Nolan Catholic rally not enough as Parish Episcopal wins second straight TAPPS title
Fort Worth Nolan Catholic had thrived all season at being a second-half team.
It got the Vikings this far, undefeated and in a TAPPS state final for the first time since 2013.
Unfortunately, starting games slow finally caught up to them Saturday night at Waco Midway’s Panther Stadium against defending Division 1 state champ and district opponent, Dallas Parish Episcopal.
Parish stormed out to two 28-point leads and then held off a big Nolan rally, 42-28, to successfully defend its crown. Parish beat Plano John Paul II in last year’s final.
“They never give up, unfortunately it was a little too late,” Nolan coach David Beaudin said. “We’ve been coming back all year long and it finally caught up to us. Game after game we’ve overcome deficits, but an opponent like that, you can’t do that to them twice.”
The Panthers led 35-7 following a 1-yard TD run by 4-star SMU commit Preston Stone with 8:40 left in the fourth quarter, but then the Vikings woke up.
Nolan scored on a 6-yard run by Skyler Patterson and a 1-yard run by Jimmy Taylor (Cornell commit) to cut the lead to 35-21 with 2:23 remaining. Taylor’s score came after the Vikings recovered an onside kick.
Nolan did it again on the ensuing kickoff and made it a one-score game when Taylor hit DaMario Parks-Vinson on a 14-yard scoring pass with 2:02 on the clock.
With two timeouts left, the Vikings tried another onside, but the Panthers recovered and two plays later scored on Christian Benson’s 46-yard TD run with 1:46 left.
Parish ends the season 10-1 while Nolan goes 8-1.
“We were clicking from the jump. That fourth quarter was probably the scariest fourth quarter I’ve ever been apart of,” Stone said. “Winning back-to-back is nearly impossible, but to do it with my brothers, it’s pretty special.”
The Vikings erased a 14-0 halftime deficit to beat Parish in the previous meeting, 31-14, in November. They beat John Paul II two weeks ago after trailing at the break.
“It served as fuel for us throughout this whole game and preparation put in this week. We got embarrassed the first time,” Stone said.
Nolan also eliminated FW All Saints in the semis after trailing 24-14 in the third quarter.
But Parish’s lead was too large for Nolan to overcome Saturday night.
Nolan started the game with a 21-yard pass play to cross midfield, but a miscommunication between center and quarterback resulted in the snap going past Taylor for an 18-yard loss.
After Nolan punted, Parish took its opening drive 91 yards on seven plays. Stone threw a 45-yard pass to Jai Moore and the two connected on an 18-yard touchdown. Moore was wide open in the back of the end zone for a 7-0 lead with 7:37 left in the first quarter.
The Vikings crossed midfield on their second drive, but a holding penalty stalled the possession.
Parish then held onto the ball for over half a quarter when the Panthers marched 90 yards on 19 plays in 8 1/2 minutes. The 19th play was a 4-yard TD run by Andrew Paul to make it 14-0 with 8:45 to go in the second quarter.
The Panthers converted two fourth downs on a pair of Stone runs.
Nolan’s best drive of the first half came next when it reached the Parish 35, but a short run and back-to-back incomplete passes put the Vikings in a fourth-and-10. Nolan went for it and lost four yards to turn the ball over on downs.
Nolan turned the ball over on downs on its next possession and with 1:21 left before intermission, Parish was able to extend the lead to 21-0 with Stone’s 55-yard TD pass to a striding Blake Youngblood with 10 ticks on the clock.
Stone hit Benson on a short screen and the Parish back raced for a 78-yard TD and 28-0 lead in the third quarter. Nolan got on the board when Taylor and Villanova commit Irene Ngabonziza hooked up for a 41-yard score.
Stone, in his final high school game, threw for 354 yards and three TDs on 21 of 29 passing. He connected with six different receivers, led by Moore (109 yards), Benson (108) and Youngblood (80).
Benson and Paul added 69 and 67 yards rushing, respectively.
4-star junior Emeka Megwa rushed 22 times for 106 yards for the Vikings while Taylor finishes his career with 205 yards passing, 53 rushing and three total TDs. Ngabonziza had six catches, 135 yards and one score.
“First four drives, we shot ourselves in the foot. Can’t do that in many games especially a championship game,” Beaudin said. “I told them winning will always be the standard, but I love the heck out of these guys and it’s real. I’d do anything for them. I’m so grateful for these kids and coaches.
“I feel for them. My heart breaks I couldn’t get it done for them.”
This story was originally published December 12, 2020 at 10:28 PM.
