35 unanswered second-half points gives Highlanders District 13-6A Title

Photo credit Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle Photographer

Shenandoah – During halftime, Coach Rapp let his team know what needed to be fixed. It’s running well.

The Woodlands, full of fire, returned from the locker room and scored on its first four second-half drives to build a 38-14 lead to put the game out of reach while grabbing the district 13-6A title.

College Park had no answer for the massive attack. The Woodlands (8-2, 5-0) outscored College Park 35-0 in the second half, and its defense fed off the momentum to power the Highlanders by College Park, 45-14 on Thursday night at Woodforest Stadium.

“We had a mission to come in and dominate our district, and I feel great about what these kids did over those five games,” The Highlanders coach Jim Rapp said.

With the victory, the Highlanders took possession of the 13-6A district title and set its sites on a Class 6A Division I bi-district playoff matchup against the Spring Lions on Friday at 7:00 P.M. The title marks the 20th of its kind.

While its offense rolled, the defense fed off the momentum. Sophomore quarterback Mabrey Mettauer, at the center of damage, led the offense on its third-quarter derailing by guiding a 76-yard scoring drive. Mettauer’s electric 18-yard touchdown run brought the home crowd to its feet when he bolted up the middle, hurdled a defender at the ten-yard line, shifted left, and ran into the end zone to give the Woodlands its first lead of the game, 17-14.

“I’ve been visualizing that hurdle all day,” Highlanders quarterback Mettauer explained. “I told my friend during the pep rally that I was going to hurdle someone.” At halftime, our quarterback coach talked to me about what type of plays might work against this defense.”

Mettauer’s dynamic evening concluded, completing 12-of-14 attempts for 234 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and he rushed nine times for 70 yards and a score. Tailback JoBarre Reed rushed for 96 yards on 16 carries and one touchdown. Receiver Ben Ferguson had five receptions for 87 yards. Tobin Miller had one catch for 82 yards and a touchdown. Jason Williams caught one ball for 38 yards and one score.

College Park (7-3, 3-2) expended its efforts to get its offense back on track when quarterback Ty Buckmon completed two big-play passes to sophomore receiver Conner Dunphy which gave it a first down at the Highlanders 27. Still, a couple of plays later, the Cavaliers faced fourth down and seven as Buckmon’s pass fell incomplete, forcing a turnover on downs.

Buckmon led the Cavaliers on 14-of-22 attempts with 109 yards, one touchdown, an interception, and added 37 ground yards on seven carries and one score. Dunphy had nine targets for 74 yards.

Next Thursday, the Cavaliers will meet Nimitz at Woodforest Stadium in the Class 6A Division II bi-district playoffs at 7:00 P.M.

Defensive linemen Steele Herndon, Reilly Payne, John Podowski, and Bradley Warren served as run stoppers and pressured College Park’s passing game.

College Park struggled to dig out of trouble, whether absorbing tackles behind the line of scrimmage, or coping with mental mistakes and penalties.

The Highlanders had ten stops for loss of yards or no gain, two turnovers on downs, and forced one turnover and two sacks.

The woodlands attacked, scoring before the third quarter ended and again as the fourth quarter opened. The Highlanders led, 31-14.

“Tonight, offensively, we scored on every possession except for three,” Rapp said. “Some positive things happened. Our defense played really well. I’m excited about where we are. We still have room to improve. We need to play better in the first half.”

Soon after, Highlanders’ linebacker Tommy Kratt picked off Buckman’s pass at the College Park 34 and returned it to the Cavaliers 18, which eventually padded its lead.

Mettauer dropped back in the pocket and fired a bullet over the middle to Miller, who walked into the end zone, swelling the score, 38-14.

The Cavaliers wasted several opportunities to put points on the scoreboard, including a missed field goal.

“We didn’t play well on offense or defense,” Cavaliers coach Lonnie Madison said. “The kids played well in the first half.”

The first quarter action watched the Cavaliers start with excellent field position at its 43-yard line. Buckmon’s 19-yard pass to tight end Cody Miadenka at the Highlanders 35-yard line sparked the offense. Then, Buckmon called his number, rushing to the 22. Four plays later, he threw a strike to receiver Holden Rook in the end zone. Sebastian Parra added the kick, and College Park led, 7-0 with 7:56 to go in the first quarter.

The Woodlands progressed a drive into the Cavaliers’ territory. Still, they suffered a turnover when defensive lineman Andrew Edmonson stripped-tackled Mettauer of the ball at the Highlanders 24, yet the Woodlands defense returned the favor by forcing a punt after six plays.

“In the first half, we didn’t play great,” said Rapp. “Defensively, we were okay. Offensively, we had four possessions. We turned it over twice, and we scored twice.”

This time, Mettauer orchestrated an 11-play, 88-yard drive that watched running back JoBarre Reed grind out a ten-yard scoring run, tying the score at 7-7 after Nick Sims’ kick.

On the next pair of frames, the Woodlands needed a sack from defensive lineman Reilly Payne to gain possession of the ball. But, the Highlanders fumbled the ball, losing possession when Reed took a stick at the Woodlands 19 yard line with 7:11 remaining in the second quarter.

Following, Buckmon dumped a pass to Dunphy in the flats, where he found running room to the eight-yard line. On the next play, Buckmon ran left, cut right, and sprinted to the end zone to help College Park build a 14-7 deficit after Parra’s kick.

The Highlanders storm back on the strength of Mettauer’s 41-yard pass to Ferguson, which set up a first down at College Park’s 22-yard line. After, Mettauer and Reed carried the ball, moving the line of scrimmage to the 14 where Sims drilled a 31-yard field goal, trimming the lead, 14-10 to complete the first-half scoring.

“We made some holes for our running backs, and they did the rest of it,” Highlanders offensive lineman Cross Tucker added. “We are here to help them out and whatever they do for us is great.”

College Park got the better of the Highlanders in the first half. However, the tale turned in the second half.

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