Pflugerville makes the playoffs thanks to Brandon Bradshaw's overtime heroics, 44-38

PFUGERVILLE — Charles Taylor said the Pflugerville Panthers were a second-half team all year long. On Friday, they actually proved to be an overtime team, too. And also a playoff team.

Panthers linebacker Brandon Bradshaw caught a Connally pitch attempt and ran it back 80 yards to lift Pflugerville to a 44-38 overtime win over Connally at The Pfield, sending the Panthers into the playoffs.

“That was the biggest moment of my career, definitely,” a jubilant Bradshaw said.

Pflugerville (3-7, 3-3 District 11-5A, Div. II) will play LBJ next week. Connally (3-7, 1-5) played the final game of the season and was nearly the spoiler in the latest edition of this Pflugerville ISD rivalry.

Pflugerville running back Rhyder Miller had 150 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries and quarterback Cole Taylor completed 12-of-24 passes for 162 yards and another touchdown.

“Traditionally our team is a second-half team,” Taylor said. “We’re trying to fix that because we started today slow and we came back and clawed and we’ve done it two times before, so they knew we could do it again. It is what it is, we give our fans some heart attacks, us included.”

Connally quarterback Kaden Nguyen completed 13-of-24 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns, Landon Bradley hauled in eight of those passes for 157 yards and a score and Jamal Ambercrumbia had 138 yards on 27 carries.

The Cougars forced a turnover on downs and looked to be in position for the winning score after Nguyen picked up a first down with a nine-yard run. But facing a third-and-7 on the Panthers' 12-yard line, Nguyen looked to pitch the ball to Ambercrumbia on his left. That's when Bradshaw jumped in between the quarterback and running back to catch the pitch and return it all the way for the game-winning touchdown.

“I went through on a stunt, as soon as the ball hit my hand, I just caught it” Bradshaw said. “There was someone behind me and I knew I just had to go and score for my team. I just looked straight, I didn’t see anybody, I just ran for my life, really.”

Pflugerville was behind by multiple scores for most of the night and the touchdown was the only time that the Panthers led in the game. The Panthers outscored the Cougars 23-3 in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Pflugerville sent the game to overtime with a 22-yard field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter to tie the score 38-38.

The Panthers entered the fourth quarter trailing by 14 points but were able to steal the momentum for good with a couple of special teams plays. Jayson Evans returned a punt 49 yards to the Connally 1-yard line, and Taylor later scored from one yard out on fourth-and-goal, cutting Connally's lead to 35-28. And after forcing another Cougars punt, Christian Baham returned the kick 85 yards for a touchdown that tied the game 35-35 with 7:02 remaining.

“These kids have been doubted all year.” Taylor said. “But they came to practice, worked, came to practice and clawed out a win and then got another one.”

Connally kicker Aaron Olalde managed to put the Cougars on top 38-35 with a 32-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter, but was not able to get a chance for the game-winning attempt in overtime.

Taylor and the Panthers' offense came out quick in the second half as Taylor ran had a 42-yard touchdown run on the third play after the break.

The Cougars scored quickly in the first quarter, but the Panthers countered each time. Miller got the Panthers on the board with an 8-yard touchdown run up the middle to tie the game 7-7 midway through the first quarter.

Taylor and Martin connected on the biggest Panthers pass play of the first half. Facing fourth-and-4, Taylor found Martin in the middle of the Cougars zone and the sophomore ran through two tackles en route to a 43-yard touchdown.

Senior defensive back Lawrence Doe made the was the first Cougar to touch the ball and immediately put seven points on the board, returning the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown to put the Cougars ahead just 12 seconds into the game. The Panthers ended up tying the game on their first offensive drive, but that stalemate was short-lived as Nguyen and Bradley connected on a 75-yard touchdown on Connally’s first offensive play of the game to put the Cougars back on top 14-7 midway through the first quarter.

Connally took the momentum midway through the second quarter with two late touchdowns.

Abercrumbia’s 1-yard score capped a nine-play, 75-yard drive and saw the Cougars retake a 21-14 lead with 3:13 remaining in the first half. Bradley hauled in a key 26-yard pass from Nguyen on third-and-5 to extend the drive and get the Cougars into Panthers territory.

Connally forced the lone punt of the first half on the ensuing Pflugerville drive. The punt went only nine yards and gave the Cougars possession on the Panthers' 30 with 84 seconds before halftime. Abercrumbia took a handoff 25 yards on the first play and Nguyen found Bradley for a 14-yard touchdown pass to extend Connally's lead to 28-14 with 12 seconds left in the half.

Connally defensive back Orlando Frias picked off a Pflugerville pass on the final play of the half to end any Panthers scoring threat.

Nguyen found Aidin Smart for a 25-yard touchdown connection on Connally’s first possession of the second half. That touchdown capped an 11-play, 65-yard drive and extended the Connally lead to 35-21.

“We knew the stakes we had on the game and we just started working a as a team to get that dub and go to the playoffs,” Bradshaw said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Pflugerville football beat Connally in overtime to make the playoffs