Photo: Brian McLean
BY BRIAN GOSSET
ARLINGTON – In last season’s Class 2A D2 title game, Muenster scored the go-ahead touchdown with 40 seconds left to beat Shiner 36-29. In their rematch on Thursday, the Hornets raced out a two-touchdown lead in the first quarter and never looked back.
Senior QB Casen Carney and senior tight end Garrett Hess connected on three touchdowns and Muenster rolled by the Comanches 28-0 in the 2A D2 final at AT&T Stadium.
It was one of the most impressive wins against a traditionally strong program like Shiner (15-1), which has been a top 2A team in the state especially in the past six seasons. Shiner came into the game with its eighth appearance at state including four of the last six. But with the shutout, it’s the first in 2A champ game history since Alto did it in 2007 against Seymour. It’s also the first time Shiner has been shut out in a playoff game since 2017 – a stretch of 30 games.
Carney was voted Offensive MVP after going 9 of 10 with 162 yards and three TDs – adding 79 yards and one touchdown on the ground. Senior linebacker Rhett Walterscheid was defensive MVP with eight tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, one sack and two hurries. Carney was Offensive MVP against Shiner last season when he accounted for 310 yards on offense and four rushing touchdowns.
Hess finished with four catches and 107 yards.
His three TD catches are tied for most in a 2A champ game – with Gruver’s Jalin Conyers in 2018.
“Any coach is going to say it’s pretty exciting especially when you go back-to-back,” Muenster coach Brady Carney said. “I didn’t realize there hadn’t been a shutout since 2007 – that’s pretty cool.”
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Shiner took the opening possession, but on the second play from scrimmage, Muenster (14-2) forced a fumble. Hess jarred the ball loose and Brody Baggs recovered at the Shiner 35. The Hornets ran seven plays and nearly three minutes off the clock when Carney scored on a 4-yard run to give Muenster a 7-0 lead.
The Comanches couldn’t get past its own 32 when they had to punt.
Hess caught his first TD from Carney – from 10 yards to extend the lead to 14-0 with 2:15 left in the first quarter. After another Shiner punt, Muenster had to chance to go up three scores, but the drive stalled when a pass attempt was intercepted by Jarvis Williams.
Shiner had trouble moving the ball all day and the Comanches turned the ball over on downs after running eight plays and over 4 1/2 minutes off the second-quarter clock. Muenster did go up three scores on the ensuing drive when Carney hit Hess on a 34-yard TD with 3:31 left in the first half.
The Comanches did manage to cross the 50, but then loss 11 yards on a sack by Hess.
Muenster led 21-0 at the intermission, tied for the most points allowed by Shiner all season. Shiner gave up 21 against Vanderbilt Industrial in Week 4 – winning 27-21. They gave up 19 in the second round to Brackettville Brackett.
Both teams settled for punts to start the third quarter.
Then the Hornets orchestrated a 10-play 67-yard drive lasting six minutes. Nolan Peel picked up a 14-yard run and after a penalty, Carney dropped back and found Hess in the corner of the end zone for a 8-yard touchdown – their third of the day.
Muenster’s fourth TD came with 1:13 left in the third.
The Hornets held Shiner to 164 yards total offense while going over 300 (162 passing, 141 rushing). Peel finished with 54 yards on 11 carries. Dustyn Croft caught three passes for 39 yards. On defense, Hess made five tackles and had 1.5 tackles for a loss. Baggs and Titan Binder both had six tackles.
“It was a short week with Shiner and Mount Enterprise playing on Friday so we didn’t get the film until Saturday, but we had an idea on what to fix from last week and look for. Coach Wes Johnson made up a great plan and they executed it flawlessly. These guys did what they were asked to do and they played extremely well in a short amount of time,” Carney said.
