What made Shawne Jones cry while celebrating Houston football's TSSAA quarterfinal win
Shawne Jones had tears running down his face while celebrating with his Houston football teammates and coaches on Friday night at Germantown.
Jones had just helped the Mustangs upset the Red Devils 30-10 in the TSSAA quarterfinals and it finally hit him.
Not just that the Mustangs (11-2) were returning to the semifinals for the first time since 2019.
It hit him what his return this postseason means to the Mustangs. He missed the last five games of the regular season recovering from a broken leg.
"To be able to come back and play like this, it means a lot,” Jones said, holding back more tears. “
That was the most recent of his injury struggles after he missed last season with a torn MCL. He made Friday night count.
He caught six passes for 135 yards and a touchdown to help the Houston offense dominate against one of the best defenses in the Memphis area. Before Friday night, the Red Devils (12-1) only allowed more than 20 points just one other time this season.
"I know I’m capable of it, just being at the right place at the right time,” said Jones, who has 440 yards and seven touchdowns this season. “And to finally do it, it means a lot for me and the team.”
Houston coach James Thomas and offensive coordinator Ronnie Thompson were eager to get their senior wide receiver back in the lineup; Jones is one more playmaker for Chandler Day and the explosive offense.
And he looked every bit healthy on Friday night.
“I tell you what, Shawne Jones, played one heck of a game,” Thomas said. “He deserves it. He works his butt off. I’ve been waiting for him to blow up like that in this big moment. I’m so glad he got to do it.”
He had three catches of 20 or more yards. The most memorable one was in the second quarter.
Day dropped back to pass late in the half. As the pocket collapsed, he scrambled to his left, keeping his eyes downfield, looking for one of his many playmakers.
After a buying some time, he found Shawne Jones down the sideline in front of the Germantown bench. Jones leaped over two Germantown players to snag the ball for the 33-yard gain.
"Un-freaking believable catch to make in traffic,” Thompson said. “That’s a grown man catch to be honest with you.”
That set up Damon Sisa’s 25-yard touchdown catch for the game’s first touchdown. Jones later caught a 22-yard slant on a run-pass option play for the game’s final touchdown.
That touchdown catch was Day’s third of the game and helped him set his second school record in as many weeks. He now has 32 passing touchdowns this season, a new single-season record at Houston. Last week, he broke the school record for career passing touchdowns.
But that’s not the history Houston is focused at this point in the year.
The Mustangs want the school’s first state title. And with Jones back healthy and playing the way he is and winning their 10th straight game, the Mustangs are confident that’s exactly what they'll do.
Houston will play at Brentwood (13-0) next Friday for a chance to reach its first championship game.
"Our end goal is not semis,” Jones said, “It’s the finals.”
Reach Wynston Wilcox at wwilcox@gannett.com and on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @wynstonw__.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: TSSAA football playofs: Shawne Jones, Houston upset Germantown
