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Twice as Nice: Allen defeats Houston Lamar, 35-21, for second state title
By Kevin Hageland, khageland@starlocalnews.com
ARLINGTON -- Allen (15-1) didn't have a single sustained scoring drive Saturday night.
The Eagles didn't need it as each of their five touchdowns included a play of more than 55 yards for a 35-21 victory over Houston Lamar (15-1) in front of 48,379 fans at the Class 5A Division I State Championship from Cowboys Stadium.
"My voice is cracking cause I've been yelling so much and my mouth is dry right now," said Oliver Pierce, Allen senior wide receiver. "There are ... there are just no words for how I feel right now."
Saturday represented Allen's second state title in five years and second in program history after defeating Fort Bend Hightower, 21-14, in 2008.
"I feel the same way now as I did then ... elation," said Tom Westerberg, Allen head coach. "It's the feeling of knowing you got done what you set out to do."
Accomplishing the last step was anything but easy against a previously-undefeated team.
"It was a hard-fought game versus a really great defense," Westerberg said. "We had a hard time getting our offense into a rhythm, so obviously the big plays were huge."
Big plays were the reason for Allen's win.
The Eagles fell behind, 2-0, after allowing a safety following a three-and-out and bad snap on the first drive of the game.
That score remained until Allen's third drive when sophomore quarterback Kyler Murray ran for a 55-yard touchdown run. On the Eagles' next play from scrimmage, Murray went for 68 yards and another touchdown. That gave Allen a 14-2 lead at the end of the first frame as the defense responded by forcing Lamar into a pair of three-and-outs and a turnover on downs.
The Redskins put their first offensive points up on their next drive with a 41-yard touchdown pass from Darrell Colbert to Cory Mitchell. A missed extra point, one of two on the night for Lamar, made it 14-8.
Lamar had another big play on its next drive.
Only this one went the opposite direction. Allen junior Mayomi Olootu stripped the ball following a reception when it appeared the wideout might have been down and junior Cameron Hartsfield picked it up for a 57-yard return.
"Our coaches always tell us to go until that second whistle," Hartsfield said, "so that's what I did."
Hartsfield, voted the Defensive MVP of the finals, returned the ball to the Lamar 8-yard line.
"Man, I wanted to get to the end zone as bad as I want to breathe," Hartsfield said.
Allen had to wait three more plays as Murray connected on a 12-yard touchdown pass to junior Cole Carter for a 21-8 lead with 2:24 remaining in the half. That play capped a notable half for Murray. The first-year starter was voted Offensive MVP after running the ball for 143 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries while also completing 7-of-16 passes for 49 yards.
Lamar responded, and made it 21-15, just 72 seconds later as Colbert ran it in from 7 yards.
Colbert was on point much of the night as he completed 15-of-33 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns while putting up another 126 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
"We had seen their quarterback on video," Westerberg said. "He looked dang good then and he played like it tonight."
Colbert also avoided getting sacked in the first half despite being consistently harassed by the Allen defensive line.
"[Colbert] played his butt off," Hartsfield said.
Allen's 21-15 halftime lead lasted the majority of the third quarter, but Lamar tied the game with 2:04 remaining. The Redskins had forced punts on the Eagles' first two second-half possessions and got into the end zone on an 18-yard pass from Colbert to Beau Wells, who had four grabs for 52 yards. Wells' catch total was matched by Mitchell, whose receptions went for 77 yards. But Lamar, which also got 95 yards rushing from Ronnie Wesley, couldn't take its first lead since 2-0 as it missed another extra point and settled for a 21-21 tie.
With the Redskins owning the momentum, Allen needed another play.
This one came from Oliver Pierce.
The senior punt returner and wide receiver, who also had three catches for 10 yards, returned the ensuing kickoff 77 yards to the Lamar 16.
"Mayomi Olootu and (junior) Chad Adams are usually our kickoff return guys, but they were a little tired," Pierce said. "So I tried to step in and make a big play for my team."
Another big play resulted in another touchdown as Ward scored from 1-yard out to put Allen back in front, 28-21, with 26 seconds to go in the third. Ward's next score would come from a decidedly lengthier distance as he broke off a 67-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a 35-21 lead.
"Our offense hadn't been playing too well, so we needed a big play," Ward said. "I saw the crease and just hit the hole."
Ward did so on the first play after Lamar turned the ball over on downs at the Eagles' 33 following a big hit and pass break up by Hartsfield on back-to-back plays.
The second touchdown from Ward, who posted 117 yards on 16 carries, came with 6:06 to go.
"Man, all kinds of things start going through your head at that point," he said. "I started thinking about how that state ring was going to fit."
Saturday was only the second time this season an opponent had scored more than 15 points on Lamar. The 35 points from Allen were the most scored against the Redskins this season and the equivalent to what the team had allowed in its last four playoff games combined.
"It was a real sloppy game," Pierce said. "But we made the big plays when we needed to and that's what great teams do."
The last big plays for Allen came with Lamar inside the 10 as junior Christian Sam registered a sack and junior Chad Adams made a tackle on fourth down to secure the 35-21 victory and second Class 5A State Title in program history.
"This is something I've wanted for a long time," Pierce said. "Ever since I was running around on the sidelines as a little kid."
"This is just ... it's ... it's the greatest feeling in the world," Hartsfield added. "All the weeks, the months, the years of work ... and the early mornings, it was all for this. And it was all worth it."
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