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Recap: Day 2 at the Texas high school football state championships

Recap: Day 2 at the Texas high school football state championships

4A Division II State Championship: Gilmer 35, West Orange-Stark 25
What went down:

Gilmer entered the contest scoring an average of 58 points per game, but it was West Orange-Stark that took a surprising 25-7 lead into halftime. But a different Gilmer team emerged in the second half, scoring 28 unanswered to dominate the Mustangs. The Buckeyes were led by Baylor commit Blake Lynch, who had 116 total yards and two touchdowns, and Kris Boyd, a highly sought-after defensive back recruit, who had 145 total yards and a touchdown. Linebacker Demarco Boyd led the defensive shutdown in the second half, and then did something after the game that will raise a few eyebrows in the recruiting world.

Name to know: 

Desmond Pollard. During a pickup basketball game in March, Pollard collapsed and died. The Gilmer Buckeyes dedicated their season to their fallen teammate, and carried his No. 8 jersey out in front of the team as it took the field, with the captains then carrying it out to the coin toss. During their drive to AT&T Stadium, the last stop they made on the way out of town was at Pollard’s grave, as a reminder of who they were playing for once they arrived in Arlington. The band marched in a No. 8 formation during halftime, the players held up eight fingers at the end of the game, a photoshopped image of Pollard leaping for a catch with angels wings was hoisted in the stands. To say it was a moving collective tribute is an understatement.

It was awesome because:

West Orange-Stark’s quarterback’s name is Jack Dallas. I mean, that’s a fantastic name for a quarterback in Texas. It’s almost too obvious. It’s so obvious that it would never even make it in the first draft of the scripts for a season of Friday Night Lights.

4A Division I State Championship: Navasota 42, Argyle 35 (2 OT)

What went down:

Argyle running back Nick Ralston had one mission: Grind Navasota to dust. Ralston is neither flashy nor fast, and he’s been recruited as a linebacker by Arizona State. But Argyle had no illusions about how they could win a title: Take risks on defense that paid off against a flashy offense, and then eat up the clock behind a relentless and punishing running back. Ralston carried the ball a bone-crunching 54 times for 225 yards and three scores. He was far and away the driving force behind their play. But Navasota found a way to hang around, capitalizing on those Argyle risks that went too far, and an interception set up the game-tying touchdown with just under a minute left in the game. It headed to overtime, and after both teams scored and converted, a second overtime. Tren’Davian Dickson, the game’s top college prospect, caught the go-ahead touchdown, though not without controversy. In a Calvin Johnson moment that Lions fans will understand, Dickson came down with the ball, which was then jarred loose by the ground. Did he maintain possession? The referees thought so, and it stood. On Argyle’s attempt to answer, facing a 4th-and-5, Ralston was stuffed on his 54th carry of the game. Navasota stormed the field, and Ralston lay face down on the turf, completely spent. Argyle had won 31 straight games until that moment.

Name to know: 

Dickson. The junior wide receiver is a Baylor commit, and set the national record for touchdown catches in a season this year with 39. He also made this ridiculous touchdown catch as part of the winning effort.

It was awesome because:

Are you kidding? It was double overtime in a state championship. That’s as awesome as it gets. But since that’s already been covered, the Navasota Rattlers mascots are a male and female snake that roam around the sidelines. But here’s the thing: They are snakes with arms and legs. What do you call a snake with arms and legs? Not a snake. This is less awesome than it is egregious in the most trivial sense imaginable.

5A Division II State Championship: Ennis 38, Cedar Park 35

What went down:

If Argyle vs. Navasota were two fighters throwing counter punches and dancing around the ring, this one was two heavyweights throwing haymakers, each one feeling like it might leave the opposition flat on the canvas. Ennis jumped out to a 17-0 lead, only to watch it slip away as fast as it was obtained to trail 21-17. By the time the fourth quarter started, Ennis had edged back into the driver’s seat with a 31-28 lead. With 4:48 left in the game, facing 4th-and-10 at the Ennis 21-yard line, Cedar Park quarterback Amir Alzer hit a wide open Davis Fiala for a touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, Ennis fumbled and Cedar Park recovered at the Ennis 29-yard line. It should have been the ballgame. It wasn’t. Cedar Park tried to run the clock down, wound up missing a field goal, and that glimmer of hope was all Ennis needed. Quarterback Devin Smith led them down the field on 11 plays, hitting Donta Thompson for a 36-yard go-ahead score with 21 seconds left. Smith was far from flawless on the day, but in such an evenly matched game, a difference-maker was needed and he was there to wear the cape at the end. Alzer threw a game-sealing interception on the first play of Cedar Park’s last-gasp drive. There wouldn’t be another lead change.

Name to know: 

It’s not often that the Offensive Player of the Game honor is bestowed upon a losing player, but that just shows how impactful Thomas Hutchings’ was on the field. The Cedar Park running back carried the ball 18 times for 155 yards and a score, while playing both ways, which is far less common at this level or higher.

It was awesome because:

Well, six lead changes, for starters. This was about as back-and-forth as any of the seven games thus far in Arlington. It was easy to lose track over how many times a team seemingly wrested away momentum for good, only to watch it vaporize in a flash. Also, the crowds are growing. Day 3 should be an even more packed house than the final game on Friday.

Here’s the full schedule (all times central), courtesy of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. For more info on attending the games, check out their page. You can also visit the University Interscholastic League page for more information. All 10 games will be televised live on Fox Sports Southwest. Games may also be bumped to Fox Sports Southwest Plus; check your local listings. The games are being played in order of smallest schools to the biggest, so the talent pool gets deeper with each opening kickoff.

Thursday, December 18
10 a.m. — 
2A Division II State Championship: Bremond 28, Albany 21
1 p.m. — 2A Division I State Championship: Canadian 34, Mason 7
5 p.m. — 3A Division II State Championship: Waskom 41, Newton 22
8 p.m. — 3A Division I State Championship: Cameron Yoe 70, Mineola 40

Friday, December 19
12 p.m. — 4A Division II State Championship: Gilmer 35, West Orange-Stark 25
4 p.m. — 4A Division I State Championship: Navasota 42, Argyle 35 (2 OT)
8 p.m. — 5A Division II State Championship: Ennis 38, Cedar Park 35

Saturday, December 20
12 p.m. — 5A Division I State Championship: Aledo vs. Temple
4 p.m. — 6A Division II State Championship: Cedar Hill vs. Katy
8 p.m. — 6A Division I State Championship: Allen vs. Cy Ranch

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Max Thompson is at the Texas state high school football championships for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter!