Round 3 of the Texas High School Football playoffs is here! On Friday, November 24, 2023, there was a three-game playoff special at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX. The third and final game featured the Lamar Texans vs. the Atascocita Eagles.
1st Half
Atascocita kicked off to Lamar. The game was even throughout the entire first half. Lamar’s opening drive ended with a punt to Atascocita, and they steadily moved the ball closer to the red zone. On a big 4th down, Atascocita tried to get the first, but Lamar’s defense forced a stop, resulting in a turnover on downs. Atascocita’s quarterback #1 Zion Brown played efficiently, spreading the ball to his capable playmakers. Zion threw two touchdown passes early on, but #2 Jelani Watkins dropped both passes that would have resulted in a touchdown, which is unfortunate because he was the fastest player on the field. In the second quarter, both Lamar and Atascocita missed field goals, and Lamar’s wide receiver #0 caught a touchdown pass from quarterback #7 Jordan Reeves, but it was called back due to a holding penalty. At halftime, the score was 0-0, with neither team able to score.
3rd Quarter
At the start of the second half, Lamar kicked off to Atascocita. On the first play, Zion connected with #12 Cameron for a long touchdown pass. The score finally changed after two whole quarters, with a score of 7-0. Lamar now had possession, but Atascocita’s defense forced a three-and-out, giving possession back to Atascocita. Within a minute, Atascocita’s running back #6 Tory Blaylock rushed for a 52-yard touchdown. Lamar ferociously fought for every yard, making it to the one-yard line, and with under a minute left in the third quarter, Jordan Reeves punched it in for Lamar’s first touchdown. The third quarter ended with a score of 14-7, with Atascocita in the lead.
4th Quarter
In the fourth quarter, Zion connected with Tory on a long pass, putting them in a great position. This resulted in running back #14 Cardae Mack rushing in a 3-yard touchdown. Lamar, back with possession, wasted no time moving the ball with a long pass to #13 Enrico Espinoza, then running back #4 Justin Howard picked up some yards, putting Lamar back on the one-yard line. Jordan Reeves punched it in again for his second touchdown. Atascocita tried to seal the game by running the clock and scoring one more touchdown, but Lamar’s defense had a big stop, resulting in a turnover on downs.
Lamar had possession with over two minutes left in regulation, one last chance to turn it around. However, on the first play on offense, quarterback Jordan Reeves threw an interception to Atascocita’s wide receiver/cornerback #5 Kyran Lee, which gave possession back to the Eagles. Back on offense close to the end zone, it took no time for quarterback Zion Brown to rush in a touchdown. Lamar wanted to end the game with one more drive, but a failed attempt to get rid of the ball by Jordan resulted in a fumble, leading to Atascocita’s defensive back #22 Chase Heztler scooping it up and walking into the end zone to extend their lead once more with a touchdown. The final score of the game was 34-14, with Atascocita moving on to round 4.
What’s Next?
It was a hard-fought battle on both sides; it’s been a while since I’ve seen neither team score a touchdown by halftime. Unfortunately, Lamar had a great chance of winning the game until those two major mistakes in the last two minutes, and they played extremely well the entire season, remaining undefeated going into the playoffs. Next week in round 4, the Atascocita Eagles will have a grudge match against the North Shore Mustangs.
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