The Galveston County Daily News

Ball High Tornadoes

• OUTCOME — Ball (5-5, 4-3) got thumped by Brazoswood on the road, 36-6. However, the Tors still advanced to the playoffs due to Clear Creek falling to Clear Lake.

• WHAT WENT RIGHT — The Creek-Lake game was about the only thing that went right for the Tors. That’s OK — it’s all they needed to make the playoffs.

• WHAT WENT WRONG — Pretty much the rest of the evening against Brazoswood. Ball didn’t even get into the end zone until 11 seconds remained in the game. The defense tired out in the second half, as the Bucs turned it into a laugher.

• STARS — Rodney Artmore scored Ball’s only touchdown on a 1-yard run. Les Block added a team-high 36 yards rushing.

• SIDELINES — This is Ball’s first playoff berth since 2006.

• WHAT’S NEXT — Ball takes on defending state semifinalist Fort Bend Hightower in a 5A, Division I bidistrict contest at 2 p.m. Saturday at Alvin Memorial Stadium.

— From staff reports

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Clear Creek Wildcats

• OUTCOME — Creek (4-6, 3-4) dropped its fourth straight contest, losing, 28-20, to Clear Lake. The loss eliminated Creek from the postseason race.

• WHAT WENT RIGHT — Missing star receiver C.J. McElroy, the Wildcats didn’t have a bad offensive performance. They had 319 total yards and 18 first downs. Marcus Mata led the way with 136 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

• WHAT WENT WRONG — The Creek defense proved once again to be the team’s Achilles’ heel. The Wildcats allowed Lake to pile up 421 total yards, 419 of those on the ground.

• STARS — Quarterback Jarryd Garza threw for 128 yards to finish with a school record of 2,227 yards for the season. He also rushed for 28 yards and a score. Tevin Jones was the leading receiver with 88 yards.

• SIDELINES — The Wildcats missed the postseason for the first time since 2004.

— From staff reports

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Clear Springs Chargers

• OUTCOME — Springs (8-2, 6-1) rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat Dickinson, 33-21, and clinch the 24-5A title outright.

• PLAY OF THE GAME — Trailing by two points, the Chargers elected to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard midway through the fourth quarter. Trevon Randle punched it in for the go-ahead touchdown. It capped off a 17-play, 96-yard drive for Springs.

• WHAT WENT RIGHT — Springs looked sharp in the fourth quarter. It had two big touchdown drives and forced Dickinson into two turnovers in the quarter to come away with the win.

• WHAT WENT WRONG — The offense was a bit out of sync early in the contest. The Chargers also had problems on special teams, allowing three kick attempts to be blocked.

• STARS — Randle stole the show for the Chargers. He had six tackles, two rushing touchdowns and a blocked punt. Sam Richardson added an interception for the Springs defense. Quarterback Phillip Miller threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns, with strikes to Dmitri Donald and Deche Milburn.

• SIDELINES — The Chargers became the first varsity program in school history to win an outright district championship.

• WHAT’S NEXT — Springs will take on Fort Bend Elkins in a 5A, Division II bidistrict contest at 6 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

— Joshua Buckley

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Dickinson Gators

• OUTCOME — Dickinson (6-4, 4-3) fell in the season finale at home to Springs, 33-21. But the Gators are still playoff-bound after Ball High lost Friday.

• WHAT WENT RIGHT — The Gators played really inspired in the third quarter. They turned a 13-7 deficit into a 21-14 lead thanks to rushing touchdowns by Clay Honeycutt and Corey Thomas.

• WHAT WENT WRONG — Not much went right in the fourth quarter. Dickinson allowed two touchdown drives and fumbled on both ensuing kickoffs. That gave them little chance at a late comeback.

• STARS — Honeycutt finished the night with 96 yards rushing and 126 passing. Thomas had 83 yards on the ground, and Jermaine Jenkins had 50 yards receiving.

• SIDELINES — Having played Thursday night, the Gators traveled to Brazoswood to watch Ball High take on the Bucs. Ball fell to Brazoswood, clinching the playoff berth for Dickinson.

• WHAT’S NEXT — Dickinson will take on Willowridge in a 5A, Division II bidistrict contest at 2 p.m. Saturday at The Rig in Pearland.

— Joshua Buckley

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Friendswood Mustangs

• OUTCOME — Even though they had already clinched a playoff spot, Friendswood (7-3, 5-2) edged out La Marque, 27-26.

