After an extremely windy game one of Week 10 we headed to the Midlothian ISD Athletic Complex for game two. It was a much calmer night as the Midlothian Heritage Jaguars hosted the Stephenville Yellow Jackets. The Yellow Jackets would clinch the No. 1 seed in the 4A-I playoffs with a win over Midlothian Heritage.
Midlothian Heritage started the night off with the ball, and looked solid. They were unable to get any points on the board but quickly got the ball back from Stephenville. On the next drive junior quarterback Kaden Brown would strike first blood on a 80-yard touchdown run. With a little over five minutes left in the first quarter the score now was 7-0, Jaguars.
The Jaguars were not done with the ball after the touchdown, and kicked an onside kick which they recovered. After getting into scoring position Midlothian Heritage pulled out the tricks on Halloween weekend to take a 14-0 lead. Greg Johnson was handed the ball on a double reverse and bobbed and weaved his way into the end zone.
With a little over three minutes left in the half the Yellowjackets finally began to move down the field. Sophomore running back Tate Maruska capped off the scoring drive with a 16-yard run. This would bite into the Jaguars 14 point lead, and help Stephenville stop some bleeding.
Stephenville would get the ball to start the second half and cut into the lead by kicking a field goal. The Jaguars were able to put together a solid drive, get the ball down to the five-yard line, and fumble the ball away. Stephenville High School’s Ben Kirbo would take the fumble 96-yards for the scoop-and-score touchdown. Suddenly the Yellowjackets had their first lead of the night, and scored 17 unanswered points.
Heritage’s fumbling issues wouldn’t stop there however. One play later they would give up another fumble to Stephenville. The Yellow Jackets would make it 24 consecutive points after scoring in eight plays. Ryder Lambert would connect with Coy Eakin on a 13-yard touchdown. A few possessions later Kaden Brown would turn the ball over once again. After being chased he attempted to throw a pass while being hit but just fumbled the ball into Camden McKinney’s hands. This resulted in yet another defensive touchdown for Stephenville High School, and the score started getting ugly at 31-14.
The Jaguars would make a late attempt at a comeback but it wouldn’t come to fruition. The Yellow Jackets would respond with another touchdown of their own putting the game away. At the final buzzer the score read 38-27, Stephenville.
Despite the loss, quarterback Kaden Brown would finish with a pretty wild stat line. While he only passed for 75 yards and a touchdown he was able to rush 296 yards and another score on the ground too. Ryder Lambert finished the night throwing 101 yards on 86% passing, and two touchdowns. Coy Eakin and Reece Elston each came down with a touchdown of their own.
Our player of the game would actually be the entire defensive unit for Stephenville HIgh School. They were able to settle down the Jaguars, and completely shift the momentum of this game. Be sure to check out our first game of Week 10 with Carter High School beating Pinkston High School.
