BY NOLAN RUTH
X – @RealNolanRuth
NORTH RICHLAND HILLS— With just two weeks remaining in the football regular season, the Haltom Buffalos were in control of their own destiny when they took the field against the South Grand Prairie Warriors on Thursday night. A loss would have made it very difficult to clinch a postseason berth for the first time since 2020.
It came down to the final minutes, but Haltom was able to hold on for a 23-21 victory behind a strong defensive performance and a stellar game from running back Keenan Jackson.
“I’m super proud of those guys,” head coach Jason Tucker said after the game. “Last week we gave up a lot of points. To see those guys come out and get a huge stop when we really needed it and after SGP got a stop themselves, was really good for us and our confidence.”
Both teams got off to an inauspicious start. The Warriors had a quick three-and-out before the Buffalos lost possession on a fumble. The next drive saw the lone score of the first quarter when South Grand Prairie’s Josiah Lucas bounced outside and scored from six yards out to make it 7-0.
Haltom responded on the opening drive of the second quarter when Jackson scored his first of three touchdowns from 13 yards out to tie the game. After the Buffalo defense forced another three-and-out, Jackson repeated his success with a 14-yard scoring run while carrying three defenders on his back.
Jackson finished the night with 164 yards rushing on 29 carries and three touchdowns. Coach Tucker commented on the impact Jackson has on the team.
“We know that even if something is not there, he’s going to get some yards. Even if they defend well and our line is able to get him some yards, he’s going to get some more. We really like our running attack right now, because if one of them is not doing well we can usually get the other guy going. It was Keenan tonight.”
This time the Warriors were up to the task and went 70 yards in just over 40 seconds to tie the game at 14 on a touchdown pass from Daylon Brooks Cash Clark from 40 yards out.
Haltom was up to the task though. The offense quickly marched down the field thanks to a big play on a pass from Gage Seely to Matthew Turner. They were unable to find the end zone, but Saul Segovia came on and kicked a 31-yard field goal to take a 17-14 lead as time expired in the first half.
The Buffalos got the ball to start the second half and went on a long drive that took plenty of time off of the clock, but unfortunately ended with a missed field goal. South Grand Prairie was not able to capitalize, and the third quarter ended with no change in score.
Haltom scored quickly in the fourth quarter on Jackson’s final touchdown of the night from 12 yards out, again carrying defenders. However the extra point was blocked, keeping the score at 23-14. The Warriors closed the gap on a 42 yard pass from Brooks to Cade Wallace to make it 23-21.
The Buffalos went into clock-killing mode and had a 14-play drive that only went for 39 yards, but took over six minutes off of the clock. When they faced fourth and seven from the SGP 17 yard line, Tucker decided to go for it. However, Seely’s pass was incomplete and the Warriors took over with just under three minutes to go.
South Grand Prairie quickly picked up a first down, but was unable to do anything else as the Haltom defense stood tall and secured the win with a stop. Seely took the kneel down on the final possession to give Haltom its first playoff berth since 2020.
Haltom (5-4, 4-2) will finish the regular season against Arlington Sam Houston (2-6, 1-4) next Thursday.
South Grand Prairie (6-3, 4-2) will also play next Thursday as they look to bounce back and make a statement against official district champion Arlington Bowie (5-3, 5-0).
