Carr rushes Highlanders past Cavaliers

SHENANDOAH, Texas - Patrick Carr rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns to lead The Woodlands Highlanders to a 31-10 win over the College Park Cavaliers Friday night at Woodforest Bank Stadium. The win clinches at least a share of the District 14-5A championship for the Highlanders.

“This game is a big rivalry game, we tried to prepare the kids all week for the emotion and to be able to ride the emotion, especially in the first quarter. Hats off to our kids, they kept playing their game and really took over in the second half,” said Highlander Head Coach Mark Schmid.

College Park (4-5, 1-4) came out ready to play and the Cavaliers struck first when senior quarterback Colton Farmer connected with senior tight end Jayden Holden for a 15-yard touchdown on a third-and-14 play. College Park had a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Woodlands (7-2, 5-0) was efficient in the second quarter; they scored on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter, running only 20 total plays in the first half. The Highlanders took possession at the 10:12 mark of the second quarter and scored in 3 plays in one minute, capped off with a Carr 16-yard touchdown run up the middle. The Highlanders scored on their longest drive of night when they went 80 yards in six plays in 2:15 when Junior quarterback Chris Andritsos connected with senior wide receiver Bayley Novak on a 50-yard touchdown pass to give the Highlanders a 14-7 lead that they would take into halftime.

Any momentum that College Park had in the first half was quickly gone in the second half when senior Jeremy Davis Harper returned the second half kickoff 91 yards for a Highlander touchdown. The point after was no good and The Woodlands extended their lead to 20-7, 13 seconds into the third quarter.

“We had a chance to make some plays and have a couple more touchdowns before the first half was over, we didn’t make those plays, and that was the difference in the game,” said Cavalier Head Coach Richard Carson.

The game would then be delayed 34 minutes due to lightning in the area that was accompanied by a brief period of high winds and downpours.

The Cavaliers would not go away as senior defensive back Stephan Johnson intercepted a pass to give College Park the ball at their own 36-yard line with 5:36 left in the third quarter. The Cavalier offense would take advantage as they drove 41 yards in nine plays in 3:08 and junior Christopher Barnes kicked a 40-yard field goal to pull College Park within 20-10 at the 2:31 mark of the third quarter.

On the first play of the ensuing Highlander drive, Carr rushed 44 yards to the Cavalier 22-yard line. The drive would stall and senior Ryan Spaulding kicked a 37-yard field goal to give the Highlanders a 23-10 lead with a minute left in the third quarter.

Patrick Carr would cap off his night with an electrifying 63-yard touchdown run up the middle and Andritsos’ two-point conversion gave The Woodlands a 31-10 lead with 11:31 left in the game. The Woodlands finished with 360 total yards on 46 plays to the Cavaliers 313 total yards on 66 plays.

The Cavaliers were eliminated from postseason play with the loss and will close out their season at Woodforest Bank Stadium on Saturday, November 9, against Bryan (2-7, 0-5) at 2:00 p.m.

The Highlanders have a chance at an outright district championship with a win over Oak Ridge (7-2, 3-2) on Friday, November 8, at 7:30 p.m. at Woodforest Bank Stadium.