Mansfield Timberview fumbled on its first possession of Friday night’s 5A Division I area showdown against Barbers Hill in Cedar Park.
It didn’t make many more mistakes on the ground after that.
The Wolves finished with 346 rushing yards as they outscored Barbers Hill 21-0 in the final quarter for a 35-17 victory.
“I just felt like the size of our offensive line wore them down a bit,” Timberview head coach James Brown said. “They’re really physical defensively. We had a hard time finding anything productive early in the game, but our big bodies inside really helped us late with the run game.”
A turning point in the game came just over two minutes into the final quarter with Timberview trailing by three. Barbers Hill quarterback Kody Fuentes overthrew his man, allowing Timberview defensive back Kourtland Jordan to come down with a crucial interception.
“It was a big play,” Jordan said. “I ain’t know I caught it until it hit my hands, but it changed the game a lot.”
Jordan’s interception paved the way for an onslaught of Timberview rushing touchdowns on their next three possessions.
Jarvis Reed scored on runs of 18 and 65 yards, while Javeon Madison added a 30-yard touchdown with just over two minutes to go to ice the game.
Madison finished with 94 yards, but it was Reed who stole the show with 211 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries.
“[Reed is] huge,” Brown said. “He’s such an explosive player. He’s been working through some injuries all year, so we held him out the last couple weeks, so we’re just really glad he’s back.”
On the other sideline, Barbers Hill head coach Carl Abseck was proud of how his team took Timberview to the wire despite being widely considered as underdogs heading into the matchup.
“I thought our kids played their butts off,” Abseck said. “We had them on the ropes, and we missed the knockout punch. We gave them a chance to catch their breath and they took advantage of it like a good team will.”
As Abseck mentioned, it was the Eagles who threw the first couple of punches as Manny Shaw opened the scoring for Barbers Hill with a one-yard touchdown four minutes into the game.
Shaw was a menace on the ground all night for the Timberview defense as he finished with 130 rushing yards.
Despite its early deficit, Timberview bounced back in the second quarter.
Madison scored his first touchdown on a 12-yard run just 52 seconds into the period to knot the game at 7.
Timberview ties it up! Javeon Madison shoots through the Barbers Hill defense for a 12-yard touchdown. A lot of action on the ground so far tonight.
Barbers Hill 7-7 Timberview 11:08 2nd#txhsfb @texashsfootball pic.twitter.com/weLny0LBHm
— Adam Ogburn (@aogburn00) November 19, 2022
And even though Barbers Hill retook the lead on a 32-yard field goal by Lukas Nowlin, Timberview responded by embarking on a gutsy, 13-play, 66-yard drive that included two fourth down conversions.
With just 36 seconds left in the half, Timberview quarterback Zuric Humes finished that drive off, executing a perfect read option as he kept the ball himself and strolled into the end zone from four yards out to give the Wolves a 14-10 halftime lead.
After the break, Barbers Hill regained the lead in a defensive struggle of a third quarter as Shaw found a seam for a 14-yard touchdown scamper.
However, Timberview took control after that as its powerful rushing attack proved to be too much for the Eagles to handle on the night.
Despite the loss, Barbers Hill finished the season 8-4, an improvement over its 6-6 record from Abseck’s first season at the helm in 2021.
And even though his team bowed out in the second round for the second season in a row, Abseck was full of praise for the dedication his players have shown this year.
“I think we’re obviously heading in the right direction,” Abseck said. “Our kids have bought into what we’re doing. They’re hard-working kids. They’ve done everything we’ve asked them to do, and I couldn’t be more proud of them for that. They’ve put us in position to be really successful.”
Meanwhile, Timberview’s undefeated season continues as the Wolves improved to 12-0 on the year.
Next up will be a third-round showdown against Reedy, who dumped Lancaster out of the playoffs in a 30-27 overtime victory on Friday.
Frisco @RHS_FBRecruits win 30-27! #Brandid👌🏼@Friscoisdsports | @Friscoisdsports pic.twitter.com/jwNB0o9ECX
— BRANDID SPORTS (@BrandidSports) November 19, 2022
But despite the fact Timberview has bowed out of the playoffs in the third round three times in the past four years, Jordan said he and his teammates have loftier goals this year that they believe are in reach.
“We ain’t ever been to state, and I feel like we can make it to state this year,” Jordan said. “We got a great team, and we’ve got to keep pushing and not give up.”
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