Pantego Christian knocks off Colleyville Covenant to win first district title in 10 years
When Drew Sells took over as head coach at Pantego Christian four years ago, the football program was struggling.
His vision, along with this year’s seniors — who were freshmen then — wanted to change the culture.
After back-to-back 2-8 campaigns, a winning record and playoff berth, that goal was set on Saturday at Colleyville Covenant to close out the regular season.
The Panthers (8-1, 3-0 TAPPS Division 3 District 2) never trailed during a 27-25 victory over the Cougars to clinch their first district title since 2009, which is also the last time they won at least eight games.
“We talked about this day four years ago,” Sells said. “We drew a picture on what it could look like and everyone bought into what we were saying. I’m proud for them.”
Pantego defensive back Terry Lewis picked off a Covenant pass and the Panthers turned it into points. Quarterback Kaden Paladini hit Jayden Jones on a 38-yard touchdown pass for a 7-0 lead with 2:49 left in the first quarter.
Matt Reed recovered a Pantego fumble to end the opening period and the Cougars got on the board with 11:07 in the second quarter when Caleb Stith tossed a 69-yard TD to Daniel Calabrese on a third-and-10.
Pantego responded with a 11-play, 86-yard drive — all runs — that ate up over five minutes. Paladini scored on a 4-yard quarterback keeper to make it 14-6 with 5:41 until intermission.
Stith gained 27 and 12 yards on back-to-back runs during the ensuing drive and two plays later, Stith scored on a 4-yard TD to bring the score to 14-12 with 4:10 left.
Jonah Harrison extended Pantego’s lead to 21-12 on a 62-yard TD run, which was followed by a Pantego fumble recovery at the Covenant 46.
Tori Soland booted a 23-yard field goal to give Pantego a 24-12 lead to end the first half. She made all three extra points and hit a 20-yard FG that gave the Panthers a 27-12 edge to open the third quarter.
“We could’ve played a lot better, but the team stayed resilient and we didn’t give up. No one has stopped the running game all season and it worked for us today again,” said Harrison, who rushed for a game-high 154 yards on 25 carries. “We were the more physical team in the end and we came out with the win. That’s all that matters.”
“It was a great game and we capitalized on opportunities when we had to,” added Myion Hicks, who had 112 yards on 18 carries. “We had something to prove and we came out and did it this year.”
On the ensuing possession, the Cougars (3-5, 1-1) went on a 14-play, 86-yard drive that lasted over six minutes — capped off with a 28-yard TD pass from Stith to Austin Scheets on fourth-and-13 with 1:06 left in the third.
The Cougars forced two straight punts and Covenant got within 27-25 when Stith and Calabrese hooked up for a 45-yard TD midway through the fourth.
Pantego tried to kill the clock with a 10-play drive to the Covenant 33, but the Cougars stopped the Panthers on fourth-and-1 to take the ball over with 1:46 to go.
Stith threw a 20-yard pass to Isaiah Swift that got the Cougars to the Pantego 39, but on the next play, Lewis registered his second interception to seal the win.
“I was thinking I need to sink, I can’t stay on the same end because we were running a Cover 2,” Lewis said. “As soon as it went in the air, I knew I had to go get it.”
“Terry was in a good spot and he’s a great corner. He’s a guy that’s always in the right position,” Sells added. “We knew what they were going to throw all week and we found a way to win.”
Covenant was led by Stith’s 403 yards of total offense and four TDs. Calabrese had five catches for 139 yards. The Cougars will play Dallas Shelton on Nov. 9.
Pantego, which rushed for 326 yards, is off next week and will host a playoff game in two weeks.
This story was originally published November 2, 2019 at 7:04 PM.
