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Plowboys lose a heartbreaker
Plowboys have two passes intercepted in the end zone
Brownwood — Teams that win state championships make plays when
they have to, and that’s why Thorndale is the Class A state
champion for the second straight season.
The Bulldogs used a second-half fake punt and four interceptions of Roscoe quarterback Beau Barnes to take a 14-7 win over the Plowboys in front of 8,000 fans Saturday night at Gordon Wood Stadium.
Thorndale’s state title, its third since 1987, gives it a 16-0 mark this year and a 32-0 record over the last two seasons. The Bulldogs haven’t lost a Class A playoff game since 1987, going 21-0-2 over that span.
But that streak was in serious jeopardy in the second half Saturday as the underdog Plowboys had the game tied at 7-7.
However, on fourth-and-five from the Roscoe 33 early in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs pulled out a fake punt to keep their game-winning scoring drive alive. Upback Eric Hinistroza took the snap and swept left for six yards to keep the Roscoe offense off the field.
"That was a big play for us," Thorndale head coach Don Cowan said. "We’ve only punted about 25 times this year, and we’ve never faked it."
Eight plays later, quarterback Clint Leschber scored from the 1-yard line to give his team a 14-7 lead with 6:55 to play.
Roscoe never mounted a serious scoring threat in the final 6:55 of the game as its final three drives ended with a punt, on downs and an interception by Joel Simank with 34 seconds left that sealed the win.
The seven-point spread was the closest game of the season for Thorndale, which had not had a game decided by 20 or fewer points all year.
"That wasn’t just a little closer than we would have liked," Cowan said. "That was a lot closer than we would have liked. Roscoe has a great football team."
But the Plowboys couldn’t come up with the plays when they needed them.
Twice in the first half they were stopped when Barnes was picked off in the end zone.
The first was by Joel Simank and it came on a third-and-10 pass from the Thorndale 20-yard line. The next interception in the end zone came courtesy of Michael Calvin, whose interception stopped a Roscoe drive midway through the second quarter.
"We just didn’t take advantage of the opportunities we got, and that hurt," Roscoe head coach Robbie Tindol said.
But the Plowboys overcame those turnovers, thanks to a defense that stymied Thorndale’s all-state running back, Twone Simmons.
Simmons, who was voted the state’s Class A offensive MVP last week, was limited to just 65 yards after entering the game with 2,115 yards and an incredible 42 touchdowns.
But Thorndale did just as good a job on Roscoe running back Jason Alexander, who was held to 94 yards after rushing for 1,737 yards and 22 touchdowns in Roscoe’s previous 14 games.
However, it was Alexander who broke the scoreless deadlock when he scored on the fifth play of the second half. He took a handoff, swept right and broke three tackles en route to a 47-yard touchdown run.
"We came out in the second half and thought we could wear them down," Alexander said. "That’s what we had done all year, and we really thought it would work tonight."
But Thorndale came right back, scoring four plays later on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Leschber to Jason Simank. The extra point tied the score at 7-7 with 8:13 left in the third quarter.
Thorndale’s next two drives, though, ended in turnovers, the second on a Jim Watts interception at the 3-yard line. But Roscoe could do nothing with those gifts, and Thorndale’s next possession ended with Leschber’s 1-yard scoring run.
The first half was a turnover-filled defensive struggle that ended with a 0-0 tie.
Roscoe, though, dominated play on both sides of the ball. But the Plowboys couldn’t cash in on any of their opportunities.
After a Simmons fumble on the first play of the second quarter the Plowboys moved to the Thorndale 20-yard line before bogging down. On third-and-10, Barnes threw his first of three first-half interceptions when Joel Simank picked off a pass in the end zone.
But the Bulldogs could do nothing with the turnover, and they were forced to punt the ball back to Roscoe.
This time the Plowboys moved smartly down to a first-and-goal at the 8-yard line. Roscoe got a 47-yard pass to Alexander on third-and-six, and overcame a fourth-and-one from the 10-yard line to keep the drive alive.
But after two plays netted just two yards to the 6-yard line, Barnes was picked off in the end zone again, this time by Calvin.
But the Roscoe defense rose up again, stonewalling the Thorndale offense and forcing another punt. Leschber hurt his own cause when he made a bad pitch to Simmons and it resulted in a 22-yard loss.
However, on the second play after the punt, Barnes was intercepted again by Calvin, who returned the ball back to the Roscoe 33 with 1:02 left in the first half.
The Plowboys were able to hold until they were called for defensive pass interference in the end zone on fourth-and-15. With no time left on the clock Thorndale had a shot to score. But an illegal motion penalty pushed the Bulldogs back to the 7-yard line, and from there a Justin Simank field goal was wide left and the teams went to the half scoreless.
It was the first time all season that Thorndale had been held scoreless. But the Bulldogs came up with enough plays in the second half to win the state title.
"A lot of people didn’t think we could win this game," Alexander said. "But all week we felt good about our chances. We felt like we worked too hard not to win. But it just didn’t happen for us."
The Bulldogs used a second-half fake punt and four interceptions of Roscoe quarterback Beau Barnes to take a 14-7 win over the Plowboys in front of 8,000 fans Saturday night at Gordon Wood Stadium.
Thorndale’s state title, its third since 1987, gives it a 16-0 mark this year and a 32-0 record over the last two seasons. The Bulldogs haven’t lost a Class A playoff game since 1987, going 21-0-2 over that span.
But that streak was in serious jeopardy in the second half Saturday as the underdog Plowboys had the game tied at 7-7.
