Colleyville Heritage opens postseason with victory over Brewer, faces Amarillo next
Colleyville Heritage took advantage of a White Settlement Brewer squad, that had quarantined during the final two weeks of the regular season, to beat the Bears, 51-28, in a Class 5A Division 1 bi-district game Thursday at Mustang-Panther Stadium.
The Panthers (7-0), ranked No. 10 in the 5A D1 state rankings, will face Amarillo in next week’s area round at 6 p.m. Friday Dec. 18 at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls.
Amarillo (7-3) advanced Thursday after El Paso El Dorado was forced to forfeit due to COVID-19.
“Our kids played really well coming out of the gate. They played lights out and the defense had another great game as usual,” Heritage coach Kirk Martin said. “We were able to empty the bench and play everybody. They played their guts out and it was fun.”
Heritage scored five touchdowns in the first half and added two points off a blocked extra point return to lead the Bears 37-6 at halftime. On the Panthers’ second drive, quarterback and new Texas Texas baseball commit AJ Smith-Shawver hit running back Braxton Ash for 19 yards to the Brewer 1.
Ash took the next play in for a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Following a defensive stop, Heritage upped the lead to 14-0 on its next drive on a 3-yard Ash TD run with 4:23 left in the opening period.
The Bears (4-5) responded two plays later on a 40-yard TD pass from Jaylen Spriggs to Kadin Gehring, but the kick was blocked by Luke Lingard, who picked up the loose ball and returned it 85 yards to push Heritage’s lead to 16-6.
“We looked all week that we could go on that side and we executed it perfectly,” Lingard said. “I knew my teammates were blocking and I turned on the jets. I saw on the big screen that no one was behind me so I was in the clear to score.”
“Luke is special. He’s doing a heck of a job and our defensive leader,” Martin added. “I’m proud he’s on my team.”
The Panthers’ best drive of the half came next, 75 yards on 14 plays and was capped off by a 12-yard TD run from Smith-Shawver to make it 23-6 with 10:05 to go in the second quarter.
Heritage scored on its next possession when Smith-Shawver connected with Leon Covington 14 yards to give the Panthers a 30-6 advantage with 5:15 to play before intermission.
Smith-Shawver and Covington hooked up again on a 54-yard TD with 52 seconds remaining in the quarter.
“We came in with a good game plan. We ran the ball well which opened up the passing game. We were just clicking on all cylinders,” said Smith-Shawver, who completed 16 of 30 passes for 219 yards and two TDs. “Just happy to have this opportunity to play.”
The Panthers then set a school record with their scoring drive in the third quarter, 11 plays and 99 yards. The ball started inside the 1 after an illegal substitution. Heritage ran eight times and got help with two Brewer penalties for 25 yards.
Ash carried the last four runs for 32 yards, capped off with a 7-yard TD with under six minutes to play.
Brewer scored 22 points unanswered, starting with its second TD on the ensuing drive, going 67 yards on 13 plays.
Tyrelle Davis scored from the 1, then the Bears added their second TD in as many plays when Spriggs hit Will Intfen for 80 yards midway through the fourth. Brewer added its final score with a 31-yard TD run by Gabe Terry-Stowe with 2:45 left. Intfen hit Gehring on the 2-point conversion to make it 44-28.
Ash scored on a 6-yard run late in the fourth. He led all rushers with 94 yards and four TDs.
Covington and Hogan Wasson both finished with 79 yards receiving.
Spriggs threw for 240 yards and two TDs on 19 of 33 passing. Intfen made eight catches for 157 yards and one score.
“We knew if we wanted to win this week, we had to stay disciplined. If we’re in full speed, we can hang with anybody,” Lingard said. “We’re on a roll. We’re a team that loves each other and I don’t think there’s a team that can tear us apart. We just want to win for each other.”
“What we’re doing is very special and I’m glad to be apart of it,” added Smith-Shawver. “We have a good group of guys. We have great chemistry and I think we’re playing good football right now.”
This story was originally published December 10, 2020 at 9:54 PM.
