ARLINGTON – Gunter’s motto is TPW – Tough People Win.
The Tigers football team has a bunch of tough people that win, but one in particular is QB Walker Overman. He’s among the smallest on the field, but plays like he’s the biggest.
Overman posted 172 yards rushing, 149 passing and two total touchdown as Gunter beat Tidehaven 30-14 in the Class 3A Division 2 state championship game on Thursday at AT&T Stadium.
Gunter (16-0) captures its third title in the past five seasons and fourth overall in eight.
RB Brock Boddie chipped in 74 yards on 23 carries and a pair of scores.
Cannon Lemberg caught five passes for 99 yards and one touchdown.
While Overman was voted offensive game MVP, Gunter’s Major Thornhill was voted defensive MVP with eight tackles, six solo, three tackles for loss and one sack. He also had a deflection that led to an interception for Marshall Magers.
Tidehaven ends at 14-1.
Tidehaven scored with four minutes left in the first quarter when star running back and Baylor commit Joseph Dodds rumbled in from 11 yards out for a 7-0 lead. Gunter pulled within 7-3 at the end of the period on Preston Tarpley’s 27-yard field goal.
Boddie scored back to back touchdowns – both from 2 yards out – to give Gunter a 17-7 lead with 4:18 left in the second quarter. One minute later and Dodds got a couple of timely blocks on his way to a big 61-yard touchdown to get Tidehaven within 17-14.
Overman connected Lemberg on a short pass and the latter out raced the defense for a 68-yard touchdown to push Gunter’s margin to 24-14 with 2:55 left in the third. Gunter got one more when Overman punched it in from the 1 midway through the fourth.
