Texas high school football Class 4A State Championships: Anna, Gilmer win titles
Day three of the Texas high school football state championships is underway. Here are the major takeaways from the Class 4A championship games on Friday in Arlington, Texas.
Anna blanks Chapel Hill, wins Class 4A D1 State Championship
The Anna football team closed out its final season in Class 4A in grand style.
The Coyotes built a comfortable lead at the half then coasted to a 26-0 win over Tyler Chapel Hill in the Class 4A Division 1 state championship game on Friday before 14,384 fans at AT&T Stadium.
Anna head coach Seth Parr said winning a state championship is “unreal” and that he has worked toward winning a title for a “lifetime.”
“All we’ve ever done,” Parr said. “Throughout my adolescence up to now. Now, I reached this destination, so it hasn’t sunk in yet.”
It was the first state title in football for Anna (15-1), the No. 2 team in the state in Class 4A D1, in the Coyotes first trip to the championship game. Anna, which will move up to Class 5A Division 2 next season, had never won more than seven games in the past 20 seasons until last year when they went to the state quarterfinals and finished 13-1.
The Coyotes dominated, especially in the first half, as the Coyotes scored on each of its first four possessions to build a built a 24-0 lead by the 5:25 mark of the second quarter.
Coyotes running back Edward Chumley, the Offensive Most Valuable Player, scored on runs of 6 and 2 yards and caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ziondre Williams. Camden Schlicht added a 22-yard field goal for Anna.
Chumley finished with 71 yards rushing on 16 carries and picked up 31 yards on three receptions. Williams had 170 yards passing completing 17 of 25.
Defensively, Anna middle linebacker C.J. Miller was everywhere. Miller, the Defensive MVP, had nine tackles in the first half and anchored a defense that allowed 19 total yards to Chapel Hill in the first two quarters.
Miller finished with 15 tackles five of which were solo tackles as well as three assisted tackles for losses. Miller came into the game with 182 tackles on the season.
Parr said Chapel Hill has a talented offense and that the team has a lot of respect for the unit. He mentioned the team’s competitiveness in practice helped prepare them for anything.
“We are a very competitive group,” Parr said. “We get there angry. We play hard, and it’s just an example of their competitive drive. All these guys are just really competitive people and love football. That’s an easy mix.”
The Bulldogs ran more plays than had yards gained in the opening two quarters, 23-19, and had more penalty yards than total yards 34-19. Chapel Hill (13-3) started all six first-half drives at or inside its own 25 yard line and was forced to punt on five with the half running out on the sixth.
Anna made it 26-0 with 36 seconds left in the second quarter when a Chapel Hill punt snap sailed over the head of Trevor Brooks for a safety.
As the game wore on the only question was whether or not Chapel Hill would be able to score. The Bulldogs averaged 45.6 points per game this season, including the playoffs, but could do little against Miller and company.
Chapel Hill also had penalties and poor execution on plays at the worst times. The Bulldogs best scoring chance came early in the fourth quarter, but an incomplete pass on a fourth and goal from the Anna two yard line fell incomplete turning the ball over on downs.
“I think they’re all in MVPs, in my opinion,” Parr said. “I think we’re a collective group but those two (Chumley and Miller) – just tough as nails. … We’re all MVPs because they’re their tenacity and their instinct and their willingness to do what it takes to win, that’s throughout our whole program. They are leaders because they show it and they’re the example.”
The last shutout in a state championship came in 2019 when Austin Westlake blanked Denton Guyer 24-0. Chapel Hill was making its fourth appearance at state with wins in 1989 and 2011.
Anna senior strong safety Jamison Adams said that the entire Anna community could never envision a state title prior to Parr’s hiring prior to the 2021 season. After, the Coyotes “bought in” to the process.
“The new coaching staff really brought their A-game when they came into town,” Adams said. “They changed the whole culture.”
Gilmer holds off Bellville to win its fourth state title
It had been nine seasons since Gilmer had won a state football title. That drought is over.
The Buckeyes got a 227 yard rushing performance from Will Henderson and quarterback Cadon Tennison threw for 197 yards and two scores as Gilmer survived for a 28-26 win over Bellville in the Class 4A Division 2 championship before 15,036 looking on at AT&T Stadium.
Gilmer (13-3), No. 10 in the final Class 4A D2 state poll, last won a state title in 2014, but the Buckeyes did make appearances in 2020 and 2021, but on the losing end.
Gilmore coach Alan Metzel said that doing the first interviews (after losing) “were tough”.
“Those first couple of years here were a bad day at the office,” said Metzel. “So to get to experience what we’re getting to experience right now is awesome.”
No. 6 Bellville (15-1) scored the only points of the second half on a four-yard run by Corrian Hood with 2:26 left in the third quarter to cut the lead to 28-26. A blocked extra point earlier in the game forced the Brahmas to go for two, but Bellville was stopped short.
From that point the Gilmer defense never let Bellville get out of its own end of the field and ran the final 6:47 off the clock running 13 plays and picking up six first downs.
The Buckeyes took advantage of two takeaways to take a 28-20 lead into the locker room after a wild first half. Safety Brendan Webb, the game’s Defensive Most Valuable Player, stripped a ball away from a Bellville running back and recovered it at the Brahmas 28.
Seven plays later Gilmer quarterback Cadon Tennison bulled in from the two to give the Buckeyes a 14-7 lead with 1:08 left in the first quarter.
Webb halted another Bellville drive with an interception in the end zone. Five plays later Will Henderson, who won the Offensive MVP, darted up the middle for a 65-yard TD with 2:00 left before the half.
“I wouldn’t have been able to get the fumble or the interception if it wasn’t for my defensive line wrapping up the runner and causing pressure on the quarterback like they did,” said Webb, the game’s Defensive MVP. “When they had the runner wrapped up I reached in and felt the ball and just pulled it and it came out. I had to go get that.”
“Turnovers and penalties that we haven’t made all year were really unfortunate,” said Bellville coach Grady Rowe, whose team was making the Brahmas third appearance at state, without a win, and the first since 1977. “But I’m so proud of our kids. They came back and fought so hard, but you can’t win these games doing those things like we did, especially in the first half.”
Bellville stayed in the game with big plays before the break. Sam Hranicky had scoring runs of 66 and 58 yards on quick hitters off tackle and quarterback Zach Leuschner hit D.D. Murray with a 72-yard touchdown pass.
Hranicky finished with 157 rushing yards on 13 carries.
Tennison had TD passes of eight and 69 yards in the first half to Webb and Ta’Erik Tate, respectively. The teams combined to gain over 600 yards of offense before the intermission.
“It’s amazing to have this opportunity to coach young men like this,” said Metzel. “Having a challenging year like we have I think just adds to the sweetness of it. To get to go out as a team and as a community and have the sweetness of victory is beyond words.”
This story was originally published December 15, 2023 at 4:03 PM.
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