Photos by Stan Martin / Championship game coverage brought to you by Ja-Mar Roofing & Sheet Metal
The China Spring Cougars (15-1) come back from a 21 point deficit to defeat the Boerne Greyhounds (15-1) 24-21 to earn back-to-back State Championships, and their third title overall.
All Greyhounds Early
The first 14 minutes of the game belonged to Boerne. After the Greyhounds turned the ball over on downs on their first drive, they rattled off three consecutive touchdown drives, with the help of a favorable bounce and uncharacteristic poor tackling by the Cougars.
Facing a 2nd & 10 from their own 21, Boerne QB Jaxon Baize targets the motioning RB Adam Hicks 5 yards down the left side. LB Ryder Reeves steps in front of the pass and it tips just off his finger tips and into the waiting arms of WR Braden Baize, who takes it 79 yards for the first Greyhound touchdown.
China Spring, who is not accustomed to playing from behind too often, looked to answer, but on a 2nd & 8, QB Cash McCollum’s pass was intercepted by LB Brendan Levada. Levada stepped in front of intended receiver WR/LB Tristian Exline giving Boerne the short field from the China Spring 43. Six plays and 1:40 off the clock is all the Greyhounds need as the brothers Baize connect for a 16 yard touchdown, putting Boerne ahead 14-0.
The Cougars next drive goes nowhere as RB Kyle Barton is unable to get through the Boerne’s defensive line. The quick 3 & out gives Boerne the ball back on their own 24 yard line. Boerne attempts a reverse with Braden Baize, but Jaxon Baize is unable to control the ball and it hits the turf. Braden Baize picks it up and is immediately surrounded by a host of Cougars for what appears to be a 10 yard loss, but Baize is able to escape the Cougar arm tackles and picks up 39 yards. Boerne takes 10 more plays to chip away at the Cougar defense. Six of those plays were on the legs of RB TJ Dement, who crossed the goal line from 3 yards out giving the Greyhounds their third touchdown of the night.
With 9:31 remaining in the 2nd quarter, China Spring is facing their largest deficit of the season, 21 points. To this point, Boerne has scored 21 points on 255 yards total offense. In contrast, China Spring has yet to score a point and has 19 yards total offense, with an interception.
…but what do they say about the Heart of a Champion? It never loses hope. It never gives up.
Cougs Fight Back
From their own 35 yard line, China Spring is facing the most important drive of the season. The Cougars can’t afford to fall behind any further. Kyle Barton and the offensive line understand the situation and turn the game around. Barton, who missed the title game last year due to injury, was about to show the world what he can do. But making the task tougher, C Landon McMillan goes out with an injury. McMillan himself was recovering from a knee injury in August and worked his way back to anchor the offensive line. That job now went to C Jaydon Hogan.
Barton comes out on a mission, gaining yards in chunks. McCollum mixes in a couple of passes to WR Cameron Campos and 10 plays later, China Spring faces a 3rd & 5 on the Greyhound 11. McCollum uses play action to Barton, then finds Exline over the middle to put China Spring on the board.
The Cougar defense stiffens, and with the help of a Boerne holding call, China Spring forces a Greyhound punt. China Spring goes into halftime trailing the Boerne Greyhounds 21-7.
Different Team After The Break
Any halftime speech by Knute Rockne or Vince Lombardi must have paled in comparison to the speech from China Spring Head Coach Tyler Beatty. The Cougars came out of the tunnel for the second half a completely different team. The Cougars received the opening kickoff of the second half, and knew they had to put points on the board. And on the legs of Barton and a big pass reception by WR Kevaughn Rogers, China Spring was on the Boerne 3 yard line facing a 3rd & 2. In the short yardage situations, at times China Spring brings in a different personnel package and McCollum takes the snap directly under center. With a back up center and a formation they rarely run, the Cougars fumble the snap and Boerne takes over on their own 5.
