The Bellville Brahmas came into the championship game looking for the first championship in school history in their third title game appearance. Gilmer was looking for their 4th state title, their first since 2014, in their school’s 9th state title appearance.
On the opening drive, Gilmer moved quickly past midfield but ran into a 4th and 2 at the Bellville 36-yard line. They had a receiver open, but the Bellville pressure caused Gilmer QB Cadon Tennison to get rid of the ball quickly, and the ball fell incomplete. Gilmer turned the ball over on downs.
Bellville did not waste time getting on the scoreboard. Sam Hranicky broke free for a 66-yard touchdown to give Bellville the early 7-0 lead on their second play with 8:06 to go in the first quarter. On the next Gilmer drive, Bellville was able to stop the Buckeyes, but a face mask penalty extended the Gilmer drive into Bellville territory. On the next play, Tennison hit Ta’Erik Tate, and the Buckeyes had first and goal from the 6-yard line. 2 plays later, Brandon Webb caught a quick pass from Tennison and scored to tie the game at 7 with 5:15 to go in the first quarter. 
The momentum continued in the Buckeye’s favor as they caused a fumble on Bellville’s next drive. Replay, which is available for state championship games, took a look and upheld the fumble. Gilmer took over at the Bellville 28-yard line. Gilmer capitalized on the fumble with a Tennison QB keeper to put the Buckeyes up 14-7 with 1:08 to go in the first quarter.
On the first play of the second quarter, Bellville QB Zach Leuschner hit DD Murray for a 72-yard touchdown. The extra point was no good, and Bellville still trailed, 14-13, with 11:47 to go in the first half. On the next drive, Gilmer got to the 34-yard line, and went for it on a 4th and 11. and Noble was almost able to catch a pass on the sideline, but the ball hit the ground in the process of the catch, and Bellville took the ball back over, and Bellville took the ball back and the momentum going into the second part of the second quarter.
On the next Bellville drive, DD Murray broke free for a 38-yard run inside the 15-yard line. However, Leuschner threw an interception in the endzone, and Gilmer made the huge stop and took the ball back. The Gilmer drive seemed stalled, but then Will Henderson, the state 100-meter track champion, broke through the middle for a 65-yard touchdown, bringing him to 118 first-half rushing yards. Gilmer expanded their lead to 21-13 with 2 minutes to go in the half.
A few plays later, on a 3rd and 2, Bellville responded with a Sam Hranicky 58-yard touchdown run up the middle. The extra point was good to bring Bellville back within one, 21-20, with 1:04 to go in the first half. Less than 30 seconds later, Gilmer QB Tennison hit Tate for a 69-yard touchdown, pushing the Gilmer lead back to 8, 28-20 to end the first half.
Second Half
Bellville got the ball to start the second half, but they were not able to move the ball and punted the ball to the Gilmer 19-yard line with 10:01 to go in the third. The Brahmas defense stepped up on the Gilmer drive, and stopped the Buckeyes on their opening drive of the second half. On the next Bellville drive, Gilmer forced a 4th and 1 for Bellville at the Buckeye’s own 30, they went for it, and Gilmer jumped offsides to give Bellville the first down.
After picking up the first down, Bellville ran the ball down the field and scored on a Corrian Hood 4-yard touchdown run. Bellville went for 2 to tie the game, but failed to convert. On the next Gilmer drive, they threw deep, but Bellville intercepted it at the 4-yard line. However, Bellville was not able to move the ball, and they punted out of their endzone. Bellville forced Gilmer into a 4th and 1, and Gilmer went for it, but jumped offsides. Gilmer still went for it on 4th and 6, but Bellville made the stop as Tennison kept the ball and tried to run for the first down.
With the ball back near midfield, Bellville. But, Bellville could not move the ball, and had to punt the ball back to Gilmer with 6:57 to go in the 4th. Gilmer turned to Will Henderson to try and run the clock as Henderson went over 200 yards rushing for the game on the drive. On a key 3rd and 8, Henderson broke free for 21-yards and took Gilmer inside the 30 with 3 minutes to go. Bellville had just 1 timeout left, and one first down from Gilmber would end the game. Bellville was able to force a 4th down and 6 for Gilmber with 0:37 to go and the ball at the 17-yard line. Instead of kicking a field goal to go up 5, Gilmer gave the ball to Henderson. Henderson looked stopped well short of the first down, but he ran right through multiple tackles and got the first down to close the game.
Final Score: Gilmer 28 / Bellville 26
Will Henderson finished with 227 yards rushing and is our Texas HS Football MVP and was named the UIL Offensive MVP.
The Defensive MVP went to Brandom Webb. Webb forced a fumble, had an interception in the endzone, and scored a touchdown on offense.
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