Angleton punches ticket to state final four
Angleton Advances
Josh Koch
12 December 2017
Originally appeared on Vype.com.
HOUSTON—Angleton didn’t need BJ Foster to beat the Foster Falcons a month ago.
Inside NRG Stadium on Friday night, the Wildcats leaned on No. 25 and the senior running back put the team on his back.
Foster rushed for 126 yards and three touchdowns and caught another six passes for 89 yards and Angleton defeated Foster 41-10 in the Region IV-5A Final.
“If it’s not emotional you need to check in your gear and do something else,” Angleton coach Ryan Roark said about moving on. “I’m incredibly proud of our kids and our staff. Our fans showed up in droves tonight. We had a heck of a crowd. I’m proud of everything we stand for right now.”
Angleton (13-0) will play Manvel next week with a Class 5A Division I State Championship game berth on the line. Kickoff for that game is slated for 7:30 p.m. at NRG Stadium.
Foster finishes the season at 9-4 after winning three-straight games to get to the regional finals for a second-straight year.
“We’ll sit back and reflect, this loss hurts but you know we weren’t expected to be here anyway,” Foster coach Shaun McDowell said. “Nobody picked us to win this game, nobody expected us to be here. So I felt like we achieved something people said we couldn’t do anyway. So for me it’s a successful season. I know a lot of people wishing they were 9-4. I’ll take that any year.”
Heading into the fourth quarter, Angleton led Foster 13-10 thanks to a pair of 36-yard field goals from Eduardo Rosales.
The game was close and the final 12 minutes could decide the outcome and Angleton dominated.
The wheels got turning with the Wildcats defense.
Angleton’s Evrin Hawkins stepped in front of the only pass by Foster backup quarterback Grant Guzzetta and picked it off in the early minutes of the fourth quarter. Hawkins finished with a pair of interceptions, leading to 10 points for the Wildcats.
“Big time playmaker,” Roark said about Hawkins. “Evrin’s been making those plays all year long. He scored a touchdown in more ways than you can possibly fathom on either side of the ball. Interception returns and fumble recoveries. You name them he’s scored them. He’s a heck of a football player.”
Following the interception, Foster got loose for a pair of rushes, including a three-yard touchdown, making it 20-10 with 8:33 to go.
The next two plays completely shifted the momentum to Angleton.
A fumble by Foster’s Guzzetta on the snap, which was recovered by Angleton’s Jesse Herron, put the ball at the 13. On the Wildcats’ first play, Foster took it and dove for the pylon for his third rushing score of the night. Foster had a 67-yard rushing score in the first quarter.
Foster gave Angleton a 14-point swing in its favor in a matter of 22 seconds for the Wildcats to lead 27-10 with 8:11 left. Foster finished with 12 carries for 126 yards and three touchdowns.
“It’s a good feeling for our team and the community,” Foster said about getting to the state semifinals. “We worked real hard to get past here. That’s how hard work pays off.”
The defense continued to bow up for Angleton from this point on.
The Wildcats ended up allowing just 100 yards of total offense to Foster and no offensive touchdowns scored. The lone touchdown came off a 61-yard scoop and score by Stephon West in the second quarter.
“Our defense you just have to tip your cap to Coach (Jake) Brittain and our defensive staff,” Roark said. “They put together an unbelievable game plan week in and week out and we’ve got a bunch of kids that rally to the ball and have fun playing defense.”
Angleton tacked on two more scores by night’s end as Seth Cosme rushed in from 15 yards and then Tamerik Williams—who finished with 119 yards on 13 carries—busted off a 63-yard score, making it 41-10, which would be the final.
Next up for undefeated Angleton is undefeated Manvel.
“I know very little about them,” Roark said. “We put our heart and soul and all of our effort and concentration into Foster. We’ll worry about Manvel tomorrow morning.”