• PLAY OF THE GAME — On fourth-and-1 on the goal line, trailing by six, quarterback Peter Maetzold dove in for the tying score with 2 minutes, 57 sections left in the game. Zach Hardy — who missed his previous extra point — nailed the extra point for the win. Jonathon Johnson, playing defense for the first time all night, then picked off an Emanuell Williams pass to wrap up the game.

• WHAT WENT RIGHT — The Friendswood passing offense fired on all cylinders. Maetzold threw for 256 yards and completed 76 percent of his passes. Three different receivers caught touchdown passes. On the Mustangs’ game-winning drive, they marched 69 yards on 11 plays. Maetzold threw to four different receivers.

• WHAT WENT WRONG — The Mustangs struggled to run the ball, especially without Andrew Cole in the second half. They ran for just five yards in the final two quarters. La Marque also was able to get pressure on the quarterback with five sacks. The defense also struggled against the run as La Marque amassed 196 yards on the ground.

• STARS — Maetzold was the star of the night, going 16-of-21 for 256 yards and accounting for all four touchdowns. He completed his final five passes and 12 of his last 13. He hit several receivers right on the button, including Matt Kennemer on a 49-yard fly route with four seconds to go in the first half. That changed the momentum of the game. Sam Giamfortone blocked La Marque’s extra point to limit the Cougars lead to six and create a game-winning situation. Keith Canada caught six passes for 115 yards.

• SIDELINES — Coach Steve Van Meter was unsure of star running back Cole’s status. Van Meter played it safe, and sat Cole out the second half after the running back ran for 65 yards on 13 carries. Cole missed two games earlier this season with a shoulder injury, but this injury appeared to be the back.

• WHAT’S NEXT — The Mustangs will host a playoff game against Lamar Consolidated at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Van Meter wanted to flip for the contest, saying “We couldn’t find a great neutral site, so I took my chances with a coin flip. I had a 50-50 shot.”

— Evan Mohl

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La Marque Cougars

• OUTCOME — La Marque (4-6, 2-5) missed out on its second straight postseason after 18 consecutive years with a playoff appearance, as they narrowly fell to Friendswood, 27-26.

• PLAY OF THE GAME — Leading 26-20 with just under five minutes to go, La Marque had the ball at the Mustang 10 with a fourth-and-10. Because of the struggling kicking game, coach Darrell Jordan elected to go for it instead of making the contest a two-score game. Emanuell Williams’ backward pass got picked up by Friendswood who took over at its own 31. The play led to the game-winning drive.

• WHAT WENT RIGHT — The Coogs rushed for 196 yards against Friendswood on just 33 carries. The defense also played well, getting stops against a powerful Mustangs offense. The unit got five sacks and allowed just one touchdown in the second half. The defense permitted five yards on the ground in the second half.

• WHAT WENT WRONG — The kicking game missed two vital extra points that would have changed the game completely. The defense surrendered the big play, including a 49-yard touchdown pass with four seconds to go in the first half. The La Marque secondary got torched, letting receivers get away for 256 yards on just 16 completions.

• STARS — Tim Wright scored twice and ran for 68 yards on 16 carries. L’Reco Williams added 81 yards and a score on just six carries. Michael Gilmore had nearly 100 yards on punt returns. Gilmore and Jamal Owens each caught four passes for 66 yards. Emanuell Williams threw for 161 yards on 13-of-25 passes.

• SIDELINES — After running for 165 yards in the first half, La Marque ran nine times in the second half for 31 yards.

— Evan Mohl

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Santa Fe Indians

• OUTCOME — Santa Fe (6-4, 3-4) lost its fourth straight contest with a 28-14 defeat at the hands of the Dawson Eagles. However, the Indians won a three-way coin flip tiebreaker to qualify for the playoffs.

• PLAY OF THE GAME — The big play for the Indians actually came in the weight room following the game when Santa Fe head coach Jay Buckner flipped tails to win the tiebreaker against Texas City and Manvel for the final playoff spot from 24-4A.

• WHAT WENT RIGHT — The coin flip. Buckner received the 2009 quarter from Santa Fe volleyball coach Anna Marie Milligan. It turned out to be good luck indeed.

• WHAT WENT WRONG — Santa Fe actually started out strong in the contest against Dawson, taking a 14-7 lead behind the running of Joseph Walton. However, Walton got hurt in the third quarter and the Indian offense couldn’t find the end zone again.

• STARS — Walton finished the night with 190 yards and a score. Garet Davidson scored Santa Fe’s other touchdown on a 1-yard run.

• SIDELINES — The Indians are heading to the postseason for just the third time in school history. The previous other postseason berths were in 2002 and 2005.

