FRISCO – Defense was the name of the game on Thursday in Frisco.
Tied at 31-31, Malakoff forced a turnover with under two minutes left and then scored the go-ahead touchdown with 19 seconds on the clock as the Tigers got past Brock in a Class 3A Division 1 state semifinal at the Ford Center.
Malakoff (15-0) advances to the state championship for the second time in program history – first since 2018 – where the Tigers will face defending champ Franklin (14-1) at 3 pm next Thursday 12/14 at AT&T Stadium.
Brock (11-4), in its 10th season in program history, played in the semifinal round for the sixth time after beating Paradise in the 3A Region 1 final last week. The Eagles had been state runner-up each of the past two seasons to Franklin and Lorena.
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PLAY OF THE GAME
Facing a second down, Brock QB Brody Woods was pressured by Doc Renberg. The latter jarred the ball and brought Woods down. The ball came loose and never hit the ground – eventually falling into the hands of Malakoff defensive tackle Daniel Norrell.
Norrell returned it for a good gain – to the Brock 16.
Then the Tigers were able to kill some clock before QB Mike Jones scored from the 1 to give Malakoff a 38-31 lead with 19 seconds left.
Brock had the ball at its own 28 with 13 seconds.
Woods hit Brett Tutter, who got to the Malakoff 45 with five seconds.
The final play was an incomplete pass as time expired.
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DEFENSE SHINES FIRST
Caiden Riddle made a 34-yard field goal on Brock’s opening drive and the Eagles led 3-0 with 7:31 left in the first quarter.
Then the Brock D scored the first touchdown.
Just two plays after Riddle’s field goal, a pass attempt from Jones was intercepted by Brock sophomore Colt Matlock, who returned it 42 yards for six. After the extra point, the Eagles led 10-0 with the 6:51 mark.
But on the next Brock possession, Parker Poteete stripped the ball and returned it 66 yards to pull Malakoff within 10-7 at the 2:15 mark of the opening quarter.
The Eagles scored on one-play early in the second quarter.
Tutter took a hand off from Woods and rushed in a 66-yard touchdown to give Brock a 17-7 lead with 10:07 on the clock. But Malakoff answered on the ensuing drive when Jones ran in a touchdown from 52 yards out to make it 17-14 with 8:08 left.
Brock took that lead into intermission.
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SECOND HALF BATTLE
Still trailing 17-14 in the third quarter, Malakoff forced a Brock punt from the 7. It was blocked and the ball fell in the hands of Michael Elliott – who got it to the Brock 9.
Brock’s D still managed to hold the Tigers to a 29-yard field goal from Landen Boswell and the game was tied up at 17 with 4:38 left in the third. Then Malakoff scored again and took the lead on the ensuing kickoff.
James Studley stripped the ball and returned it 35 yards for six and the Tigers led 24-17.
The Eagles took the next drive downfield and scored on a Tutter 4-yard TD run to tie the game at 24-24 with 2:08 left in the period.
Malakoff answered back with a 57-yard TD pass from Jones to Renberg to give the Tigers a 31-24 lead one minute later. Brock tied it early in the fourth on a 12-yard TD run from Woods with 10:07 left in the game before both offenses stalled until the final minutes.
