Welcome to the Sweet 16.
The Bridge City Cardinals traveled to Baytown on Friday night and returned home triumphant with a 35-27 win over the Navasota Rattlers in the Area round of the Class 4A Division 1 playoffs.
Navasota received the ball to start the game but were soon forced to punt. The Cardinals took possession at their own 38-yard line and needed just four minutes and eight plays to find the end zone on a 6-yard touchdown run by Abraham Munguia off a direct snap for a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
Bridge City defensive back Joel Williams intercepted Navasota quarterback Jace Jablonski on the next series, but the Cardinals were unable to capitalize.
Navasota then had its best drive of the first quarter and marched the ball downfield but were forced to attempt a field goal. The kick was blocked at the line of scrimmage and caught in the end zone by Bridge City defender Ethan Hernandez, who raced the ball downfield to the Rattlers 23-yard line.
Munguia ran for 13-yards to the 10-yard line on the next play, and then Bridge City quarterback Hudson Hoffman rolled right and raced to the end for the touchdown to give the Cardinals a 14-0 lead with 9:59 left in the second quarter.
The Rattlers answered quickly and showcased their big play ability as Jablonski connected with receiver Jayden Spriggs who was behind the Cardinals secondary for a 64-yard touchdown to put Navasota back in the game trailing 14-7.
Navasota forced Bridge City to punt on its next possession and needed less than two minutes to even the score at 14-14 as Jablonski threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Spriggs with 5:57 left in the second quarter.
The Cardinals offense responded on the next series, which began at the Bridge City 39-yard line. Running back Ashton Sumrall set the tone as he ran the ball on seven consecutive plays. Facing second down and 11 at the Rattlers 24-yard line, Munguia rolled off a 24-yard touchdown run to put the Cardinals back on top, 21-14, following the extra point.
The Rattlers turned the ball over on downs on its next possession after being unable to convert a fourth down and 1 at its own 48-yard line. Bridge City quickly utilized its two-minute offense to move down to the 24-yard line.
With the clock running out, Hoffman dropped back and dodged defenders as he threw a dart to receiver Evan Jackson on a post route over the middle. As the clock expired, Jackson reached the end zone as he was being tackled and scored a 24-yard touchdown. The Cardinals went ahead 28-14 at the break.
It looked as if Bridge City might run away with the game in the second-half, as the Cardinals scored on its first possession of the quarter as the marched the ball 78-yards down the field in eight plays. Again, Munguia took a direct snap and rumbled 9-yards for the score to give the Cardinals a 35-14 lead.
Navasota decided to make it a game in the fourth quarter as Jablonski capped off a 10-play, 78-yard drive in just under three minutes with a 30-yard pass to Caysien Douglas to cut the Cards lead to 35-21.
Following an interception of Hoffman on the next Bridge City possession, Navasota again marched the ball down field with a 12-play, 60-yard drive. This time Jablonski missed his intended target, but the ball ricocheted into the air and was caught by a diving Douglas for the Rattlers touchdown. The extra point was blocked leaving the Cardinals ahead, 35-27.
The Cardinals recovered the onside kick attempt at the Navasota 40-yard line with 6:11 left in the game. Bridge City then ran the wildcat formation 10 consecutive plays to eat the clock and move the ball before a turnover on downs finally gave the ball back to Navasota with just 8-seconds remaining in the game. An incompletion and a sack-fumble ended the game.
Bridge City had 362 yards of offense for the game. Hoffman completed 11 of 18 passes with one touchdown and one interception for 129 yards. Sumrall carried the ball 24 times for 97 yards. Munguia had four catches for 47 yards and Luke Nelson had three receptions for 43 yards.
The defense had one interception and one sack as Navasota gained 375 yards of offense for the game. Jablonski passed for 263 yards with 18 completions in 31 attempts with four touchdowns and an interception.
Bridge City (11-1) will now face the No. 3 state-ranked Kilgore Bulldogs (11-1) in the Regional Semi-finals on Friday at 2pm at Randall Reed Stadium in New Caney. Kilgore defeated Stafford 42-0 on Friday night in the Area round.
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