They meet again with identical characters but last year’s West Orange-Stark vs. Hamshire-Fannett epic will become most difficult to reproduce.
A highly anticipated district championship game developed into a memorable, nail-biting plot on the night of Nov. 7, 2025 at West Orange. It proved so special that Friday night’s 7 p.m. Longhorn Stadium rematch will have a hard act to follow.
“It really was a classic,” H-F coach Mark Waggoner reflected on a back-and-forth 22-20 slugfest decided by WO-S kick Brian Hernandez’s 19-yard field goal with 44 seconds to play.
Neither side lost on this occasion. One team merely scored two more points than the other team. An Austin-based officiating crew presided over a very well-played, high-caliber battle.
Waggoner and Mustangs counterpart Hiawatha Hickman experienced all the in-game stress decisions which confront NFL coaches each week — to kick the field goal or go for the touchdown, to let the clock run or call time-out, to throw the bomb or play it safe.
“I was looking at that game on video this morning,” Hickman remarked during a Tuesday afternoon interview. “It was just one great game.
“We’ve had seven-point games with them for the last four years. And you know what, it always comes down to whoever makes the plays at the end.”
This year’s rematch features the Golden Triangle’s premier runner and defender, WO-S seniors Khelvy Jefferson and Anterrion Fontenot against the area’s most dependable passing combo, H-F juniors Blake Broussard and Dwayne Long.
Jefferson carried 24 times for 196 yards and two touchdowns, but his Mustangs trailed early, late and often in this suspense-filled night. A tenacious Longhorns linebacker Pierce Pirtle played with the same zeal and gusto as Jefferson, collecting double-digit tackle after tackle.
Hamshire-Fannett saw its 10-0 first-quarter lead turn into a 13-10 halftime deficit after Kwalin Dugas and Fontenot struck oil on a 32-yard scoring pass. Fontenot basically won a jump ball in the end zone to snag the reception from a H-F defender.
Broussard and Long teamed on a score to retake the lead. The sophomore quarterback was 16 of 27 for 174 yards and a touchdown. His receiver caught five balls for 72 yards and a score. But offensive line injuries in H-F’s offense forced Waggoner to make tough decisions as the outcome stayed in doubt.
Trailing 19-17 with seven minutes left, H-F opted for a go-ahead field goal when it could have tried to score a touchdown.
“We had 4th and 1 at the 2 but we had a lot of line injuries and I wasn’t confident in getting that yard,” Waggoner recalled. “So I said, ‘let’s just take the lead’ and I was pleased with my decision (to kick the field goal) at the time.”
Waggoner’s kicker, Jesus Sandoval converted a 25-yarder, lifting H-F ahead 20-19 with 6:15 to play. Jefferson and WO-S countered with a tension-packed drive that forced Hickman to make the same decision on 4th and 1 at the Longhorns’ 1. The home team knocked on the goal-line door because Jefferson delivered a spin here and a juke there, even taking a direct snap on one play.
When a touch of calm returned to Dan R. Hooks Stadium, one Mustangs’ leader could only look up to the heavens.
“I have to thank God and give him the glory for this one,” Fontenot exclaimed.
It unfolded like championship football NFL-style between two title-worthy Southeast Texas football squads with top-flight players and coaches. What’s different in 2026? The next chapter awaits.
-Tom Halliburton, KOGT-
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