Arlington Sam Houston beat Fort Worth Paschal 24-17 Friday night, adding to the uncertainty and upsets of District 4-6A. While the Paschal Panthers played them closely until the final buzzer sounded, they simply could not put a stop to the Texans’ run game.
While Paschal was first on the board with a field goal, Sam Houston was first to the end zone when senior Tsamarte Ryan scored the first touchdown of the game. In the same quarter, Texan defensive end Joshua Grant batted a Paschal pass in the air, picked it off, and ran it back for six. Kicker Juan Vargas capped both scores off with PATs closing out the first quarter with a 14-3 Sam Houston lead. The Sam Houston defense held the Panthers to a scoreless second quarter, while Juan Vargas scored the only Texan points with a field goal.
Paschal returned from halftime with a plan to come back shutting out Sam Houston in the third quarter and adding another 7 points to the board. The panthers tied the game 17-17 early in the fourth, but the Texans quickly reclaimed the lead when Ryan returned to the end zone to score the final touchdown of the game.
In only 50 offensive plays, two of which were kneeling, Sam Houston rushed for 288 yards. Ryan carried 10 times for 115 yards and Owen Harris had 10 carries for 113 yards. The victory marks Sam Houston’s first district win this season and sets them up for an exciting matchup next week against the Martin Warriors. Both teams head into Friday’s game with a 2-4 record. While Martin has dominated in recent years, the Warriors continue to struggle this season. The two teams will meet 7:30 Friday at UTA’s Maverick Stadium.
Mansfield beat Martin, Arlington High beat Lamar, and Bowie barely pulled out a win against North Crowley. The steep competition in this district is leaving little room for a convincing authority. With zero losses this season, the Bowie Volunteers remain the team to beat.
