Photo by Brian Gosset
BY BRIAN GOSSET & NOLAN RUTH
X – @Gosset41 & @RealNolanRuth
ARLINGTON— Gordon scored 10 touchdowns on only 17 offensive plays as the Longhorns successfully defended their Class 1A Division 1 title with a dominant 70-24 win over Whiteface on Wednesday in front of 4,049 at AT&T Stadium.
The Longhorns finished off with a 15-0 record for a second consecutive season while improving to 4-0 all-time in state championship appearances. They beat Westbrook 70-20 in last year’s game.
The program’s other two titles came in 1996 and 1999.
Junior Strkyer Reed was offensive MVP with 86 yards passing, 91 yards rushing and four total touchdowns.
Fellow junior Ry Reed (no relation) was voted defensive MVP with a game-high six solo tackles and 8 1/2 overall. He also added five carries for 99 yards and three touchdowns on offense.
Junior Brayden Walters also had an excellent showing with 92 yards receiving and three touchdowns plus three solo tackles, 5 1/2 total and one quarterback hurry.
Leading 64-24 at the intermission, the Longhorns took the second half kickoff – needing one more touchdown to end the contest via the 45-point mercy rule.
It took just one play as Stryker Reed put the game to bed with a 45-yard touchdown run. He added three tackles on defense and one interception.
“I’m going to be honest, I made the wrong read,” Reed said about his game ending score. “It all ended up working out. But once I got past the first line, we had phenomenal downfield blocks. I couldn’t have asked for better downfield blocks. Coach Reed drew it up at halftime, I trusted him.”
Two plays after forcing a turnover on downs by Whiteface, Gordon scored with a 12-yard TD run by Stryker Reed to go up 8-0 with 7:47 left in the first quarter. The Longhorns scored on the ensuing play after another turnover on downs as Stryker Reed hit Walters for 20 yards and 16-0 advantage.
The Antelopes (14-1), who were playing in their first state championship game, cut the deficit in half on Isaak Soliz’s 2-yard pass to Ethan Kauffman with 5:33 on the clock.
Gordon scored nine TDs on offense while its 10th came on the ensuing kickoff return. Whiteface went for the onside and the ball perfectly bounced into the hands of Aiden Shank, who broke several tackles for a 46-yard touchdown.
Stryker Reed threw his second touchdown – 66 yards to Noah Kostiha as the lead grew to 28-8 with 4:20 to play in the opening period. Ry Reed scored on a 35-yard run as the Longhorns put up 36 points in the first quarter.
The Antelopes scored two more times on a Kauffman 17-yard run in the first quarter and then a 5-yard run from Jeremiah Rendon five seconds into the second quarter.
Soliz led Whiteface with 116 all-purpose yards with 57 through the air and 62 receiving. Kauffman rushed for 67 yards and Rendon had a game-high 120 yards passing. Auscar Gandara led the team with 92 yards receiving.
After Rendon’s score cut the lead to 36-24, Gordon scored 28 unanswered points going into halftime. Ry Reed added scoring runs of 35 and 16 yards, and Walters connected with Kostiha twice on touchdown passes of 30 and 42 yards.
The Longhorns ended back-to-back Whiteface possessions with interceptions from Kaden Crowe and Stryker Reed.
Gordon amassed 348 yards offense (21 yards per play) and only held possession for 4:09. Meanwhile, Whiteface got of 36 plays for 264 yards and held it for over 16 minutes.
