Argyle caps off perfect season as Eagles overpower Lindale to win 4A D1 state title
Running back Tito Byce put the cherry on a perfect season for Argyle with four first-half rushing touchdowns to cap a 49-21 victory against Lindale in the Class 4A Division 1 football championship on Friday night before a crowd of 10,681 at AT&T Stadium.
Argyle (16-0), the No. 1 ranked team in 4A D1, won its second state title in school history in six title appearances.
The other title came in 2013 against Fairfield.
No. 10 Lindale (13-3) was making its first championship game appearance.
“For us to come out with guns blazing offensively and to have that great shut-down defense it’s been a perfect combination for a 16-0 season,” said Argyle coach Todd Rodgers. “These kids are so selfless and just want to win and I am so proud of them.”
Argyle, which never trailed in a game this season, exploded out of the gate. Quarterback C.J. Rogers hit Cash Walker for 44 yards down to the Lindale 30 on the first snap of the game.
Eight plays later, Byce, the game’s Offensive Most Valuable Player, punched it in from a yard out to give Argyle a 7-0 lead with 9:51 left in the first quarter. Byce, who finished with 152 yards on 29 carries, then scored twice in nine seconds late in the opening frame to make it 21-0.
A 4-yard TD run was followed by a fumbled kickoff by Lindale that was recovered at the 2-yard line by Dax Horany.
Byce carried it in from there with 2:03 left on the first-quarter clock.
“It’s been a crazy journey,” said Byce who came into the game with 831 yards rushing and 13 TDs this season. “After I tore my ACL last year I went right to work after I had surgery. All of my teammates and coaches pushed me really hard and I had the whole community behind me. It turned out great just like we wanted it to.”
Lindale star running back Jordan Jenkins, a Baylor signee, struggled against Defensive MVP Zach Stewart, defensive lineman Chase Bunnell and the rest of the hard-hitting Argyle defense.
Jenkins, who had rushed for 2,941 yards and 54 touchdowns this season, did score a touchdown with 1:57 left in the game on a 25-yard run, but only managed to pick up 112 yards on 26 carries.
“We couldn’t really free Jordan (Jenkins) up and honestly that’s what got us here,” said Lindale coach Chris Cochran. “We couldn’t really get anything going, but that’s what they do. That’s why they didn’t trail all year long. Their foot’s on the gas non stop.”
Byce, behind his massive offensive line led by Texas Tech signees Jack Tucker and Blake Spence, gave Argyle a 28-0 lead with another 2-yard scoring run with 3:17 left in the first half.
Rogers took over in the second half. tossing three touchdown passes, with two short ones (2 and 4 yards) going to tight end Jasper Lott, who has signed with TCU.
Rogers completed 23 of 30 passes on the night for 357 yards. His perfect toss to Ward McCollum, who made a great catch, for a 43-yard score gave Argyle a 42-14 lead with 1:30 left in the third quarter.
Lindale cut the lead to 35-14 when quarterback Sam Peterson hit Jacob Seekford with a 38-yard scoring pass with 2:47 left in the third quarter, but never got any closer.
“I think that winning the state championship this year really showed the character of our team,” said Rogers. “With all the stuff that’s going on we didn’t really know what was going to happen, but we had the mind set that we can only control what we can control. We were really blessed to be able to play 16 games and our hard work paid off and we got the gold medal tonight.”
This story was originally published December 18, 2020 at 11:58 PM.