Crowley rolls to first playoff win in 11 seasons with rout of Justin Northwest
It’s been 11 years since the Crowley football team has won a first-round playoff game and the Eagles have never won a playoff game at their home stadium. Quarterback Caleb Williams made sure that the drought is over.
Williams accounted for four touchdowns, including an electrifying 80-yard run, as the Eagles drubbed Justin Northwest 51-14 on Nov. 15 in a Class 6A Division 2 bi-district game at the Crowley ISD Multi-Purpose Stadium.
“It’s great because this class gets to leave a legacy and break a decade-long curse,” said Williams, who rushed for 160 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns and completed nine of 16 passes for 117 yards and two more scores. “It feels amazing winning a gold ball.”
Crowley (7-4) advances to the area round and will face Midland (8-3), which defeated El Paso Pebble Hills 42-14, at 6 p.m. on Nov. 23 at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene.
“I’m super excited to face Midland,” added Williams, who came in at No. 25 in the Star-Telegram Top 100 players. “It’s going to be a nice little bus ride out there. I’m going to love it.”
Crowley defeated Fort Worth Arlington Heights 52-21 in 2013 and has played in six bi-district games since then with no success, but Williams and the Eagles jump on Northwest early and never looked back.
The teams traded scores to start with both going on long drives that resulted in touchdowns. Crowley took the opening kick and marched 66 yards in 10 plays with Williams running it in from eight yards out.
Northwest (6-5) followed with a 14-play, 69 yards drive that culminated in an 11-yard scoring run by Texans’ quarterback Ryder Norton that tied the game 7-7 with 3:37 left in the first quarter. It was all Crowley after that.
The Eagles wound up scoring on each of their first seven possessions with a safety added in on a blocked punt by Christian Ashe that bounded out of the end zone.
Derrick Tasby caught a 33-yard scoring pass from Williams and had a 24-yard TD run to cap the scoring for Crowley with 1:22 left in the third quarter.
“This means a lot since we’ve been to the playoffs the past two years, but never won a game,” said Tasby, who rushed twice for 27 yards and hauled in five passes for 85 yards. “It means a lot to do it for Coach (Carlos) Lynn. He’s turned this program around and now we have something to show for it.”
Williams’ 80-yard scoring run was a thing of beauty. The senior ran a perfect zone read, keeping and running up the middle before cutting right to the sideline then turning on the jets and out racing the Northwest secondary to the end zone.
Julius Cogbill caught a 12-yard scoring pass from Williams. Kenyon Cotton, who had 97 yards rushing on 10 carries, had a 24-yard scoring run and Jonathan Blake scored from seven yards out.
While the offense was firing on all cylinders, the defense was as solid as a brick wall. Northwest only managed 64 yards rushing on the night and 67 more through the air (131 total). Crowley coach Carlos Lynn said that he knew that the Texans were going to be a run-heavy club and that he gambled a little loading up the box and dared Northwest to throw.
That gamble allowed linebacker Tyler Hooper to shine.
“After the first drive coach made some adjustments, minor tweaks, and after that it was just time to go play football and be great,” said Hooper who had three sacks and numerous tackles. “My coach set me up to make good plays and I just executed. My defensive line helped me out and just allowed me to be great.
“It feels good to be a part of this win and celebrate it. I’ll cherish this moment forever and hopefully we’ll have some more to come.”
“The defense kept telling us that we’re going to give y’all the ball back as long as y’all keep scoring,” said Williams. “All you can do is have faith in your defense and they have faith in us.
“Before the game all we could think about was the summer workouts that we went through and the boot camp we went through. We went through so much not to put points up and win. We had a good game plan and we executed it really well.”
Crowley has never played a school from the Midland ISD, so next week’s area-round game will chart new territory for the Eagles. Crowley’s last time to win two playoff games came in 1971 when the Eagles defeated Valley View 14-6, downed Wylie 30-0, and then lost to Sonora 19-12.
Lynn, who has won numerous playoff games in his career, has several young coaches on his staff now who have never experienced a playoff win and a squad that has never won a playoff game.
“It’s exciting for our kids, our community, and our school,” said Lynn. “Our Superintendent was running around out here with the bi-district trophy, so it was a great, great feeling for everyone involved, and we’re excited to be a part of it.
“That’s the fun part. I’m long in the tooth and have experienced a whole lot, but to see some of these young coaches and these kids experience something that they’ve never experienced before is a pleasure to see. The Texas high school playoffs are just so special, just to be in, but now to get the opportunity to have your name inked into those 32 teams that are still left is important and right where you want to be.”
This story was originally published November 16, 2024 at 12:50 AM.