The Summer Creek Bulldogs faced the Hightower Hurricanes on Saturday, December 2nd, 2023, in the regional finals. In my preview for this game, I mentioned that Summer Creek is a defensive team, while Hightower is an offensive team, and whoever buckles under the pressure first will lose. The results showed that neither team gave up until the last second.
1st Quarter
Hightower kicked off to Summer Creek to start the game. Summer Creek’s offense could not get the job done and had to punt almost immediately to Hightower. This is where the true battle began. Summer Creek’s middle linebacker #33 Kyran Duhon had a big tackle for loss, but right after that, quarterback #1 Joseph Stewart connected on a long pass with wide receiver #4 Zion Kearney. These actions repeated until Hightower was at 3rd and 11, and Joseph connected on an 11-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver #18 Shane King. Summer Creek, back with possession, moved the ball steadily down the field and reached the red zone. Running back #25 Lloyd Avant punched in a 15-yard rushing touchdown. For the remainder of the 1st quarter, it was a tough dogfight between the Bulldogs’ defense and the Hurricanes’ offense, with the score remaining 7-7.
2nd Quarter
At the beginning of the 2nd quarter, Joseph connected on a short pass to running back #6 Jeremy Payne, who broke a tackle upfront and took it to the house for a 74-yard touchdown. Thanks to the efforts of Summer Creek’s quarterback #2 Blake Thomas, whose long run and pass to wide receiver #10 Tre Brown landed them close to the endzone, Lloyd rushed in for his 2nd touchdown. The battle continued as Summer Creek’s defense upfront dominated, and defensive end #11 Kaleb Walker recovered a fumble, turning over possession. On offense, Lloyd’s long run placed Summer Creek in the red zone. Hightower’s defense held the offense at bay, forcing Summer Creek to kick a field goal to take the lead. Hightower, back on offense, faced a dominating Summer Creek defense again. Middle linebacker #6 Xavier Atkins got a big sack that put them in a crucial 3rd down, and Joseph threw a long pass to wide receiver #4 Zion Kearney for a 50-yard touchdown pass. This put Hightower in the lead, and the score at halftime was 21-17.
2nd Half
Summer Creek kicked off to Fort Bend Hightower to start the 3rd quarter. Summer Creek’s #20 William Hill caught an interception, turning over possession. Blake Thomas’s long pass and run put Summer Creek in a great position, and they kicked a 35-yard field goal to decrease the point gap. The rest of the 3rd quarter was a stalemate, with the score 21-20 going into the 4th quarter.
At the beginning of the 4th quarter, Hightower kicked a 41-yard field goal. Halfway through the 4th quarter, Summer Creek had possession, and Blake threw an interception to Hightower’s safety #21 Michael Amey, who returned it for a 50-yard pick-six touchdown. At this point in the game, Summer Creek was down by 11 with about 5 minutes left in regulation, but they kept fighting. In a minute, Summer Creek reached the red zone and threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end #8 Kordell Rodgers, and Lloyd Avant scored the 2-point conversion. Hightower struggled on offense, fumbling the ball and barely recovering it, resulting in a decisive 4th down. Hightower decided to fake a punt, but Summer Creek stopped them, turning over possession. Summer Creek’s offense went all out to take the lead before time ran out, and with 25 seconds left in regulation on the 1-yard line, Lloyd Avant scored his 3rd touchdown to overtake Hightower and win the game with a score of 35-31.
What’s Next?
The Summer Creek Bulldogs will proceed to the round 5 semifinals against the Cibolo Steele Knights on Saturday, December 9th. The Knights are coming off a 28-21 win over Dripping Springs.
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