ARLINGTON, Texas – The inevitable showdown of undefeated Texas powerhouses
Trinity (Euless, Texas) and
Allen was talked about for months. But on Saturday, in front of 30,000 fans at Cowboys Stadium, the game was decided in less than a second.
That's how long it took Trinity linebacker
Chris Fonokalafi and defensive lineman
Safari Bolden to put a hit on Allen quarterback Alec Morris at the goalline. They kept Morris out of the end zone on fourth-and-goal, preserving Trinity's 28-21 victory in a Class 5A Division I area-round game.
"I didn't know if he made the touchdown or not," Fonokalafi said. "Then I heard the cheering."
Trinity's Joel Kimpela points to the
skies after one of his two TDs.
Photo by Neil Fonville
The fans for Trinity (12-0), the No. 13 team in MaxPreps' Xcellent 25 rankings, were cheering most of the game. Led by
Joel Kimpela's 32 carries for 345 yards and two touchdowns, the Trojans dominated No. 21 Allen (11-1) in the trenches and never trailed.
Trinity's offensive line gashed Allen's defensive front, helping the Trojans rush for 510 yards. Trinity ran 72 plays to 45 for Allen, which had averaged nearly 500 yards and more than 40 points per game. Allen managed only 260 yards and punted five times against Trinity.
Considering all that, it was amazing that Allen was in striking distance in the final minutes.
Trinity jumped out to a 19-0 lead in the second quarter by getting big chunks of yardage on runs. The Trojans fed the ball to Kimpela, a 5-10, 185-pound senior who now has 2,000 yards rushing this season, and Allen couldn't stop him.
Kimpela made it look easy.
"It's always tough," he said, "but when you've got an offensive line like that …"
Then why bother even throwing?
Trinity fans were probably saying the same thing early in the second half as Allen's
Alex Miller returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown. That trimmed Trinity's lead to 19-14, but the Trojans responded with Kimpela's 45-yard touchdown run and a field goal to make it 28-14.
Allen's
Jonathan Williams, who is committed to Arkansas, scored on a 12-yard run to make it 28-21. And after Allen's defense forced a punt, the Eagles had the ball back with six minutes left.
Allen quarterback Alec Morris threw
for a 28-yard TD to Andrew Rodriguez
to close to 21-7 just before half.
Photo by Neil Fonville
The position was nothing new for Allen, which had pulled off fourth-quarter comebacks in five of its previous six games.
Allen drove for a first-and-goal at the 9-yard line, but only managed one yard on its next three plays. On fourth-and-goal at the 8, Morris dropped back to pass but couldn't find an open receiver as Trinity dropped its linebackers into coverage.
Morris saw an opening in the middle of the field. But Fonokalafi said he thought Morris, a 6-3, 240-pound senior who is committed to Alabama, might run for the end zone.
"Watching video of him, I noticed that at the goalline he likes to run it up the middle," Fonokalafi said. "When he put it down and tried to run, it was my big time to shine."
Fonokalafi and Bolden stopped Morris at the 2-yard line, giving the ball back to Trinity with 2:13 left. The Trojans, who also knocked Allen out of the playoffs last season, then ran out the clock with a pair of first downs.
Morris' only choice on the final play was to run.
"That's about all he could do. They had everybody back in the end zone," Allen coach Tom Westerberg said. "He made a good decision. They just made a great play."
Trinity will next face Arlington Martin (11-1) in a 5A Division I Region I semifinal. The game is scheduled for Saturday at noon at the Trojans' home stadium: Pennington Field in Bedford.
Joel Kimpela led Trinity's rushing attack that piled up 510 yards.
Photo by Neil Fonville
Scoring Summary
Allen – 0 7 14 0 -- 21
Euless Trinity – 6 13 9 0 – 28
1st quarterTrinity – Austin Lopez 49-yard FG
Trinity – Austin Lopez 21-yard FG
Second quarterTrinity – Matt Hawkins 20-yard run (run failed)
Trinity – Joel Kimpela 4-yard run (Austin Lopez kick)
Allen – Andrew Rodriguez 28-yard reception from Alec Morris (Carlos Arochi kick)
Third quarterAllen – Alex Miller 75-yard interception return (Carlos Arochi kick)
Trinity – Joel Kimpela 45-yard run (run failed)
Trinity – Austin Lopez 46-yard FG
Allen – Jonathan Williams 12-yard run (Carlos Arochi kick)
No. 16 Skyline 41, DeSoto 31 According to the Dallas Morning News, Devante Kincade accounted for 356 yards and five touchdowns as
Skyline (Dallas) (12-0) held on in this entertaining 5A Division ! game.
DeSoto, which never led, closed to 34-31 with 19 seconds left in the third quarter on a 1-yard run by Dontre Wilson (69 yards, two touchdowns), but the Skyline defense rose to the occasion in the fourth quarter.
A 7-yard touchdown run by Kincade with 3:41 to play clinched the victory. He scored earlier on a pair of 1-yard runs and added touchdown passes of 34 and 43 yards to Rashaad Samples.
Raheem Wilson completed 11 of 13 passes for 161 yards, while Devin Rushing and Wilson rushed for two touchdowns for DeSoto (10-2).