Down by 14 and needing to score, this could have been devastating for the Cougars.
…but what do they say about the Heart of a Champion? It never loses hope. It never gives up.
The China Spring defense comes up huge and forces a 3 & out from Boerne. The punt from their goal line is less than stellar and China Spring starts the second drive of the half at the Greyhound 41, looking to finish what they started on the last drive. After a big 3rd & 8 conversion by McCollum to WR/DB Tre Hafford, McCollum finds Barton out of the backfield and down the seam from 17 yards out. Barton used his speed to get past the linebacker and McCollum dropped the pass into Barton’s hands in the endzone. China Spring now trails by 7 and has momentum on their side.
The now dominate Cougar defense forces another Greyhound 3 & out and China Spring takes over on their own 25. What has been absent in the game so far was the patented Cougar quick strike offense. After a 9 yard Campos reception, Exline brought that quick strike offense back. The Cougars set up in a full house backfield, with Barton and Hafford flanking McCollum in the pistol. Exline, directly behind McCollum, takes the handoff. Following the lead blocks by Barton and Hafford, Exline sprints untouched for 66 yards to bring China Spring all the way back. With 2:55 remaining in the 3rd quarter, a new game starts with the score tied at 21.
Boerne is not coming into the state title game at 15-0 for no reason. The Greyhounds battle back. The ensuing kickoff sees DB McCoy Bruce run the kick all the way back to the China Spring 36. With the short field, the Greyhounds have to put points on the board. The Cougar defense again forces Boerne to a 4th down, but at the Cougar 32 yard line, both a field goal and punt are out of the question for the Greyhounds. Jaxon Baize drops back on 4th down but all of his receivers are covered, but he is able to scramble to the 25 and keep the drive going.
On a 2nd & 10 from the 25, Jaxon Baize has WR Brooks Perez wide open in the endzone as CB Cage McCloud stumbles at the snap. McCloud quickly recovers and Baize’s pass is underthrown into the waiting arms of McCloud in the endzone. China Spring gets a huge turnover, but is unable to capitalize and punts back to Boerne with 9:04 remaining in the 4th quarter.
After a big punt by Exline, the Greyhounds start their final drive on the China Spring 17. Boerne chips away at the yardage, and the clock. Facing a 3rd & 10 at the Cougar 38, the Greyhounds appear to convert on a pass from Baize to TE Houston Hendrix, but an ineligible man downfield negates the pick up. The next play is a loss of 5 and now the Greyhounds are forced to punt on a 4th & 20 from midfield.
China Spring gets the ball back on their own 38 with 3:02 remaining in the 4th quarter, and an Ace in their back pocket. The Cougars march down the field with Barton, Exline, Hafford and McCollum all touching the ball. Beatty and the coaching staff manage the clock, using a timeout when needed to ensure the seconds tick away, but keeping just enough. Facing a 4th & 2 at the Boerne 3 yard line, Beatty calls a timeout with 0:02 remaining in the 4th quarter. As he calls that timeout, Beatty has a confident smile on his face. That smile is because of the Ace he is about to play.
That Ace is Mr. Automatic, K Thomas Barr. The same Thomas Barr that knocked off the previous #1 Stephenville Yellowjackets by kicking a 42 yard field goal, into the wind. This time the kick was 20 yards and inside the controlled environment of AT&T Stadium. Out of the perfect hold of Jase Garrett, Barr splits the uprights and gives the China Spring Cougars their second consecutive State Title.
That Halftime Speech
I would have loved to be in the locker room for that halftime speech, because it was a different team that came out. In the first half, Boerne had 279 yards of total offense to the Cougars’ 94. In the second half, China Spring gained 243 yards of total offense to Boerne’s 60. The Boerne offense, whose lowest offensive output of the season has been 35 points, gained only 60 yards in a half of football.
I’m sure that halftime speech reminded them what it meant to have a Heart of a Champion. It never loses hope. It never gives up.
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