Whittington breaks Dickerson, Gray records, wins both MVP awards in all-time state performance

For forty years, NFL Hall-of-Famer Eric Dickerson of Sealy has been at the top of the Class 4A title game rushing record list with 311 yards in 1978 against Wylie.

Time to crown a new rushing king.

Cuero do-everything-athlete Jordan Whittington rushed for 334 yards on 28 carries and scored 6 times as the Gobblers returned to glory with a 40-28 victory against Texarkana Pleasant Grove in the Class 4A Division II championship Friday before 12,784 at AT&T Stadium.

Whittington, a University of Texas signee, not only eclipsed Dickerson’s 4A record, but also the overall 11-man record set in 2010 by Aledo’s Johnathan Gray, who had 325 yards against LaMarque. The senior, who plays wide receiver, quarterback and running back on offense as well as safety on defense, also tied Dwight Smith of Carthage for the most rushing touchdowns in a 4A title game with 5.

“Those are great players and I actually looked up to Johnathan Gray when he was in high school,” said Whittington, who was the offensive and defensive MVP of the game. “Respect to them, but I’m glad I did it. It’s overwhelming but all the credit goes to God, the team, and the fans and without them I wouldn’t be able to do it.”

Cuero (15-1), No. 5 in the final Associated Press Class 4A state poll, trailed 21-20 at the half, but the Gobblers scored two unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter, on runs of 1 and 12 yards by Whittington, to take a 33-21 lead with 5:24 left in the game.

Pleasant Grove (13-3), who was looking to repeat as champions, answered quickly on a 1-yard run by Ben Harmon to pull to within 33-28 at the 4:36 mark. The play was set up by a 46-yard reverse pass from Bruce Garrett to Harmon.

But Keiran Grant made a terrific play to recover the ensuing onside kick for Cuero and Whittington carried on every play of the record-setting drive to put the game out of reach.

The Cuero defense was stellar, especially in the second half, allowing just 4 first downs and 7 points after the break.

“We made some really good halftime adjustments,” said Cuero coach Travis Reeve. “Coach Gibson is a class act and does a tremendous job for that program, and he complimented our defense about no body being able to shut them down in the second half like we were able to.”

It was a case of ‘whatever you can do I can do better’ between Whittington and Garrett in the first two quarters.

Garrett finished with 14 carries and 191 rushing yards for the Hawks and scored on runs of 12, 9, and 69 yards in the first half. The latter gave Pleasant Grove a 21-7 lead with 3:44 left in the second quarter.

But Whittington, the No. 9 rated receiver in the country and No. 7 overall prospect in the state, countered with a 54-yard scoring run and hauled in a 26-yard pass from Michael Barta to close the gap to 21-20. Whittington added 43 yards receiving on 3 catches.

Whittington’s touchdown reception came one play after instant replay negated another 26-yard TD catch from Barta to Whittington that came with no time left on the first-half clock. The officials put 2 seconds back on the clock and the duo repeated the feat.

Whittington had taken Cuero’s first snap of the game 69 yards for a score to tie the game at 7.

“To have that kind of performance on a stage like this is awfully special,” said Reeve. “He’d be the first to tell you that he couldn’t do it without his teammates and the offensive line played really well up front for him. Jordan, like the rest of the team, weren’t going to be denied today.”

It was Cuero’s 11th trip to the state title game, but the first since 2004. The Gobblers last state championship was in 1987, 31 years ago, when they defeated McGregor, 14-6, for the 3A title. The Gobblers have won state 4 times.

This story was originally published December 21, 2018 at 4:14 PM.