Tigers take no prisoners, claim 1A D-II title
endzone in attempt to catch a pass in the second half of Thursday Class
1A D-II state championship game at Cowboys Stadium. Cleaver finished
the game with 5 catches for 83 yards. (Photo by John Krueger)
ARLINGTON, Tx -- The Tenaha Tigers approached Thursday's Class 1A D-II state championship game with a 'take no prisoners' attitude and in workmanlike fashion dominated the Munday Moguls in every facet of the title game possible in a 52-28 thrashing here at Dallas Cowboys Stadium in front of 5,952 fans.
The championship, Tenaha's second in football in the history of the school and first since 1998, was just as impressive as the previous one as the Tigers completed a 14-0 season run by running and throwing the ball effectively, while the dominating 'Maroon Doom' defense held a Munday offense that had been averaging 51.5-points per contest to just 28.
"Believe it or not, [winning the championship] is something we've talked about since Aug. 1," said Tenaha head coach Terry Ward in the postgame press conference, after raising his coaching record to 33-5 (.868). "When we stepped on that field at 8 a.m. that morning I told these kids, 'Guys, you've got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play in the best stadium (Cowboys Stadium) in America at the season's end.'
"A lot of coaches say, let's take it one game at a time; we're not going to look ahead, but this was our goal and we talked about it all year.
"I don't think (winning the championship) has really sunk in yet. This is something our school has done in the past, but it's the first time in a long time. And, I'll tell you, I couldn't be prouder of these guys."
Tiger senior quarterback Reginald Davis led by example, accounting for 556 yards during the game, rushing for his 33rd, 34th and 35th touchdowns of the year, while finishing as the game's leading rusher with 226 yards and a 10.3-yard per carry average. He finished the year with 1,915 yards on the ground.
If that wasn't impressive enough, he completed 10-of-21 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns. The championship game's Offensive Most Valuable Player finished the season with 2,015 yards passing on 59.8% (101-of-169) passing, with 24 touchdowns and just five interceptions.
Davis' main target was the same as has been all year long - Octavius Griffith. Griffith hauled in the first two throws, finishing the night with five catches for 83 yards. That gave the junior a team-high 32 catches for 611 yards and four scores on the year.
Tiger sophomore J.R. Hill saved his most electrifying performance for the championship, catching two passes - both for touchdowns - for a game-high 91 yards. He came into the game with only one score all year long, but finished the season with 16 grabs for 325 yards.
Shaquille Mitchell caught two passes for 51 yards and Demon Horton hauled in one for 17 yards.
In addition to Davis' ground work, Chavis Gregory raised his season rushing total to 1,407 yards with a 78-yard performance on just 11 carries. His touchdown against the Moguls gave him 18 for the season.
Ward, who captured his first state championship as a coach in only his third year as a head coach, talked this week about winning the special teams' aspect of the game after stating that Munday had run back more than 16 punts and kickoffs for scores this season. But it was the Tigers who control the special teams. Tenaha's Davis returned a punt 80 yards for a TD in the third quarter to put the game away as it created a 38-13 lead with 7:53 left in the quarter.
The Tigers finished the game with 309 yards on the ground and 242 through the air for 551 total yards, averaging 8.6-yards per rush and 24.2-yards per completion.
Munday not only finished way below its season scoring average, but the Moguls were held 48 yards (323) below their rushing average and 16 yards (73) below their passing average.
"We love to score, but I believe if you don't play defense, you're not going to win championships," Ward explained. "[Defensive coordinator] Coach [Ian) White, Coach (Kevin) Cates, Coach (Mike) Barber and those guys do an excellent job.
"We talked about being a dominant team, and when our offense can score and our defense can shut teams down, that's pretty dominant."
There wasn't much wrong with Tenaha's performance in the championship tilt. Not only did the Tigers roll up the points and yardage offensively, slow down the high-powered Munday offense with great defense and win the special teams game, but Tenaha didn't make the big-game mistakes that often hurts squads. Tenaha didn't turn the ball over and only had five penalties for 25 yards.
Munday, on the other hand, suffered three turnovers as quarterback Dee Paul was intercepted twice by THS junior Assuntay Cleaver, once in the endzone and the other on the Tiger one-yard line as they thwarted serious scoring threats. Cleaver was named the championship game's Defensive MVP. Paul completed just 6-of-13 passes for 57 yards and was sacked twice. One sack was by LaDarren Cooks and the other was registered by Griffith, who was third on the team with eight tackles, while forcing a pair of fumbles.
Two Moguls did rush for over 100 yards, with Paul picking up 146 yards and a pair of scores and Tyrone Neskorik adding 117 yards and a TD.
Tenaha, which entered the game averaging 48.8-points per game, didn't take long to stick the ball in the endzone. Of the Tigers' seven touchdowns, one came on a punt return and the other six took four plays or less on drives of 61, 64, 87, 24, 80 and 50 yards.
The Tigers took the lead just four plays after the opening kickoff when Davis completed a 4-play, 61-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run. Edgar Flores, who was 7-for-7 on extra points, kicked the PAT for a 7-0 THS lead just 1:20 into the game.
