Cedar Hill's Xavier Washington played a big role in his team's state title win in Arlington.
Photo by Kyle Dantzler
Only 24 minutes away from a record-tying eighth-straight state title, normally sure-handed
Katy (Texas) came unglued.
The Tigers lost two fumbles and a third bobble led to a blocked punt, opening the upset door for
Cedar Hill (Texas). And given the chance, the Longhorns knew what to do, reeling off the final 24 points for a 34-24 victory in the UIL Class 5A Division II state championship game Saturday night before 30,285 at AT&T Stadium.
Katy (15-1), No. 8 nationally in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25, came into the title game riding a 31-game winning streak, including a 35-24 victory over Cedar Hill in last year's state title game.
Cedar Hill had every reason to jump for joy atAT&T Stadium Saturday.
Photo by Kyle Dantzler
Cedar Hill end
Xavier Washington, the defensive MVP with nine tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble, said the loss to Katy in 2012 helped he and his teammates play with an attitude. Katy was limited to two offensive touchdowns, none in the second half.
"The first half was all turnovers for us and the second half was turnovers for them,'' said Cedar Hill coach Joey McGuire. "Only one time did I feel like our kids' heads were down, when Katy returned the fumble for a touchdown at the end of the first half. This is huge for a group of seniors that for four years did everything we asked of them.''
Things started turning against Katy on Cedar Hill's first series of the second half. The Longhorns faced fourth-and-3 from their own 38. Junior wide receiver
Damarkus Lodge, the best player on the field according to McGuire, took a direct snap, avoided a tackler and found room on the sideline for a 62-yard touchdown run.
"When I was younger, I wasn't a gambler,'' a grinning McGuire said. "The older I get, the more I gamble.''
Said Lodge, the offensive MVP: "I'm kind of glad coach called it. It sure worked out.''
Katy was forced to punt early in the fourth quarter, but the snap was mishandled, resulting in a blocked kick by
Tadarrian Luster that the Longhorns converted into
Brooks Ralph's second field goal, cutting the Katy lead to 24-19.
Cedar Hill got its chance to regain the lead on
Kyle Goss' fumble recovery at the Katy 35 with seven minutes left. Quarterback
Justin McMillan finally solved Katy's stubborn goal-line defense, rolling left and flipping a 3-yard touchdown pass to Lodge. After a trick-play 2-point conversion pass, Cedar Hill's lead was 27-24 with six minutes left.
Katy's fumbling troubles weren't over. On the kickoff return after the Longhorns took the lead, the ball came free again.
Aaron Lewis came up with the ball at the Katy 16.
Cedar Hill pounded away on a tiring Katy defense with
Aca'cedric Ware (16 carries, 124 yards) finally scoring on a 4-yard touchdown run for a 10-point Longhorn lead with 3:17 remaining.
The Tigers got as far as the Cedar Hill 32 on their last possession when a blitzing
Jonathan Buffin added the exclamation point with a fourth down sack on Katy's final offensive play.
"I don't know what caused the fumbles,'' said Katy coach Gary Joseph. "It is very unusual for us. We didn't do a good job protecting our quarterback. They outplayed us. They made more plays than we did.''
After doing little for much of the first half, Katy came alive in the final four minutes, striking for three touchdowns to turn a 10-0 deficit into a 21-10 lead at the break.
The flurry began with a 66-yard touchdown run by
Rodney Anderson (23 carries, 146 yards) at the 3:22 mark.
Less than a minute later
Jake Blomstrom pounced on a Cedar Hill fumble. Striking on the first play after the sudden change,
Garrett Doiron connected with
Sloan Spiller on a 44-yard touchdown pass for Katy's first lead, 14-10.
Cedar Hill fumbled again after driving into scoring territory and
JoVanni Stewart snatched the ball in midair and raced 77 yards for a bizarre touchdown.
The Longhorns capitalized on their own fumble for the game's first touchdown when Lodge was separated from the ball.
Denvre Daniels picked it up on the dead run and scored from 39 yards. Lodge carried the ball 41 yards before fumbling.
The Tigers' goal of an eighth UIL state title, something only Celina and Carroll (Southlake) have accomplished, will have to wait at least another season.
For Cedar Hill, it is state title No. 2. The Longhorns went 16-0 in 2006.
