Texas Football Classic 2009
Alamodome
Thursday: Floresville 36, Fox Tech 13
Friday, 7:30 p.m.: Boerne-Champion 28, Midlothian 24
Saturday, Noon: Mayde Creek (Katy) vs. Brenham
Saturday, 3:45 p.m.: Permian (Odessa) vs Duncanville
Saturday, 7:30 p.m.: East Central (San Antonio) vs. Steele (Cibolo)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – For better than three quarters, the Texas Football Classic matchup between Champion (Boerne) and Midlothhian had the makings of a typical ragged and mistake-filled opener.
Turnovers, penalties, late hits, offsetting infractions had most at the picturesque and vast Alamodome squirming in their seats.
But all at once, like a wildfire, this one caught ablaze and the teams scored on three long touchdown passes – all on jump balls - in three minutes, 21 seconds to turn this toothache into the proverbial shootout at the OK Corral.
After seemingly pulse-less Midlothian – which made the four-hour trek from Northeast Texas earlier in the day – responded from the meek with spectacular 58- and 75-yard catches and runs from gazelle-like receivers Derrick Agbajori (6-foot-1, 180 pounds) and Eddie Johnson (6-3, 220), Champion’s unheralded David Massey did one better with a David Tyree-in-the-Super Bowl-like 38-yard catch and touchdown with 1:01 left, giving the Chargers a wild 28-24 victory on Friday night.
Afterward, the 6-foot-4, 175-pound junior receiver, playing in his first varsity game, just kept gazing up at the Jumbo Tran which replayed his game-winning catch and run. When he reached the end zone on the scoreboard, Massey smiled and shook his head in disbelief, kind of like the Homecoming Queen asked him on a date.
“Never before,” Massey said when asked if he’d ever made a game-winning catch. “Never at any level. I still can’t believe it.”
It was rather amazing Champion was even in that position, considering it had the game well in hand with a 21-9 lead and less than five minutes remaining.
The Chargers’ defense had thoroughly controlled things up front and Midlothian couldn’t muster any semblance of a running game.
The Panthers managed just 16 yards rushing on 25 carries and until the final three drives, they had just over 150 yards offensive overall.
But the two well-defended touchdown passes from Dillon Fairbanks (15 of 30, 290 yards, three interceptions) gave Midlothian its first lead of the game, 24-21 with 2:15 remaining.
“We never thought it was over,” Champion coach Danny Threadgill said. “Yes, it was disheartening to see them take the lead, but this group is never going to quite. They proved that tonight.”
Game MVP Taylor Davis, a gritty 6-1, 170-pound senior, led the Chargers on the game-winning 60-yard march, starting with a 10-yard scamper and converting a clutch 9-yard pass to Ervin Smith on 4th-and-6 from the Midlothian 46.
On the next play, Davis (109 yards passing, 83 rushing) looked left and right and heaved a jump ball in the middle of the field toward Massey, who had five inches on the defensive back.
The safety made up ground and went for the deflection. Instead, Massey grabbed the ball as the defender flew over his left shoulder, turned and raced the final 15 yards untouched.
The Panthers picked up one first down but with no timeouts they ran out of time and another miraculous catch.
“I was the last read on that play,” Massey said of the game-winner. “Taylor kind of threw up a wobbler but it got to me. That’s all that counts.”
Said Davis: “I saw that (Massey) had one-on-one in the middle. He’s a big guy so I thought I’d give him a chance against the corner. He came through. I under threw it, but he came back and got it and went the other way.”
Massey said the moment was still somewhat surreal.
“You can’t hear anything when the ball is in the air. All I saw was the ball and a white jersey flash in front of me. I turned around and ran. That’s it.”
Asked if he had dreamt or fathomed such a finish for himself in such a jewel of a setting.
“If someone would have told me it would have finished like that I would have said that would be cool,” Massey said. “But you’re crazy.”
The Panthers had shut down Champion on four of five second-half possessions but couldn’t stop them on the final drive.
“I screamed like a little girl when Eddie (Johnson, 4 catches, 99 yards) made that catch to put us ahead,” Midlothhian junior linebacker Nathan Fisher said. “It’s kind of disappoint that we gave up that last drive, but there’s always next week.”
Slick Champion running back Brent Sutherland ran hard throughout and finished with 22 carries for 157 yards and 24-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
The Chargers also got a big game from versatile senior Dean Rittiman, who caught a 5-yard TD from John Free on a jump pass in the second quarter.
Agbajori had three catches for 85 yards, including a leaping 19-yard touchdown grab in the third quarter and a third receiver in Midlothhian potent passing attack Mason York had five catches for 81 yards, including a 35-yarder that set up a 28-yard field goal by Dillon Wilson on the last play of the first half.
Champion finished with 365 yards – 251 on the ground to 306 for Midlo.
“Give Midlo and coach (Robby) Clark all the credit,” Threadgill said. “They showed a lot of character and class with that comeback. But I like to think we showed it as well. We did what needed to do.”