SCORING SUMMARY
Foster: RJ Hunt kicks a 26-yard field goal 3-0 (1:27- 1st quarter)
Angelton: BJ Foster 67-yard touchdown run 3-7 (1:10 – 1st quarter)
Foster: Stephon West returns a fumble 61 yards 10-7 (8:58- 2nd quarter)
Angleton: Eduardo Rosales kicks a 36-yard field goal 10-10 (4:40 –2nd quarter)
Angleton: Eduardo Rosales kicks a 36-yard field goal 10-13 (2:36 –3rd quarter)
Angelton: BJ Foster 3-yard touchdown run 10-20 (8:33 – 4th quarter)
Angelton: BJ Foster 13-yard touchdown run 10-27 (8:11 – 4th quarter)
Angelton: Seth Cosme 15-yard touchdown run 10-34 (4:01 – 4th quarter)
Angelton: Tamerik Williams 63-yard touchdown run 10-41 (2:12 – 4th quarter)
Nico Collins had a career-high 191 yards receiving and a fourth-quarter touchdown, and Jimmie Ward intercepted Denver’s Russell Wilson in the end zone with 9 seconds left to left to help the Houston Texans hold on for a 22-17 win over the Broncos on Sunday.
Ward leapt in front of intended receiver Lucas Krull to secure the fourth victory in five games for Houston (7-5) and snap a five-game winning streak for Denver (6-6).
Wilson was intercepted a season-high three times, all of them after halftime. Derek Stingley Jr. had the first two picks for the Texans. The Broncos had forced 15 turnovers in their winning streak but did not have a takeaway Sunday.
Houston rookie C.J. Stroud threw for 274 yards to end a streak of four straight games with at least 300 yards passing. Star rookie receiver Tank Dell injured his ankle in the first half and was carted off the field
.Texans rookie defensive end Will Anderson Jr., the third overall pick in the draft, had the best game of his young career. The former Alabama star had two sacks, four quarterback hits, deflected one of the balls that Stingley intercepted and deflected a punt.
Wilson threw for 186 yards with a touchdown in Denver’s first loss since Oct. 12.
Early in the fourth quarter, Wilson’s 41-yard pass to Jerry Jeudy got Denver to the 1, and the QB ran for the touchdown on the next play to cut Houston’s lead to 22-17.
The Broncos got a stop and were driving on the ensuing possession when Stingley hopped in front of a pass intended for Courtland Sutton to give Houston the ball back.
Stroud was shaken up on a run on the next drive and left the game for two plays while he was examined in the medical tent on the sideline. He returned and was sacked before the Texans punted.
Sutton grabbed a 45-yard touchdown pass from Wilson that cut the lead to 16-10 with about five minutes remaining in the third. It was the 329th career TD pass for Wilson, who moved past Dan Marino for second-most in a player’s first 12 seasons.
Stroud was sacked and fumbled on third down on Houston’s next possession, but the Texans got the ball back. They punted, but Stingley intercepted Wilson on Denver’s first play on a ball that was deflected by Anderson.
The Texans cashed in on the miscue when Collins scored on a 3-yard reception on the second play of the fourth quarter. The 2-point conversion failed to leave Houston up 22-10.
The Texans forced a three-and-out on the first possession of the second half when Anderson sacked Wilson on first down and Jonathan Greenard took him down on third down. Houston pushed the lead to 16-3 on Matt Ammendola’s 38-yard field goal.
The Texans led by three in the first quarter when they went for it on fourth-and-2. Houston was called for a false start on the play, but Alex Singleton hit Stroud late to draw an unnecessary roughness penalty and give the Texans a first down at the Broncos 3.
Two plays later, Pierce bulled in for the touchdown to make it 10-0. Dell was injured when he got rolled up at the end of Pierce’s run.
Broncos G Quinn Meinerz left in the fourth quarter with a shoulder.
Broncos: Visit the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday.
Texans: Visit the New York Jets next Sunday.injury.