PROSPER, Texas — Fighting for a playoff spot, The Colony took down the No. 12 5A team in the state with a hard-fought 14-7 victory over Prosper on Friday.
The Cougars (5-3, 3-2 District 14-5A) earned the win thanks to a stellar performance on the defensive side of the ball.
They did not allow a single point to Prosper (6-2, 4-1 District 14-5A) in the first half, keeping the Eagles out of the end zone on their final four drives of the game. An interception by Calvin Baker with just over a minute remaining put the nail in the coffin.
Photo: Sara Carpenter/TexasHSFootball.com
“I told the boys all week long, our test was to beat the No. 12 team in the state and the No. 1 team in the district,” The Colony coach Rudy Rangel said. “That’s the story we’re going to tell. Good for these guys for staying in there with me 100 percent.”
Crunch Time
The final drive was tense for both sides. Prosper went with a pass-heavy approach as Keegan Shoemaker kept the Eagles driving down the field, but luck was in The Colony’s favor. A long flea-flicker was called back due to a clipping call, and what would have been the game-tying touchdown pass was caught out of bounds in the corner of the end zone.
Shoemaker played only the second half, replacing senior starter Matt Bramer, who went 1-for-8 in the first half. Shoemaker finished 10-for-22 with 152 yards and a touchdown.
“He did a really good job of coming in here and throwing a lot of good balls,” coach Brandon Schmidt said. “He was calm and composed, throwing the ball away when he needed to and making big plays when he needed to.”
The Colony built their 14-0 halftime lead with two touchdown passes from sophomore quarterback Mikey Harrington. One came on the first drive of the game, and the second came on an incredible 29-yard catch and score from Keith Miller, who reached over the head of the defender and came down with the ball in the left corner of the end zone.
Defensively, the Cougars were successful in stopping Prosper’s running game. Senior running back Kaleb Adams entered the game with 18 touchdowns this season but was held out of the end zone and had only 49 yards on 16 carries.
“If you don’t stop [Adams], you don’t come anywhere close to beating these guys,” Rangel said. “We put nine in the box and did a really good job recovering at the end and jumping to our passing defense.
This Is New
For Prosper, being down was unfamiliar territory. It was the biggest halftime deficit the Eagles have faced since Schmidt got the job in 2016.
“We had to come out here and learn something about ourselves tonight,” Schmidt said. “We were either going to quit because we haven’t been in this situation or we were going to keep fighting. Our kids fought tonight.”
Photo: Sara Carpenter/Texashsfootball.com
The loss drops Prosper to second in District 14-5A behind Little Elm (7-1). The Colony is back in the playoff picture, tied for third place in the district.
“We’ve still got some work to do and have a long way to go still,” Rangel said. “We had to get this one to see tomorrow.”
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