It was a district heavyweight battle of titans, but, in the end, it was the Hamshire-Fannett Longhorns coming up victorious over the West Orange-Stark Mustangs.
The No. 9 state-ranked Hamshire-Fannett Longhorns defeated the No. 6 state-ranked West Orange-Stark Mustangs, 28-14, on rainy Friday night to become the champions of District 9-4A Division 2. The loss ends the Mustangs seven game win streak as well.
The teams traded possessions to begin the game, but it was the Longhorns finding the end zone first.
Taking advantage of excellent field position, the Longhorns began the drive at the Mustangs 42-yard line and quickly moved downfield. Facing fourth down and 9 from the WO-S 12-yard line, Longhorns quarterback Ty Bryson rolled to his right, kept the ball and dashed for the end zone to put Hamshire-Fannett on top, 7-0, with 56 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
WO-S quarterback Marcus Turner Jr. was intercepted on the next series by Longhorns defender Maliki Adams, but Adams was stripped of the ball and the Mustangs recovered at their own 13-yard line to restart the series. The Mustangs would eventually be forced to punt and have the kick deflected by Hamshire-Fannett’s Giovanni Yanez.
The Longhorns began the drive at the WO-S 38-yard line and only needed two plays to extend the lead to 14-0 as running back Isaiah Reed ripped off a dazzling 28-yard touchdown run with 10:13 left in the second quarter.
The Mustangs would respond on the next possession as Turner took charge of the offense. Starting at the WO-S 25-yard line, he peeled off an 11-yard run on the first play. He next completed a 16-yard pass to Ja’mikael Davis to the Longhorns 48-yard line. A few plays later, facing fourth and 2 from the 40-yard line, Turner faked the handoff and ran to his right and then zipped down the sideline for the Mustangs touchdown to cut the Longhorns lead, 14-7, just before halftime.
The second-half began in a downpour as rain moved in and became increasingly more frequent throughout the game. Each time had trouble holding onto the ball in the third quarter with several fumbles and turnovers by each team.
Early in the fourth quarter, Hamshire-Fannett struck as Bryson connected on a 17-yard pass to receiver Jonathan Pfundheller for the touchdown. The Longhorns now led, 21-7.
As champions always do, the Mustangs answered with a long drive and touchdown on the next possession. WO-S marched the ball 79-yards in nine plays as Turner again converted a fourth down into a touchdown, this time a 5-yard pass to Amyrian Scott to trim the H-F lead to 21-14.
The Mustangs had momentum on their side, but the Longhorns were not going to be denied. Bryson led the Longhorns on a methodical eight play drive that consumed over four minutes off the clock. On third and 9 from the Mustangs 27-yard line, Bryson handed the ball to Pierce Pirtle who blasted through the right side of the line, bounced off two tacklers and rumbled to the end zone for the touchdown and the win.
The final Mustangs possession ended in a turnover on downs deep in Hamshire-Fannett territory and the Longhorns ran out the clock for the win.
West Orange-Stark (8-2, 4-1) will represent District 9-4A Division 2 as the No. 2 seed and will play, Sweeny, the No. 3 seed from District 10-4A. The time, date and location of the game are still to be determined. Hamshire-Fannett (9-1, 5-0) is the No. 1 seed and will play No. 4 seed, which is La Marque.
-Tommy Mann, KOGT-
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