The Mustangs football season came to an end on Friday night as the No. 10 state-ranked Waco La Vega Pirates defeated No. 9 state-ranked West Orange-Stark, 42-20, at Bulldogs Stadium in Magnolia in the Class 4A Division 2 playoffs.
The first-half of the game was a defensive battle as neither team was able to get much traction.
The Mustangs had the first real opportunity to put some points on the board midway through the first quarter as a 12 play drive that consumed almost seven minutes of game clock ended with a Marcus Turner Jr. pass being intercepted at the 2-yard line by La Vega defensive back Amir Gibson intercepted the throw to thwart the drive.
The Pirates best drive of the half came in the second-quarter and began at its own 15-yard line and chewed up 5 minutes of game clock in 13 plays. The key play of the drive was a 23-yard run by Jabarie Thornton to give La Vega a first down in WO-S territory at the 41-yard line. The drive was capped off by quarterback Kourtney Parr on a 1-yard run up the middle for a 7-0 Pirates halftime lead.
Defense was the name of the game in the first-half, but it was all fireworks by La Vega in the second-half, which started with the third quarter opening kickoff that was returned 78-yards for a touchdown by Thornton to give La Vega a 14-0 lead.
The Mustangs answered on the next possession and answered quickly as WO-S needed just four plays and 92 seconds to march the ball 73-yards to reach the end zone as Raymond Mallet Jr. took the hand-off around the left end and up the sideline for a 26-yard touchdown run to cut the La Vega lead, 14-7.
West Orange-Stark had the momentum and the fans on their feet, but the Pirates were ready to respond. The Mustangs defense sacked Parr for a short loss, but facing third down and 9 at the WO-S 49-yard line, Parr hit running back Bryson Roland on a screen pass up the middle for 29-yards and a first down at the 20-yard line. Two plays later Roland dashed into the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 21-7 for the Pirates.
The Mustangs looked ready to pull within a score on the next series. With it four down and 10 yards to go at the Pirates 43-yard line, Turner heaved a deep pass down the right sideline. Although the Mustangs receiver and Pirates defensive back appeared to have some contact, the officials did not throw a penalty flag and the incomplete pass resulted in a turnover on downs.
La Vega took over possession at the 43-yard line and only needed four plays to add to its lead. This time running back Elbert Jones ripped off a 23-yard jaunt up the middle to give the Pirates a 28-7 advantage at the end of the third quarter.
West Orange-Stark began the next drive at its own 32-yard line and nearly lost possession of the ball when Turner was being sacked and fumbled. However, the Mustangs recovered the ball and retained possession. Five plays later running back Khelvy Jefferson scored on an 8-yard run around the right end to cut the score to 28-13 with 9:48 remaining in the game following the failed extra point attempt.
Once again the Mustangs had generated some momentum and looked poised for a comeback, but, once again, it was La Vega’s Jabarie Thornton returning the WO-S kickoff back 76-yards for another Pirates touchdown to make the score, 35-13, La Vega just 12 seconds later.
La Vega cemented the game when it recovered a fumble after three Pirates defenders sandwiched Mustangs receiver Ja’mikael Davis after a 15-yard catch and run. Four plays later Jones punched the ball in for a 4-yard touchdown run and a 42-13 Waco La Vega lead with 4:22 remaining in the game.
The Mustangs would add one more touchdown, this time an 8-yard scoring pass from Turner to Miketavion Davis for the final score.
The Mustangs generated 311 yards of total offense for the game,
Turner passed for 136 yards as he completed 10 of 21 attempts with one touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 75 yards on 13 carries against the Bulldogs. Jefferson carried the ball nine times for 64 yards and one touchdown.
Mustangs receiver Jamarr O’Neal caught three passes for 54 yards, while Davis had three receptions for 49 yards.
The WO-S defense held Waco La Vega to 278 total yards of offense on the night and sacked Parr once but did not come up with any turnovers.
The Mustangs finish the season with a record of 9-3 and as the second place team from District 9-4A D2. Waco La Vega advances to the third round of the playoffs and will face Silsbee.
-Tommy Mann, KOGT-
LA VEGA 0 7 21 14 42
WO-S 0 0 7 13 20
Other playoff scores
Silsbee 41 Bellville 17
Sealy 21 HFannett 17
LaPorte 55 Barbers Hill 28
PNG 42 Kaufman 21
Memorial 29 Angleton 36
Newton 84 Edgewood 42
Woodville 48 Grand Saline 21
Bremond 34 Lovelady 14
Diboll 14 Franklin 31
Carthage 56 Krum 13
Chapel Hill 49 Worthing 24
Sunnyvale 27 Gilmer 17
Pleasant Grove 63 Farmerville 7
Wimberley 62 Rockport-Fulton 21
Kilgore 48 Needville 14
Navasota 56 Lindale 45
Stafford 14 Pine Tree 13
Cuero 56 Navarro 21
Yoakum 56 Fairfield 26
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