As the dust settled on Logos Prep’s heartbreaking 64-58 overtime defeat to Conroe Covenant Christian in week four of the 2022 season, Lions head coach Kevin Edelbrock began to receive several text messages from fellow coaches.
Their message to him was clear: his Lions had shown they belonged.
Three months later, on the biggest stage, Logos Prep made an even bigger statement with a comeback for the ages in the TAPPS Division I Six-Man State Title Game.
With his Lions trailing 52-34, Logos Prep running back Will Lieke scored on a four-yard run to cut the deficit to 12 points with two and a half minutes to go.
What followed next was unbelievable.
Logos Prep kicker Carson Goldy perfectly executed two onside kicks, and both times, his younger brother Clayton Goldy came up with recoveries that kept the Lions’ shot at a state title alive.
Star running back Barrett Zgarba didn’t need to be told twice to take advantage of those bonus possessions.
He scored on two short-yardage touchdown runs in the final sixty seconds of game time as Logos Prep pulled off a 20-point blitz in just over two minutes to secure an unbelievable 54-52 victory over Hill Country Christian.
“It’s one of the great things about sports. It’s not over until its 0:00, and that’s why they play the game,” Edelbrock said. “[Our players] just had a ton of resilience. They never gave up, and the outcome was incredible.”
The victory was the first-ever football state title for Logos Prep, a massive accomplishment for a school some used to refer to as “Joke Prep” due to its lack of success athletically.
“To the people who started the school back in 2005, it was a real special moment,” Edelbrock said. “Every year, the athletic program has won more and more awards, so it was really a culmination of not just the football program but the entire athletic program.”
Special shoutout to @LogosPrep & @lpathletics which rallied fr 20-0 deficit after 1st qt & beat Austin Hill Country Christian 54-52 to win TAPPS (@TAPPSbiz ) 4A 6man State Championship in Waco tonight! Here’s their Post Game celebration & speech from HC Kevin Edelbrock @kprc2 pic.twitter.com/44yL6kpvRh
— Randy McIlvoy (@KPRC2RandyMc) December 2, 2022
Dominic Rosa led the Lions’ passing attack on the evening with 311 passing yards, while receiver Lawson Taylor finished with 10 catches for 155 yards.
However, Zgarba was the hero at the end of the night. He finished with 194 total yards of offense and six total touchdowns, including the game-winner.
Edelbrock said he expected nothing less of a player the Lions have leaned on all season.
“We really designed our offense around Barrett,” Edelbrock said. “So, when it comes down to it, you go, ‘Gosh, we don’t know what to do.’ Well, just give it to Barrett and he’ll figure out something to do.”
It was an appropriate ending for a team that demonstrated its resiliency time and time again in 2022.
During the season, the Lions saw three players go down with season-ending ACL injuries.
And then at the end of the regular season, in the de facto district title game, Logo Prep overcame six turnovers in a wild 41-35 victory over Saint Mary’s Hall.
Edelbrock said that he’ll always remember the poise his team showed when facing adversity throughout their historic season.
But most importantly for Edelbrock, his staff, and his players, it will be the bonds formed on and off the field that they’ll cherish forever.
“One of our players, Cole Hogan, said it best: ‘You just can’t replicate the family atmosphere that football offers,’” Edelbrock said. “You go through a lot of ups and downs through all of those months, and you develop a sense of closeness and family and you’re really bonded forever.”
Logos Prep 2022 Team Stats
Offensive Points Per Game: 49.9 points
Points Allowed Per Game: 34.9 points
Passing Leader: Dominic Rosa: 1,132 yards and 15 touchdowns
Rushing Leader: Barrett Zgarba: 931 yards and 19 touchdowns
Leading Receiver: Barrett Zgarba: 498 yards and nine touchdowns
Leading Tacklers: Nathan Rabb and Clayton Goldy: 70 tackles
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