However, on fourth-and-five from the Roscoe 33 early in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs pulled out a fake punt to keep their game-winning scoring drive alive. Upback Eric Hinistroza took the snap and swept left for six yards to keep the Roscoe offense off the field.
"That was a big play for us," Thorndale head coach Don Cowan said. "We’ve only punted about 25 times this year, and we’ve never faked it."
Eight plays later, quarterback Clint Leschber scored from the 1-yard line to give his team a 14-7 lead with 6:55 to play.
Roscoe never mounted a serious scoring threat in the final 6:55 of the game as its final three drives ended with a punt, on downs and an interception by Joel Simank with 34 seconds left that sealed the win.
The seven-point spread was the closest game of the season for Thorndale, which had not had a game decided by 20 or fewer points all year.
"That wasn’t just a little closer than we would have liked," Cowan said. "That was a lot closer than we would have liked. Roscoe has a great football team."
But the Plowboys couldn’t come up with the plays when they needed them.
Twice in the first half they were stopped when Barnes was picked off in the end zone.
The first was by Joel Simank and it came on a third-and-10 pass from the Thorndale 20-yard line. The next interception in the end zone came courtesy of Michael Calvin, whose interception stopped a Roscoe drive midway through the second quarter.
"We just didn’t take advantage of the opportunities we got, and that hurt," Roscoe head coach Robbie Tindol said.
But the Plowboys overcame those turnovers, thanks to a defense that stymied Thorndale’s all-state running back, Twone Simmons.
Simmons, who was voted the state’s Class A offensive MVP last week, was limited to just 65 yards after entering the game with 2,115 yards and an incredible 42 touchdowns.
But Thorndale did just as good a job on Roscoe running back Jason Alexander, who was held to 94 yards after rushing for 1,737 yards and 22 touchdowns in Roscoe’s previous 14 games.
However, it was Alexander who broke the scoreless deadlock when he scored on the fifth play of the second half. He took a handoff, swept right and broke three tackles en route to a 47-yard touchdown run.
"We came out in the second half and thought we could wear them down," Alexander said. "That’s what we had done all year, and we really thought it would work tonight."
But Thorndale came right back, scoring four plays later on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Leschber to Jason Simank. The extra point tied the score at 7-7 with 8:13 left in the third quarter.
Thorndale’s next two drives, though, ended in turnovers, the second on a Jim Watts interception at the 3-yard line. But Roscoe could do nothing with those gifts, and Thorndale’s next possession ended with Leschber’s 1-yard scoring run.
The first half was a turnover-filled defensive struggle that ended with a 0-0 tie.
Roscoe, though, dominated play on both sides of the ball. But the Plowboys couldn’t cash in on any of their opportunities.
After a Simmons fumble on the first play of the second quarter the Plowboys moved to the Thorndale 20-yard line before bogging down. On third-and-10, Barnes threw his first of three first-half interceptions when Joel Simank picked off a pass in the end zone.
But the Bulldogs could do nothing with the turnover, and they were forced to punt the ball back to Roscoe.
This time the Plowboys moved smartly down to a first-and-goal at the 8-yard line. Roscoe got a 47-yard pass to Alexander on third-and-six, and overcame a fourth-and-one from the 10-yard line to keep the drive alive.
But after two plays netted just two yards to the 6-yard line, Barnes was picked off in the end zone again, this time by Calvin.
But the Roscoe defense rose up again, stonewalling the Thorndale offense and forcing another punt. Leschber hurt his own cause when he made a bad pitch to Simmons and it resulted in a 22-yard loss.
However, on the second play after the punt, Barnes was intercepted again by Calvin, who returned the ball back to the Roscoe 33 with 1:02 left in the first half.
The Plowboys were able to hold until they were called for defensive pass interference in the end zone on fourth-and-15. With no time left on the clock Thorndale had a shot to score. But an illegal motion penalty pushed the Bulldogs back to the 7-yard line, and from there a Justin Simank field goal was wide left and the teams went to the half scoreless.
It was the first time all season that Thorndale had been held scoreless. But the Bulldogs came up with enough plays in the second half to win the state title.
"A lot of people didn’t think we could win this game," Alexander said. "But all week we felt good about our chances. We felt like we worked too hard not to win. But it just didn’t happen for us."
More Local News
Roscoe 0 0 7 0 - 7
Thorndale 0 0 7 7 - 14
Third Quarter
Roscoe - Alexander 47 run. (Howard kick)
Thorndale - Jason Simank 36 pass from Leschber. (Justin Simank
kick)
Fourth Quarter
Thorndale - Leschber 1 run. (Justin Simank kick)
A - 8,000
Roscoe Thorndale
First downs 9 16
Rushes-yards 35-108 52-163
Passing 96 64
Comp-Att-Int 4-16-4 4-12-1
Punts 6-32 4-37
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 5-2
Penalties-Yards 4-51 3-12
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING- Roscoe: Alexander 25-94, Beau Barnes 5-(-14), Shawn Davis
1-2, Jacob Freeman 2-22, Andy Howard 2-4. Thorndale: Clint Leschber
23-70, Twone Simmons 18-65, Joel Simank 2-14, Michael Calvin 6-8, Eric
Hinistroza 1-8.
PASSING- Roscoe: Barnes 4-17-4, 96 yards. Thorndale: Leschber 4-12-1,
64 yards.
RECEIVING- Roscoe: Alexander 2-60, Brannon Barnes 1-16, Andy Howard
1-20. Thorndale: Jason Simank 1-36, Joel Simank 3-28.
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