Dirty Dozen: Woodlands Highlanders prevail in playoff shootout, improve to 12-0

WACO, Texas – The Woodlands Highlanders had eight minutes to either save their season or get ready for a very long bus ride home. What they did, on both offense and defense, was play classic Woodlands football.

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Two late touchdowns and some gut-check defensive stands propelled the Highlanders (12-0) to a 51-40 triumph over the Sachse Mustangs (11-1).

The Woodlands recovered from a series of second-half lapses on defense and special teams to move one step closer to their ultimate goal, a state championship.

Trailing 40-38 with eight minutes left in the game – the first time all season The Woodlands has trailed in the fourth quarter - wide receiver Dylan Casey hauled in a 30-yard pass over his shoulder in the end zone to put the Highlanders on top for good. Casey, the player of the game, caught a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Eric Schmid.

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The Mustangs returned to the field with plenty of confidence that they could reclaim the lead; they’d already scored 26 points in the second half alone. But this time, the Highlander defense was up to the challenge. On fourth-and-one, The Woodlands stuffed Mustang quarterback Jalen Mayden, and the Highlanders took over on downs.

They called a rushing play for Schmid that yielded a first down, and then in a moment of strategic brilliance, they called the exact same play again. This time Schmid ran almost untouched for a 30-yard touchdown that sealed and punched his team’s ticket to the third round of the playoffs.

The game started in classic Highlander fashion. They used a wide array of rushers and receivers to build a comfortable 28-14 halftime lead.

Defensive dynamo Michael Purcell set up the first score when he stripped Mayden and Jake Driggers recovered the fumble. That gave the Highlanders the ball in the red zone, and Connor Klapesky eventually punched it in from one yard out.

On their next drive, a 50-yard pass to Casey set up a 15-yard scoring strike to Kesean Carter, and just like that it was 14-0.

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The Mustangs got on the board early in the second quarter, but Carter stole their momentum when he took the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown.

The teams each scored one more touchdown before halftime, but the Highlanders seemed firmly in control. That control evaporated two minutes into the third quarter when a long snap sailed over The Woodlands’ punter’s head into the end zone and Sachse recovered.

After that play, Mayden delivered two big body blows to the Highlander defense, a 70-yard touchdown pass followed by a 65-yarder. That second touchdown gave the Mustangs a 40-38 edge, but it was short-lived.

Facing their toughest test of the season, Highlanders saved their best for last, using Casey’s touchdown catch and Schmid’s scoring run to extend this marvelous season.

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