Texas: State Championship Game Recaps
By Scott Hansen
Elite Scouting Texas
shansen@elitescoutingservices.com
Twitter: @elitescoutingtx
Saturday’s Games
6A Division I State Championship Game
Allen 47, Houston Cypress Ranch 16
Allen quarterback Kyler Murray finished with a 42-0 career record as his team claimed its third consecutive state championship with a 47-16 victory over Houston Cypress Ranch in the 6A Division I final at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Murray, who is committed to Texas A&M, completed 22 of 32 passes for 317 yards and five touchdowns. Junior Kerry Hall caught nine passes for 129 yards and three scores, while Cody Butler and Lee Morris both reeled in touchdown strikes from Murray. Hall’s 17-yard touchdown catch with :01 remaining the first half helped give Allen a 21-10 lead at halftime.
Murray finished the season with 4,713 passing yards and 54 touchdowns while picking up another 1,495 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns on the ground. Overall, Murray had a hand in 186 Allen touchdowns during his career. Notre Dame wide receiver commit Jalen Guyton and Oklahoma verbal Bobby Allen are moving on along with Murray, but the Eagles will have plenty of weapons back in 2015. Most notably on recruiting radars is offensive tackle Greg Little (6’6, 290) and cornerback Jaylon Jones.
Cypress Ranch finished 13-3 on the season and was led by running back Charlie Booker. Booker led Cypress Ranch with 115 rushing yards including a pair of touchdowns.
6A Division II State Championship Game
Cedar Hill 23, Katy 20
Brooks Ralph drilled a 25-yard field goal with :02 remaining to give Cedar Hill its second straight state championship with a 23-20 victory over Katy.
Ralph also connected on a 44-yard effort to tie the game with 8:30 remaining in the fourth quarter. LSU quarterback commit Justin McMillan completed 20 of 25 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown. Elite-level prospect Damarkus Lodge hauled in two touchdown passes in the third quarter alone and finished with 101 receiving yards. Katy’s stingy defense controlled the normally potent combination of USC verbal Aca’cedric Ware and Denvre Daniels out of the backfield. Sophomore Avery Davis, a potential elite prospect in the future, rushed for a team high 82 yards and also hooked up with Lodge on a 61-yard scoring toss in the third quarter.
Oklahoma commit Rodney Anderson led the way once again for Katy. Anderson capped off his stellar career with 172 yards and two touchdowns. His 3-yard burst with 1:02 left in the third quarter was his 36th of the season and his 71st rushing score of his career. Katy will have another feature back with elite-level aspirations back in 2015, as Texas Tech commit Kyle Porter will be back for a program is still searching for its eighth state championship in school history.Despite the loss, Gary Joseph has compiled a 137-13 record in 11 seasons as Katy head coach.
5A Division I State Championship Game
Aledo 49, Temple 45
The Aledo state championship train keeps rolling.
Behind four total touchdowns from quarterback Luke Bishop, the Bearcats were able to claim its fifth state title in six seasons with a thrilling 49-45 victory over Temple in the 5A Division I state final.
Bishop’s 6-yard touchdown run with :47 remaining was the title-decider for the Bearcats. Bishop threw for two touchdowns and added a team high 169 rushing yards to go along with his pair of touchdowns. Texas-San Antonio commit Jess Anders rushed for 103 yards and two scores to pace Aledo, who finished 15-1 on the season.
Temple, who finished 13-2 on the campaign, was led by Baylor commit Chad President. The quarterback threw for 233 yards and totaled two touchdowns. Marques Hatcher rushed for 171 yards and three touchdowns to pace Temple.
Friday’s Games
5A Division II State Championship Game
Ennis 38, Cedar Park 35
Quarterback Devin Smith hit 6’4 wide receiver Donta Thompson on a 36-yard touchdown pass with :21 remaining to give Ennis a 38-35 victory over Cedar Park to win the 5A Division II state title.
Taylor Thompson ran for 182 yards and score for Ennis, who managed its fifth state title in school history and first since 2004. Donta Thompson, a prospect who has heard from FBS schools, finished with two touchdown grabs for the Lions, who finished 14-2 on the season.
Cedar Park’s Thomas Hutchings rushed for 155 yards and a score in a losing effort, while quarterback Amir Alzer threw for three touchdowns and nearly led his Timberwolves to the promise land. Defensive end Myles Cheatum (6’2, 255) is moving on to Texas State and will be a steal for the Sun Belt Conference program.
4A Division I State Championship Game
Navasota 42, Argyle 35 (2 OT)
An instant classic. In double overtime, record-setting Navasota completed a perfect 16-0 season with a 42-35 victory over Argyle to claim the 4A Division I state championship.
Junior quarterback Shelton Eppler set a Texas state record in the third quarter with his 69th touchdown pass of the season. When the dust settled, Eppler’s four touchdown strikes to fellow record setter Tren’Davian Dickson gave him 71 touchdown passes on the season. Eppler also added a pair of rushing scores to pace Navasota. Eppler finished with 5,452 yards on the season after throwing for 485 yards in a title-winning performance.
Dickson, a junior Baylor pledge, caught 12 passes for 178 yards and four touchdowns, including two clutch scoring grabs in overtime. Dickson finished the season with 90 receptions for 2,166 yards and a national record 39 touchdowns.
For Argyle, Nick Ralston left everything on the field. The 6’1, 220-pound bulldozer powered his way to 224 yards and three touchdowns on a workmanlike 53 carries. It was another day at the office for the Arizona State pledge, who finished with 2,698 yards and 44 touchdowns as his Eagles finished 15-1 and fell just short on repeating as state champions.
