Many Seasons End for Centex Teams After Round 4
 By SuperCentex.com Student Correspondents
 Drew Raymond and Ted Parrish of Vanguard High School
 December 8, 2009

ROUND 4 PLAYOFF SUMMARY - Reicher battled Bullard Brook-Hill in the TAPPS-3A state championship on Saturday. Reicher, seeking their third consecutive state championship, received their first true challenge of the postseason. The Cougars showed their offensive explosiveness on their very first possession. Quarterback Matt Hicks led his team down field and capped off a 10 play, 77 yard drive with a two yard touchdown run. Brook-Hill tied the game on their first play from scrimmage when receiver J.B. Moss looked a little bit like Randy Moss as he caught a 69 yard touchdown pass. The Brook-Hill defense had tremendous troubles containing the Cougar offense. Reicher scored with just over five minutes left in the half to extend their lead to 28-14. Brook-Hill had an answer however, marching down the field and scoring with under two minutes remaining before the break, 28-21. Brook-Hill came out firing in the second half, scoring on their first possession. Brook-Hill was powered by a outstanding performance from their signal-caller, Tyler Baker. Baker rushed for 158 yards and found the end zone three times, he also completed 11-18 passes for 136 yards and another touchdown. Reicher led 35-28 late in the fourth quarter, Brook-Hill was driving but faced a fourth and two. Nick Martinez, of Reicher, made the defensive play of the year and sacked Baker, clinching the third state title in a row.

Lorena ran into an undefeated Carthage team Saturday and came up one play short. Lorena running back Evan Ward took the field for the final time on Saturday, and put up his usual, excellent numbers. Ward sliced the Carthage defense for 122 yards on the ground, and caught three balls for 45 yards. Lorena struck first when Ward found the end zone from four yards out, giving the Leopards the 7-0 lead. Carthage responded when quarterback Anthony Morgan found Jalen Claiborne in the end zone to knot things up at 7 apiece. Morgan had an incredible day through the passing the ball. He completed 13-15 passes for 171 yards and four touchdowns. The teams exchanged touchdowns making the score 21-21. Then Morgan led his team downfield and tossed a perfect pass to Claiborne to give Carthage a 28-21 lead. Lorena had been in this position before, and came out victorious. This time it wasn’t meant to be. Lorena quarterback Sky Dolezel heaved up a desperation pass on fourth down that was intercepted. Lorena’s miracle run was ended but not many predicted the deep playoff run.

After a huge win last week, Mart was not able to bottle up the combination of the Cayuga running back and quarterback. Quarterback Malcome Kennedy and running back Traylon Shead combined for 344 yards on the ground and five of the six touchdowns scored by Cayuga. Mart was competitive for the much of the first half, but when their defense stumbled a bit, Cayuga didn’t miss a beat. Shead, who is going to the University of Texas next year, hurt Mart severely on the ground. This game was never really in doubt for Cayuga, who enjoyed a 21-7 halftime lead. Mart put together a comeback in the third quarter, but to no avail. Cayuga held on for the 42-28 victory, dashing Mart’s hopes of advancing in their playoff journey.

Undefeated McGregor engaged in battle with Callisburg in a cold and windy 2A playoff matchup. McGregor lost their all-state kicker Dirk Gerhardt in the pre-game and it turned out to be a factor. The Bulldogs trailed 14-7 when McGregor running back Julian Young squirted into the end zone from three yards out to trim the lead to 14-13. Because of Gerhardt’s injury, the Bulldogs were forced to go for two, and they were unsuccessful. Desperate for a defensive stand, the Bulldogs allowed Langston Jones to scamper 66 yards down to their own eight yard line. The Wildcats were able to punch it in to extend their lead to 21-13. Quarterback Keith Reineke led the Bulldog offense down the field, well into Callisburg territory. With 1:18 remaining, on fourth and goal to go, Reineke was sacked and Callisburg ran out the clock and also ran the McGregor playoff well dry.

AUSTIN AREA FEATURED GAMES:

Westlake jumped out to a 30-0 lead and then cruised to a 37-20 victory over San Antonio Clark in a Class 5A Division 1 state quarterfinal game. This win avenged a 24-21 quarterfinal loss to Clark December 6 of last year. Westlake scored 17 points in the first quarter and never looked back. In the second quarter Westlake scored all their points on turnovers. A fumble return 78 yards for a touchdown and an interception run back 39 yards for a touchdown on consecutive possessions. Greenbauer did what he could for the Cougars, scoring three touchdowns. The Cougars finished 13-1 on the season.

Lake Travis beat Alamo Heights 27-13 Friday night to advance to another state semifinal. The extended their winning streak to 44 games. The Cavalier defense really stepped up and made a difference, coming up with big plays in the fourth quarter. Three sacks and an interception return for a touchdown to seal the victory were expected from the very stout defense. Lake Travis led 14-10 at halftime even though they were getting pushed around by the Mules. Alamo heights finished 10-4 on the season.

Stony Point continued their run to the state championship by absolutely crushing Cypress Woods 55-12. They will play Euless Trinity in the 5A state semifinals next Saturday at Waco ISD stadium. Sam Kelley opened the second half with a 101 yard kickoff return and scored two other times, while Cy Woods only managed 142 yards of total offense. Stony Point never punted, scoring on eight of its nine possessions. Cy Woods scored the first touchdown of the game, but could not do much more then that. Cypress Woods finished the season 11-3.

Case McCoy threw for three touchdowns, leading Graham to a 48-7 victory over Wimberley. Graham was 3-7 last season, but now have a chance to play in the Class 3A, Division II championship game with a win next week. McCoy threw all three touchdowns in the first half, building the lead to 34-0 at halftime. Wimberley's lone touchdown came on the last play of the game, which helped the Texans avoid their second shutout loss of the season. Wimberley finished with a 9-5 record.

Blanco could not overcome five turnovers despite a strong performance from Layton Dworaczyk and fell to Refugio 22-14 in a Class 2A, Division II state quarterfinal. Refugio built a 15-0 halftime lead and put the game away with a touchdown with 1 minute left in the game. Dworacyzk rushed for 145 yards on 25 carries and had two touchdowns. 98 of his yards came in the fourth quarter.