FW Southwest Christian gets by Fort Worth Christian, clinches state semifinal berth
Down the stretch Saturday afternoon, Fort Worth Southwest Christian turned to its running game in the Eagles’ TAPPS Division 2 regional playoff game against Fort Worth Christian.
Leading 28-21 with 10:33 to play, the Eagles ran the ball 12 consecutive times with quarterback Tyson Flowers capping the march with a 2-yard touchdown run. FWC would add a late score, but the Eagles were able to run out the clock for a hard-fought, 35-28 victory at Castleberry’s W.O. Barnes Memorial Stadium.
“God is good,” Southwest Christian coach Jeromy Flowers said. “In victory and defeat, he is so good. Any glory that comes from this game we want to give it to him. This is just awesome. Hats off to Fort Worth Christian, they are a heck of a team.”
Southwest Christian (8-1) will face Dallas Christian (9-0) next week in a state semifinal contest. Dallas Christian defeated Grapevine Faith Christian, 34-6, Saturday.
Southwest Christian bested FWC, 14-8, earlier this season in a district game.
In the second half, the Eagles ran the ball 19 times for 165 yards and attempted just one pass.
Flowers paced the Eagles with 107 yards rushing and score on 19 carries. Kory Harris finished with 78 yards on 22 carries while Carson Tatarevich carried nine times of 87 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The biggest play of the game came with the Eagles’ facing a fourth-and-5 at the Cardinals’ 28. Flowers sweep around the left side and used a spin move to avoid being stopped short of the first down. Flowers punctuated the 13-yard run with a stiff arm. Three plays later, Flowers scored from two yards out for a 35-21 lead with 3:33 remaining.
“We put the game in his hands and he took over for us,” said Jeromy Flowers of his son Tyson Flowers.
Fort Worth Christian (5-5) answered with a snappy 5-play drive to cut the lead to 35-28 with 2:31 left to play. Carson Cross capped the drive with an 18-yard pass to Gus Sanchez. Cross had a nice game completing 11 of 24 passes for 243 yards and three scores. The senior also carried 14 times for 91 yards.
After a failed onside kick attempt, the Eagles were able to run out the clock.
Southwest Christian did survive a pair of fumbles on the ensuing drive.
The Eagles jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead behind a 20-yard pass from Flowers to Alex Welch and 32-yard pass off a fake punt from punter Bryan Hayden to Welch.
Fort Worth Christian closed to within 14-7 when Cross hit Jacob Trimble for a 74-yard score. Trimble finished with three catches for 121 yards and a touchdown.
The squads traded scores in the second quarter as the Eagles went into halftime ahead 21-14. First, Tatarevich scored on a 2-yard run for SCS then Cross found Ryan Hampton open for a 35-yard score.
With 8:58 left in the third quarter, Tatarevich added another 2-yard run that put the Eagles up 28-14. The Cardinals sliced the Eagles’ advantage to 28-21 with 10:39 to play on a 1-yard run by Jaxon Cobern, but FWC could get no closer than seven points the rest of the way.
This story was originally published December 5, 2020 at 9:11 PM.