• WHAT’S NEXT — Santa Fe will take on El Campo in a 4A, Division II bidistrict contest at West Columbia on Friday.

— Joshua Buckley

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Texas City Stingarees

• OUTCOME — The Stings (4-6, 3-4) forced a three-way tie for the fourth and final playoff spot in 24-4A with a 23-6 win over Brazosport. Texas City, however, lost the three-way coin flip to miss the postseason.

• PLAY OF THE GAME — Justin Branch broke off a 67-yard run to put the Stings on top for good in the second half by two scores.

• WHAT WENT RIGHT — The Stings defense played lights out, allowing less than 200 total yards and just six points while forcing two turnovers. Branch broke off two long runs for scores for touchdowns opening up a second half explosion.

• WHAT WENT WRONG — Texas City managed just 10 yards of total offense in the first half. Brazosport also confused the Stings somewhat in the second half with an empty set formation that the defense struggled to adjust to, allowing more than 100 pass yards.

• STARS — Branch scored twice while nearly getting 200 yards rushing. Da’Lynn Rice added a 47-yard touchdown reception and a fumble recovery in the end zone. Kaleb Apffel forced a fumble at the goal line to prevent another Brazosport score. Defensive lineman Melvin Evans, Drew Carreon and Rodrick Sparks played excellent on the D-line in their final varsity games.

• SIDELINES — Hayden McNeill, who got injured in the first district game, got to play a few snaps. The senior likely will play at the next level, according to coach Tim Finn.

— Evan Mohl

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Hitchcock Bulldogs

• OUTCOME — Hitchcock (4-4, 4-1) won a wild shootout over Boling, 70-50.

• WHAT WENT RIGHT — Pretty much everything offensively went right for the Bulldogs. Morris Tuck completed 11-of-12 pass attempts. They also ran for 422 total yards and passed for 190.

• WHAT WENT WRONG — Defensively, the Bulldogs had a rough night. But it didn’t matter with their offense proving to be unstoppable.

• STARS — Devonte Provost had the game of his life, scoring five touchdown on the night. He had three rushing, one receiving and one kickoff return for a score. He also had 204 yards rushing and 42 receiving. Darius Dotson rushed for 145 yards, caught 32 yards and scored three times. Tuck threw for 190 yards and two scores.

• WHAT’S NEXT — Hitchcock will take on Taft in a 2A, Division I bidistrict contest at 6 p.m. Saturday at El Campo.

— Joshua Buckley

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O’Connell Buccaneers

• OUTCOME — O’Connell (5-4, 3-1) scored in the final minute to defeat The Woodlands Christian, 21-14. The win clinched O’Connell’s first home playoff game since 2001.

• PLAY OF THE GAME — With 53 seconds remaining, James Jones scored on a 3-yard run for O’Connell. That touchdown capped off a 96-yard, eight-minute drive.

• WHAT WENT RIGHT — The Bucs had more than 400 yards rushing on the night. They also had strong night on defense, as Ryan Ross and Christian Grimoldo had interceptions and James Mayville and Jones had fumble recoveries.

• STARS — Jones finished the night with 170 yards rushing and had a 70-yard fumble return for a touchdown. Corey Lee rushed for 115 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown. Drew Rios also had a 38-yard score.

• WHAT’S NEXT — O’Connell hosts its home playoff game at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

— Joshua Buckley

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Bay Area Christian

• OUTCOME — The Broncos (5-5, 4-1) rolled past Brazosport Christian, 24-7, to become co-district champs with Cypress Christian.

• PLAY OF THE GAME — Codie Henriques rumbled 44 yards for a score with 5:18 left in the third quarter to put the game away and give Bay Area a 24-0 lead.

• WHAT WENT RIGHT — The Broncos rushed for 303 yards offensively and only permitted 198 total yards on defense. The unit also forced three turnovers — two interceptions and a fumble.

• WHAT WENT WRONG — Bay Area could have put the game away earlier, but two interceptions late in the first half stalled the offense.

• STARS — Henriques rushed for more than 200 yards again, this time just needing 12 carries to get 210 yards. Kody Howard caught a touchdown pass from Jared Fuqua. Josh Hudson and Jake Ricketts both had interceptions. Zach Moran, who recovered a fumble, Alex Beem and Justin McLain played well up front.

• SIDELINES — Bay Area will get the second seed out of District 4-III. Cypress Christian earned the first seed on point differential. The two teams split the season series, but Cypress beat Bay Area by more points, so Cypress took the title on point differential.

• WHAT’S NEXT — The Broncos host Bryan St. Joseph at 7 p.m. Friday.

— Evan Mohl