Woodlands Highlanders soar over Allen Eagles to move on to Texas State Championship Game

AUSTIN, Texas – The Woodlands Highlanders derailed a dynasty on Saturday afternoon and proved they just might be a team of destiny.

By holding off the Allen Eagles 36-28 in the state semifinals, the Highlanders earned the right to prove that they are, in fact, the best high school football team in the great state of Texas. Next week they go for the ultimate prize, the first state championship in school history, when they face Lake Travis in Arlington.

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On Saturday afternoon at DKR Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, the Highlanders used a true team effort to build a huge lead and then survive a furious rally by the Eagles.

Lockhart West booted three clutch field goals, Grant Murphy caught a momentum-shifting fourth-quarter touchdown pass, and defensive dynamo Michael Purcell recorded two huge sacks in the final five minutes to help the Highlanders prevail.

When the final seconds ticked off, the celebration began. Head coach Mark Schmidt got a Gatorade shower, and countless Woodlands fans wearing shirts with Grant Milton’s jersey number, 21, celebrated in honor of their hospitalized teammate. Milton, a senior linebacker and a valuable team leader all season, suffered a traumatic brain injury following a playoff win in November.

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“I’m so very proud of this team. They have had to deal with a lot over the past two weeks and yet they stayed focused. They are playing inspired football,” said Miles Milton, Grant’s father. “What a gift if Grant were to wake up and cheer his brothers on to a state championship victory.”

Carlos Ramos put The Highlanders on the board in the first quarter with a six-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0. It was the beginning of a massive barrage of offense.

Ethan Bonner’s interception set up the first of West’s field goals to make it 10-0, and less than a minute after the Eagles finally put some points up with a field goal, Highlander quarterback Eric Schmid and wide receiver Dylan Casey connected on a 68-yard touchdown pass.

West delivered one more field goal before halftime to make it 20-3, and less than 90 seconds into the third quarter, Schmid – the Player of the Game – came through with one of the great moments of his great season. Facing a third-and-long situation, he changed the play at the line of scrimmage, took the snap and threw a 72-yard touchdown pass to Kesean Carter.

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26-3. Game over, right? Not so fast.

Both teams entered this game with 14-0 records, and Allen wouldn’t go down without a fight. The Eagles scored the next 10 points to close the gap to 26-13, but early in the fourth quarter Schmid hooked up with a wide open Murphy on a 9-yard touchdown catch with 9:46 to play. Milton raised one hand in celebration as he ran into the end zone.

To their credit, the Eagles never stopped fighting, but there was simply not enough time for them to mount a comeback, and the Highlander defense came up with some big stops along the way.

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