The Pilot Point Bearcats met the Commerce Tigers for the area championship Nov. 21, with the Tigers escaping with the 54-47 win.
The two teams combined for over 1,000 yards of offense and 101 points in a game with six lead changes that came down to the final play of the game.
“Our kids give great effort,” said Chad Worrell, Pilot Point athletic director and head football coach. “They played their tails off against a talented bunch, and we had to overcome some injuries. It’s a physical game, and we had some kids go out with injuries, but we had a chance there at the end and just came up short.”
The Tigers received the opening kickoff and returned the ball to the Bearcats’ 33-yard line, starting their first drive in Bearcat territory.
Six plays later, quarterback Aidan Brown crossed the goal line for a 6-yard rushing touchdown, giving the Tigers a 7-0 lead after a successful extra point kick.
The Bearcats answered with a five-play, 65-yard drive that ended with a 35-yard touchdown run by fullback Caden David.
Pilot Point tied the score at 7 after kicker Anthony Torres completed a successful extra point kick.
The Bearcats’ defense held strong on the Tigers’ next drive, forcing a turnover on downs and giving their offense the ball near midfield.
Pilot Points’s ensuing possession was capped off by a 7-yard touchdown run by running back Josh Chumley, putting the Bearcats in front 14-7.
Commerce responded quickly when Brown connected with Donovan Maria for a 64-yard touchdown pass, tying the score 14-14.
Pilot Point took the lead again early in the second quarter when David scored his second touchdown of the night on a 14-yard run, but the extra point was blocked and returned for 2 points by the Tigers, cutting Pilot Point’s lead to 20-16.
The Tigers didn’t take long to retake the lead after a 68yard run moved the ball to the Bearcats’s 1-yard line, followed by a goal line plunge.
The Tigers converted the 2-point conversion, regaining the lead 24-20.
David would put Pilot Point back on top, punching it in from the 11-yard line for his third touchdown of the night.
The Tigers’ next drive was cut short when defensive back Lane Eft intercepted a pass and returned it to the Bearcats’ 25yard line, and David found the end zone for his fourth score, putting Pilot Point up 34-24 with five minutes remaining in the half.
Commerce refused to go away, scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run, cutting Pilot Point’s lead to 34-31 at the half.
The two teams would continue to trade haymakers in the second half, with the Tigers coming from a 10-point deficit to take the lead 46-41 in the third quarter.
The Bearcats would battle back and answer again when quarterback Garrett Evans found tight end Stephen Campbell for an 8-yard touchdown toss, putting Pilot Point back on top by 1 midway through the fourth quarter.
The Bearcats’ lead lasted less than a minute when Brown connected with Garcia for a 46-yard touchdown pass, giving the Tigers the lead, 54-47.
The Bearcats turned the ball over on downs on their next possession, but the Tigers gave the ball right back to them on their next play when Josh Martinez recovered a Tiger fumble.
Pilot Point’s next drive ended with an interception, but the Bearcats would get the ball one more time after the defense forced a turnover on downs with just five seconds left in the game.
The Bearcats had one final shot to score from the 6-yard line, but Evans’ pass was broken up in the end zone, falling incomplete.
“It hurts because this team is such a good group of kids, and they’ve done what we ask, but there’s only one team in each class in the state of Texas that ends happy,” Worrell said. “It also hurts whenever you play your last game, and we’re going to miss our seniors. They’re a special group.”
Worrell made sure to thank the Pilot Point community for their support.
“It’s not just the kids, but the parents and the community; everybody,” he said. “Pilot Point pride—I don’t think it ever left, but it really came out last year and this year. People are excited about our sports, and our kids played with pride. They couldn’t represent a community any better than our kids did this year.”
Assistant editor Martin Edwards contributed to this report.
Pilot Point defensive end Jason Rangel reaches for Commerce quarterback Aidan Brown while fighting through two Tiger blockers. Janette Pool/ The Post-Signal
