Nolan Catholic edges All Saints in semifinal classic, secures trip to TAPPS title game
Saturday’s game between Nolan Catholic and Fort Worth All Saints gave fans at Globe Life Park all they deserved during a TAPPS Division 1 state semifinal showdown for Fort Worth supremacy.
With a championship berth on the line between pitted rivals, it was Nolan that came out on top, 35-31. The Vikings are headed to a TAPPS final for the first time since winning one in 2013.
“First thing I’m thinking is we weren’t going to lose that game,” said Nolan QB Jimmy Taylor, who’s committed to Cornell. “I have all the confidence in the world in my offense and defense that any close game, we’re going to win.”
4-star back Emeka Megwa scored the go-ahead 7-yard TD run for the Vikings with 9:05 to play in the fourth. Then All Saints marched down the field in 15 plays and ate up nearly seven minutes. The drive included a bit of trickery that resulted in a 17-yard pass from Hampton Fay to Montaye Dawson on third-and-long.
But facing a fourth-and-2 inside the 5, Fay faked a hand-off and threw a short pass and Nolan’s Gerald Lacy perfectly timed the breakup and the Vikings took over on downs with 2:19 to play.
Then Megwa burst through for an 82-yard run to the Saints’ 16. All Saints made it interesting when Marcus Childs stopped a Nolan fourth-down attempt with 1:20 left, but the Saints couldn’t get near midfield with the clock running out.
The Vikings (8-0) will face Dallas Parish Episcopal, a 41-7 winner over Midland Christian, in the D1 title game at Waco Midway at 7 p.m. Saturday. Nolan beat Parish, 31-14, on Nov. 13. All Saints finishes the season 3-4.
“Guys stepped up and made big plays. Everyone on our team has value and they’re all team-first guys across the board,” Nolan coach David Beaudin said. “We’ve faced a lot of adversity this season so I knew they would respond. Now our goal is to win one more.”
Nolan, as it did in the previous meeting with All Saints on Oct. 16, got out to a comfortable lead, 14-0 midway through the first quarter. Keonate Williams intercepted a Saints’ pass, his sixth pick of the season, but the Vikings didn’t score until two possessions later when Taylor and Irene Ngabonziza connected for 61 yards.
“Since the summer, we’ve been working so hard. All the adversity we faced, we didn’t know if we were going to have a season and now we’re going to the state championship,” said Ngabonziza, a Villanova commit who led all receivers with seven grabs for 165 yards.
“I’ve been a starter for three years so I’ve been here for the last two exits. To finally get this, it feels so good.”
The Vikings added their second TD on a Sergio Snider 1-yard run with 2:46 in the period.
In the October matchup, which Nolan won 41-27, All Saints made a push to cut a 21-0 deficit. On Saturday, the Saints erased the 14-0 lead with 17 straight points to end the first half.
Following Snider’s score, the Saints marched 67 yards on six plays. Fay, committed to Michigan State, connected with Peyton Kramer 13 yards to make it 14-7 near the end of the opening quarter.
The Saints scored again on their next possession when Nick Cole darted in on a 10-yard run that tied the game with 9:06 left in the second quarter. Andrew Lin booted a 20-yard field goal as the first-half clock expired.
Disaster struck for Nolan to open the third when the Vikings fumbled on the kickoff.
Tony Lacy forced the loose ball and Cole recovered. On the next play, Fay hit Ben Patterson for a 33-yard TD to extend the Saints’ lead to 24-14.
Later in the quarter, Vincent Paige recovered a Saints’ fumble and Nolan got within 24-21 with a 13-yard TD pass from Taylor to Saimone Davis with 7:35 on the clock.
All Saints had a chance to get points on the next drive, but a touchdown pass on a fake field goal was negated and brought back for a 15-yard “hideout” penalty. The Saints would miss a 46-yard FG attempt.
The Vikings would regain the lead at 28-24 on their next possession, an 8-play, 71-yard drive which was capped off by a Taylor 16-yard pass to Nelly Ishimwe just over four minutes later.
Nolan forced a Saints’ punt, but the Vikings fumbled on the next play and Cavin Chumley recovered, which helped All Saints go back ahead 31-28 five plays later when Fay hit Lacy from 9 yards out.
Megwa finished with 116 yards on 13 carries.
“This year, being a senior, it’s an unconventional year, but we’re making the most of it and we’re going to state,” said Taylor, who threw for 228 yards and three TDs on 13 of 18 passing.
All Saints out-gained Nolan 570-383. After starting 0 of 7 and 1 of 9, Fay finished the night 22 of 37 for 391 yards and three TDs. Dawson, an SMU commit, had 162 yards on 30 carries, and 74 yards on four catches.
Patterson had six receptions for 111 yards while Lacy added five for 108.
The Saints were playing without 5-star tackle Tommy Brockermeyer and 4-star center James Brockermeyer, both Alabama commits and two of the top linemen in the country. Both brothers had boots on their right legs.
“When you have a culture in place for as long as we have, they believe they’re going to win when they hit the field and this game, it’s too bad there had to be a loser. It could’ve gone the other way,” All Saints coach Aaron Beck said. “I’m proud of how no one makes excuses in our program. No one expected us to be here based on the season, but I attribute the coaches, players and community.”
This story was originally published December 5, 2020 at 6:15 PM.
