State Wrestling Wrap
Nwankwo falls in late seconds, Area wrestlers win gold, Allen dominates
Feb 27, 2019, 7:40 pm
Originally Appeared on VYPE
HOUSTON – It was one of the highly anticipated matches of the evening in the Class 5A bracket.
Defending state champion Chidozie Nwankwo against Highland Park's Aidan Conner in the 5A-185 pound title bout.
After it seemed as though Conner had won due to a call of interlocking hands against Nwonkwo, the Foster coaches protested. The call was overturned, forcing an overtime period.
Tied at 3-3, with 10 seconds on the clock, Conner was able to escape Nwankwo for the one point and the 4-3 victory.
"The other coach did his job," Foster coach Jeff Rayome said. "Whether we agree with it or not the referee overturned a call that he made to take it into overtime. Then in overtime we just ran out of time. The kid just slipped out at the last second. It's all controversial but we just have to do better. Not leave in the refs hands or leave it up to the time clock."
This marks the second-straight year that Nwankwo has been in a title match. The Foster junior entered the match 23-0 on the year.
"One more year," Nwankwo said. "It's been a real good run. It's helped me with football to this day.
"Next year I'll come back harder."
The story continues here
The Houston Texans have a big challenge in store as they look to start the season with a win against the Colts this Sunday. When these two teams met in Week 2 last year, the Colts dominated the Texans, despite losing their QB Anthony Richardson to a concussion after the first quarter.
Keeping Richardson contained on Sunday will go a long way in increasing the Texans' chances of coming home with a win. The Texans defense will have their hands full containing the Colts backs and tight ends in the passing game.
Scoring touchdowns with their wide receivers could prove difficult, as the Texans allowed the second-fewest TDs (10) to the receiver position in 2023.
Limiting running back Jonathan Taylor will also be a top priority. While the Texans had an elite defense against the run last season, they struggled with Taylor in Week 18 as he almost rushed for 200 yards.
Houston's D allowed only four carries to running backs in 2023 that went for 20 or more yards. Two of which were to Taylor in the final game of the regular season.
Finally, DeMeco Ryans and company have to find a way to get pressure on the QB. They only had one QB hit and zero sacks on Richardson and Garner Minshew the first time they faced off last year.
On offense, the Texans have two big x-factors to watch for on Sunday. The offensive line that suited up to play the Colts in Week 2 last season is completely different from this year.
The o-line was ravaged with injuries to start the 2023 campaign, so we expect a big jump in productivity in the trenches this year.
Another big addition in 2024 is the presence of running back Joe Mixon. The running game only produced 2 yards per rush in Week 2 against Indy last year, so there's clearly room for improvement.
Be sure to watch the video above for our in-depth preview of Texans-Colts!
And catch Texans on Tap (a Texans podcast) live on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel following every game this season!