The Woodlands Highlanders big-play offense put a muzzle on the Austin Bowie Bulldogs

WACO, Texas – The Woodlands Highlanders landed one knockout punch after another on Saturday night, pummeling the Austin Bowie Bulldogs 52-31 at Baylor’s McLane Stadium.

The Woodlands’ high-octane, quick-strike offense scorched the Bulldog defense, and now the Highlanders (13-0) are just two wins away from a ticket to the state title game. Next week they move on to the quarterfinals against Round Rock, which narrowly defeated Coppell 49-45.

Watch the game highlights

Statistically, the first quarter would seem to favor the Bulldogs, who dominated time-of- possession and held the ball for more than 10 minutes. But while they succeeded in sidelining The Woodlands offense, the Highlander defense always came up with a big sack or key play in the red zone to prevent Bowie from building a lead.

The Bulldogs took the game’s opening drive at the 19 and spent more than six minutes moving methodically down the field before settling for a field goal.

Then it was The Woodlands’ turn. After two plays and a penalty, they faced a third-and- 15 at their own 25 and gambled with a go-big- or-go- home play.

Quarterback Eric Schmid dropped back and launched a pass that sailed 40 yards and landed in the hands of wide receiver Dylan Casey on the right sideline. Casey banged into a defender, steadied himself and accelerated the rest of the way to complete a stunning 75-yard touchdown play. Charles Gingras’ point-after made it 7-0.

Watch the game On-Demand here.

The Bulldogs embarked on another time-consuming march, taking four minutes to move within sniffing distance of the goal-line. But Highlander defensive lineman Michael Purcell popped Bowie quarterback Wade Smith on a third-down sack to stifle the Bulldogs and force a punt.

Striking again on an aggressive third-down call, Schmid hit Kesean Carter on a 42-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-3. Schmid, the Player of the Game, threw for three touchdowns and rushed for three more.

The next two possessions dropped the Bulldogs into a deep hole from which they would never recover. Woodlands defensive back Ethan Bonner made a touchdown-saving tackle on a long pass play by Bowie, and then linebacker Grant Milton lowered the boom on Smith with another red-zone sack. On the very next play, Bonner made an interception in the end zone, a play that was especially remarkable since he was playing with a cast on one of his hands.

Taking over after the interception, the Highlanders marched confidently down the field and Schmid capped off the drive with a 30-yard touchdown run down the right sideline.

Bowie closed the gap to 21-10 at halftime when Wilson hooked up with Aizayaha Santiago on a 47-yard touchdown bomb.

The Woodlands couldn’t get into the end zone on their first drive of the second half, but Lockhart West booted a clutch 37-yard field goal to make it 24-10. About four minutes later, Casey scored on a 12-yard touchdown catch and it was 31-10.

That play seemed to light the fuse on a remarkable offensive fireworks display as the teams raced up and down the field the rest of the night. The Bulldogs kept scoring touchdowns to keep their comeback hopes alive, but the Highlanders always answered with a scoring march to maintain plenty of breathing room.

Over a 12-minute stretch from the third quarter to the fourth, the two teams combined for seven touchdowns.

For The Woodlands, they kept dialing up the right rushing plays to take advantage of a Bulldog team that was blitzing on almost every play. Connor Klapesky ran for a 35-yard touchdown, Schmid scored from 45 yards out, and he added a 25-yard rushing touchdown with 4:18 left in the game.

Watch the game On-Demand --- Watch the Highlights --- Watch the player of the game