ARLINGTON, Texas – During its 28-game win streak,
Trinity-Euless, Texas could always rely on star quarterback/receiver
Brandon Carter to come through in the final moments. Trailing by four points in the final minute Saturday night, the Trojans again asked the Oklahoma commit to make the big play.
But this time, it was just out of reach. And so was victory for the nation's top-ranked team, which lost to
Pearland 28-24, in the Class 5A Division I final at Cowboys Stadium.
On fourth down and with the clock running under 10 seconds, Trinity quarterback
Kailahi Kautai lofted a pass toward Carter, who last year caught the winning touchdown in Trinity's overtime win over Austin Westlake. But the pass tipped off his fingers and Pearland could celebrate the win in front of 43,321 fans.
"On paper, (Euless Trinity) should have killed us," Pearland quarterback
Trey Anderson said. "They are bigger, they are more experienced. I know it sounds silly, but I think we just had more heart."
Running back
Dustin Garrison rushed 28 times for 121 yards and three touchdowns for Pearland (16-0). Anderson also frustrated Trinity's secondary by completing 17-of-23 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown. Tevin Williams rushed for 134 yards for Trinity (15-1), but Carter was held to 66 yards on 10 carries and one catch for 9 yards.
The Oilers won their first state title with a lot of the elements that helped Trinity win titles in 2005, '07 and '09. That included some trickery, which Trinity has often used with flea flickers and reverses.
But Pearland's was even more creative. On a second-and-5 in the third quarter, Anderson took the shotgun snap and all the members of the offensive line stood up like the play was dead.
Receiver
Samuel Ukwuachu, split wide right, raced down the field on a fade route and Anderson hit him in stride for a 54-yard touchdown.
"I thought our corner stayed with him. He just outran us by a little bit," Trinity coach Steve Lineweaver said. "It was just great execution. It didn't fool the corner. He just made a great play and great throw."
The touchdown gave Pearland a 21-10 lead. Trinity responded with a quick touchdown drive capped by a 2-yard run by Terrence Tusan, but Pearland wouldn't give up control. The Oilers marched 67 yards in 15 plays to take a 28-17 lead on Garrison's 2-yard run.
In the other championship games Saturday at Cowboys Stadium
Class 5A Division II championshipSteele (Cibolo) 24, Guyer (Denton) 21Malcolm Brown, the Cibolo Steele running back who is orally committed to Texas, rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns, but Denton Guyer still had a chance late.
As Guyer neared field-goal range with a minute left, quarterback J.W. Walsh threw a pass into coverage and it was picked off by defensive back Kwame Brown at the 9-yard line. Steele (14-2) was able to run out the clock against Guyer (13-3).
Walsh, an Oklahoma State commit, rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown and passed for 91 yards and a touchdown. But for the second straight week, he threw two interceptions. He only threw two interceptions in his first 14 games.
One of the key plays in the game came with seven minutes remaining, when Guyer cornerback Josh Stewart stripped Steele quarterback Tommy Armstrong of the ball. As the ball bounced backward 2 yards, Armstrong was able to beat the Guyer defenders to the fumble.
Steele kept possession, and eight plays later, it scored the winning touchdown on a 2-yard run by Brown.
Class 4A Division I championshipLake Travis (Austin) 27, Ryan (Denton) 7Austin Lake Travis' first three state titles were powered by a high-scoring offense. The fourth victory was mostly about defense, as Lake Travis didn't allow Denton Ryan a first down until the third quarter.
Quarterback Michael Brewer, a Texas Tech commit, passed for 211 yards and rushed for 81 and two touchdowns as Lake Travis (14-2) became the third school to win four straight UIL titles. Sealy (3A titles from 1994 to 1997) and Celina (2A titles from 1998 to 2001) are the others.
Ryan (15-1) managed only 210 total yards, and that included a 73-yard touchdown run by Kaylon Alexander early in the third quarter. That cut the lead to 17-7, and Ryan followed with a surprise onside kick and recovered it. But Ryan missed a field goal on its next possession and didn't get near the end zone in the fourth quarter.
Ryan, which was playing in its first title since game since 2003, had been allowing only 12 points per game. The announced attendance was 20,487.
Matt Wixon is the high school sports columnist for The Dallas Morning News. He can be reached at mwixon@dallasnews.com.