4A Division II State Championship Game
Gilmer 41, West Orange-Stark 25
Whatever the coaching staff at Gilmer said at halftime of the 4A Division II state championship game obviously worked. Trailing 25-7 at halftime, the Buckeyes stormed back with 34 unanswered points in the second half to claim its third title in school history.
Elite-level prospect Kris Boyd rushed for two touchdowns, while Baylor commit Blake Lynch rushed for two second half scores as Gilmer dominated the second half. Senior southpaw quarterback McLane Carter started the second half scoring party by hitting Nick Smith on a 13-yard touchdown strike with 7:15 left in the third quarter. Carter finished the season with 3,962 passing yards and 47 touchdowns compared to two interceptions in leading his team to a 16-0 record. Gilmer also won state titles in 2004 and 2009.
In the first half, West Orange-Stark quarterback Jack Dallas threw for two touchdowns added another on the ground as the Mustangs took a 25-7 lead into halftime. Alabama commit Deionte Thompson hauled in a first half touchdown pass for the Mustangs, who finished 13-3 on the season despite having QB prospect Dillon Sterling-Cole transfer to Spring Westfield.
Louisiana Tech verbal Trey Baldwin scored late in the first half to extend the lead for West Orange-Stark and finished with 130 total yards in a losing effort.
Thursday’s Games
3A Division I State Championship Game
Cameron Yoe 70, Mineola 40
Quarterback Reid Nickerson completed 15 of 24 passes for 304 yards and five touchdowns to lead Cameron Yoe to its third straight state championship with a 70-40 victory over Mineola in the 3A Division I state final at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Cameron Yoe receiver Aaron Sims might only be 5’5/125, but he is dynamic enough to get an invitation from Oklahoma as a preferred walk-on. Sims caught six passes for 149 yards and three scores in the victory, including two in the final :58 of the first half. Junior Traion Smith rushed for 124 yards and five touchdowns to finish with 2,251 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns in 2014.
Mineola has a pair of offensive line prospects to keep an eye on returning next season. Austin and Riley Anderson are legitimate prospects both hovering in the 6’4/280 range coming from good bloodlines. Austin was named to the First Team All-State list according to APSE. Jeremiah Crawford and Chantz Perkins combined for 296 yards and four touchdowns for Mineola, who finished 12-4 on the season after losing its first three games.
3A Division II State Championship Game
Waskom 41, Newton 22
In a battle between offenses reminiscent of 40 years ago, Waskom powered its way to 329 rushing yards en route to a 41-22 victory over Newton to claim the 3A Division II state championship.
Junebug Johnson led a team effort with 93 yards and a fourth quarter touchdown, while Kevin Johnson added another 85 yards to pace the Wildcats. Trace Carter and Chan Amie rushed for touchdowns in the victory for Waskom, who finished 15-1 on the season. Amie also hauled a kickoff back 88 yards for a score in the victory.
The state title tilt featured just five attempted passes, a great display for the Texas football traditionalist. For Newton, Calum Foster rushed for 119 tough yards and a first quarter touchdown. Newton finished with a 12-4 record, with multi-faceted athlete Roney Elam heading to Texas A&M.
2A Division I State Championship Game
Canadian 34, Mason 7
Tanner Schafer is one to watch in the future. The 6’3 junior signal caller completed 22 of 28 passes for 269 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Wildcats were able to dispose of Mason to claim the 2A Division I state championship, 34-7.
Schafer threw for 3,858 yards and 51 touchdowns in 2014 while leading the Wildcats to their third state championship in school history. Canadian won back-to-back state titles in 2007 and 2008. Chance Cook rushed for a pair of second half touchdowns to pace Canadian, who finished 15-0 on the season.
Mason quarterback Miguel Castillo opened the scoring in the first quarter for the Punchers with a 1-yard run. Castillo rushed for 73 yards to lead Mason, who finished with an impressive 14-1 record on the season.
2A Division II State Championship Game
Bremond 28, Albany 21
Bremond erased a 21-7 deficit heading into the fourth quarter by storming back for 21 unanswered points to claim the Texas 2A Division II state championship with a 28-21 victory over Albany at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Quarterback Roshauud Paul was named the Offensive Most Valuable Player of the title game after rushing for 167 yards and a pair of scores. Paul’s 35-yard scamper with 4:19 remaining and ensuing point after tied the score at 21. Paul would add a 23-yard title-decider with 1:17 remaining. Joe Williams intercepted two passes to take home Defensive MVP honors for Bremond, who capped off a perfect 15-0 mark by winning its second title in school history and its first since 1981.
Albany quarterback Drew Neece hit Alex Faith on a 26-yard touchdown strike to open the scoring with 3:08 left in the first quarter. Neece would add a third quarter touchdown run in a losing effort for Albany, who finished the season with a 14-1 record.
1A Division I (Six-Man) Final on Dec 13, 2014
Crowell 62, May 16
Mitch Parsley three for four touchdown strikes, ran for two, and returned in interception for a touchdown in a 62-16 victory over May. Parsley threw for 172 yards and led his team to a 56-16 lead at halftime. Nathan Moya hauled in two of Parsley’s touchdown passes. Isaac Williams threw and ran for a touchdown in a losing effort for May.
1A Division II (Six-Man) Final on Dec 13, 2014
Throckmorton 66, Groom 20
Casey Mitchell only needed five carries to run for 168 yards and three touchdowns in a convincing victory for Throckmorton. All of Mitchell’s visits to pay dirt came in the first quarter as Throckmorton stormed out to a 32-6 lead. Coletyn King rushed for 159 yards to pace the champions and two rushing scores. Carson Ritter threw for a pair of touchdowns in a losing effort, while Hayden Ritter finished with 115 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.