. Despite Decatur’s best efforts, they drove 90 yards in 16 plays, eventually scoring from the 1 by Edward Chumley whom they handed off to 17 times in the second half to control the clock much like the did the previous week in a 41-21 win over Stephenville. Chumley rushed 24 times total for 131 yards and two touchdowns.
Several times the Decatur defense nearly stopped them. Once was on third-and-three, when it looked like Jacob Emmers would be tackled in the backfield. After taking a swing pass in the backfield, one of many both teams ran, he first ran left, then reversed direction and went right across the field for a 16-yard gain to the Anna 33 and a first down.
“I think that play on number 11 there,” said Huff, “that screen was a big, big difference in the ball game. We’re fixing to get really good field position. We had moved the ball fine. Again, a great player and great players make great plays in very crucial situations. We didn’t make the big play we needed. So my hat’s off to them. They did a great job.”
Emmers is a 3-star wideout recruit being woed by the University of California, Louisiana Tech University, and other schools. The senior missed several games earlier in the season due to an injury.
However, he had only six caches for 41 yards and no touchdowns. It appeared the Decatur defense had its’ sights set on him from the outset just as the Anna defense seemed to zero in on Palmer, a TCU commit who had 161 yards on 24 carries and four touchdowns including a 94-yard kickoff return last week against Brownwood.
Friday night, he was held to 45 yards on 13 carries and, like Emmers, no touchdowns.
Also, on the Anna scoring drive, Williams scrambled nine yards to the Decatur 20 to convert a fourth-and-six. The touchdown put Anna up 21-13. Last week, Anna was down 14-10 at halftime against Stephenville before its’ second half surge.
Friday night followed the same script and things began to unravel for Decatur. The Eagles’ were forced to punt and the Coyotes proceeded to score a touchdown in three plays after starting the drive in good field position, their 49-yard line. Chumley scored from 45 yards out on the first play of the fourth quarter. The junior broke a tackle behind the line of scrimmage, then turned sharply upfield in the middle when he saw an opening. The Decatur defense appeared to over-pursue leaving the lane open for the running back.
It made the score 28-13. The Coyotes upped it to 31-13 with a 26-yard field goal by Schlicht. It came after the Eagles fumbled away the ensuing kickoff return at their 23. Schlicht was short on a 41-yard attempt but a roughing-the-kicker penalty pushed the ball forward 11 yards or half the distance to the goal and a first down.
Then Williams got Anna’s last touchdown.
Anna Coach Seth Parr said the difference in the game was his team’s ability to “to control the ball.”
“Being able to stop them in the second half,” he said. “Controlling number seven (Palmer), and then being able to run the football to grind out the clock. I thought it was a total team effort.”
He called Palmer “a great player.”
“They (Eagles) did the same job with ours – Jacob Emmers,” he added.
Huff concurred the Coyotes did a good job keeping Palmer in check but added that penalties also stopped the running back and the Eagle offense. Decatur had four procedure penalties.
“We killed how many drives on penalties getting behind the chains,” he noted. “We were looking for possession there in the second half. There probably weren’t a whole lot of carries there (for Palmer).”
Anna led 14-10 at halftime. Anna struck quickly, a minute and six seconds into the game, and it looked a high-scoring offensive showcase was in the making. On the third play from scrimmage after the opening kickoff, Williams threw short over the middle to Jabari Finnie who streaked to the end zone splitting a pair defenders for a 53-yard touchdown.
On their second possession, Decatur struck back to knot it at 7 with 4:27 left in the first quarter. Ross kept up the middle behind good blocking from his interior front line. It ended a nine-play, 72-yard drive. Key plays included a swing pass to running back Nate Palmer for 23 yards down the left sideline before he was pushed out of bounds at the Anna 29-yard line. Two plays later from the 22, Ross threw over the middle to Luke White to set up the touchdown at the 3 yard line.
Anna looked like it would reply with a lengthy scoring drive of its’ own. The Coyotes drove from their 26-yard line to the Decatur 9 in 14 plays only to see a 26-yard field goal attempt go wide left.
Decatur took over and looked like it, too, had a promising drive advancing to the Anna 36. But Ross’s ill-advised, desperation pass while being pursued was intercepted by Jamison Adams and returned 11 yards to the Anna 37-yard line.
Anna took advantage and converted the turnover into points. Thirteen plays later, Williams threw to an open Sean Steens in the middle of the end zone on a crossing pattern on third-and-goal from the 13. It gave Anna a 14-7 lead with 2:48 left before intermission.
Decatur replied with a 12-play, 70-yard drive for a 26-yard field goal by McDonnell as time expired. The Eagles ran out of time. They had second-and-goal from the 9 with two seconds left before McDonnell was called in.
Both teams passed a lot. Ross was 20-29-1 for 166 yards and a touchdown. Williams was 15-29-0 for 184 yards and two first half touchdowns. He rushed 12 times for 104 yards and a touchdown.