Kyler Murray leads Allen to playoff victory against Mesquite

Allen (Texas) sophomore quarterback Kyler Murray accounted for four touchdowns as the Eagles handed Mesquite (Texas) its first loss of the season, 42-28, in Friday night's Class 5A/Division I second-round playoff matchup.

According to the Dallas Morning News, Murray passed for 196 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 85 yards and two more scores to lead Allen. Senior Eagle running back Marcus Ward added 113 yards and two rushing touchdowns, while Alex Cooper passed for 168 yards and two touchdowns in the loss for Mesquite.

It was the first meeting between these teams since 2006. Allen won that game (59-42) and is now 4-0 against Mesquite since 2004.

An Allen miscue led to the first score of the game, when the Eagles lost a fumble on the first possession of the game, allowing Mesquite to take over at the Allen 37-yard line. Mesquite moved quickly, scoring on five plays capped off by a 5-yard touchdown pass from Cooper to Johnny Session with eight minutes left in the first quarter.



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After a poor Mesquite punt, Allen responded with 2:45 left in the quarter when Murray ran the ball in from a yard out, tying the game, 7-7.

Murray struck again with 7:26 to play in the second quarter, this time firing a 7-yard touchdown pass to Cole Carter to give the Eagles a 14-7 lead.

Later in the quarter Mesquite's special teams came up huge — blocking an Allen punt — which set up a Shadavian Reed 25-yard touchdown to tie the game with 5:09 left in the quarter.

The turnover bug hit the Eagles once again as they fumbled the ensuing kickoff, setting up Mesquite at the Eagles 36. After a 22-yard pass from Cooper to Jordan Bracy, the Skeeters scored on a 3-yard Session run to take a 21-14 lead.

With the momentum heading in Mesquite's direction, Murray connected with Cameron Calcote on a 38-yard touchdown pass to tie the game, 21-21, with 43 seconds left in the half.



Allen kept rolling on its first possession of the third quarter, starting with great field position and putting together a six-play scoring drive punctuated by a 6-yard touchdown run by Ward to once again give Allen the lead, 28-21.

Allen appeared to pull away with 2:34 left in the third quarter when, on a fourth-and-1 play, Murray raced 25 yards for another Allen touchdown, giving the Eagles a 35-21 lead.

But Mesquite continued to fight back, putting together a gritty 12-play, 77-yard drive that ended with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Cooper to Bracy which brought the Skeeters back within a touchdown, 35-28.

However the Eagles proved too strong, with Ward's 5-yard touchdown run with 3:56 left in the game proving to be the dagger.

Allen improves to 11-1 and advances to the next round. The loss spoiled Mesquite's first 11-0 start to a season since 2001, which is also the last time the Skeeters captured a state championship.

See the MaxPreps Texas football playoff brackets