After holding the Moguls without a first down, Tenaha had a chance to add to its lead on its next drive. But after throwing two passes into the endzone, the Tigers turned the ball over on downs.
The teams then traded stalled drives before Munday's Neskorik scored on a 3-yard run. MHS then attempted a fake on the extra point and A.J. Serrato's pass fell incomplete with 1:15 left in the opening period.
The Tigers needed only 53 seconds to retaliate as Davis hit Hill for a 65-yard touchdown pass. The 3-play, 64-yard drive stretched the Tenaha lead to 14-6.
A fourth-down gamble by Munday head coach on the Moguls' next drive could have been the beginning of the end for MHS. A 4th-and-1 at the Munday 49-yard line was stuffed by the Tenaha defense.
The Tigers then drove 47 yards in eight plays and Flores' 19-yard field goal with 8:21 left in the half stretched the Tenaha lead to 17-6.
Munday failed to pick up a first down on its next drive. After taking over on their own 13-yard line, Davis scored on an 86-yard sprint, giving THS a 24-6 lead.
The Moguls scored with 2:15 left in the half to stay within striking range at the half, 24-13.
The Tigers quickly dashed the Moguls' hopes of a championship in the third quarter when Davis and Hill combined for a 26-yard touchdown pass with 10:10 left in the third, widening the scoring gap to 31-13.
Munday punted after picking up two first downs, but the Tiger defense stiffened, forcing a punt. Davis caught the kick at his own 20-yard line, ran right, then reversed field and sprinted down the left sideline for an 80-yard TD return. Flores' kick created a 38-13 lead with 7:53 left in the third.
The Moguls tried to mount a comeback, but Cleaver picked off the first of his two interceptions in his own endzone, thwarting the drive. The Tigers turned it into a touchdown on a 4-play, 80-yard drive.
Munday managed a safety and two more touchdowns, which sandwiched Gregory's 50-yard TD run as the Tigers captured the game going away.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
STATS AT A GLANCE
Munday Tenaha
First Downs 17 15
Rushes-Net Yards 53-323 36-309
Avg. Per Rush 6.1 8.6
Net Yards Passing 57 242
Total Net Yards 380 551
Passes (C-A-I) 6-13-2 10-21-0
Avg. Per Attempt 4.4 11.5
Avg. Per Completion 9.5 24.2
Avg. Gain Per Play 5.8 9.7
Punts-Avg. 5-40.4 3-43.0
Time of Possession 26:03 21:57
3rd Down Conversions 7/15 8/14
4th Down Conversions 1/2 0/2
Red Zone Chances 3-4 3-4
SCORING BY QUARTERS
Munday 06 07 00 15 = 28
Tenaha 14 10 21 07 = 52
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS
Rushing
Munday: Dee Paul 19-146 2TD; Tyroe Neskorik 15-117 TD; Roddrick Taylor 17-74. Tenaha: Reginald Davis 22-226 3TD; Chavis Gregory 11-78 TD; Coby Carraway 3-5.
Passing
Munday: Dee Paul 6-13-2 57 yards TD. Tenaha: Reginald Davis 10-21-0 242 yards 2TD.
Receiving
Munday: L.J. Collier 3-38; Roddrick Taylor 1-11; Tyrone Neskorik 1-7 TD; Garrett Weaver 1-1. Tenaha: Octavius Griffith 5-83; J.R. Hill 2-91 2TD; Shaquille Mitchell 2-51; Demon Horton 1-17.
Records
Munday: 13-3. Tenaha 14-0.
Attendance: 5,952.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st QTR
10:40 - Ten: Reginald Davis 3-yrd run (Edgar Flores kick). 4-61, 1:20 - 0-7.
01:15 - Mun: Tyrone Neskorik 3-yrd run (A.J. Serrato pass failed), 5-64, 1:32 - 6-7.
00:22 - Ten: J.R. Hill 65-yrd pass from Davis (Flores kick). 3-64, 0:50 - 6-14.
2nd QTR
08:21 - Ten: Edgar Flores 19-yrd field goal. 8-47, 3:25 - 6-17.
05:34 - Ten: Reginald Davis 86-yrd run (Flores kick). 2-87, 0:54 - 6-24.
02:15 - Mun: Tyrone Neskorik 7-yrd pass from Dee Paul (Dewayne Castorena kick). 7-49, 3:12 - 13-24.
3rd QTR
10:10 - Ten: J.R. Hill 26-yrd pass from Davis (Flores kick). 3-24, 1:03 - 13-31.
07:53 - Ten: Reginald Davis 80-yrd punt return (Flores kick) - 13-38.
03:09 - Ten: Reginald Davis 6-yrd run (Flores kick). 4-80, 1:51 - 13-45.
4th QTR
07:45 - Mun: Team Safety when Reginald Davis is tackled in endzone. 15-45.
03:03 - Mun: Dee Paul 29-yrd run (Castorena kick). 4-80, 1:04 - 22-45.
02:53 - Ten: Chavis Gregory 50-yrd run (Flores kick). 1-50, 0:08 - 22-52.
00:00 - Mun: Dee Paul 10-yrd run. 10-65 2:45 - 28-52.