A&M Consolidated led 17-7 toward the end of the second quarter and was looking to send in another touchdown to end the first half in the region final Dec. 1 in Cedar Park.
At their own 35, Consolidated started another drive with 54 seconds left in the half. With the Tigers breathing down their necks, the Rangers needed to flip a switch – and a flip they got with an interception return by senior cornerback Jackson Duffey
“The biggest play of the game was for sure Jackson Duffey’s pick six and really just changed the momentum,” junior wide receiver Brody Day said. “I knew after the score that we were still in the game but that pick really set the balance.”
With this win, the Rangers advance to the state semi-finals where they face Brownsville Veterans Memorial High School at Buccaneer Stadium in Corpus Christi on Friday at 7 p.m. This game will decide who goes to Dallas in the 5A Division 1 State Finals against either Aledo or Forney.
But that trip to Corpus would not have happened without that interception in the region final.
Consolidated struck first in the game with a 25-yard field goal by Colton Chmelar, followed by a 42-yard pass reception by Ellis Meyers from quarterback Will Hargett with 3:39 left in the first quarter. Less than two minutes later, Hargett took to the ground for a 16-yard touchdown run.
Down 17-0, Ranger running back Brad Sowersby hauled the ball 16 yards for paydirt, but the score was still 17-7 in the Tigers’ favor.
Then the interception return.
With the change in the momentum, the Rangers gained some control in the game.
“We were struggling in the first half, and that really got things going for us,” junior safety Parker Moeller said.
Sowersby was on the sidelines watching it happen.
“I was just jumping up and down and going crazy that the momentum was now on our side,” Sowersby said
Consolidated was still up 17-14, but the crowd was back on its feet, and the team morale was strong.
“Going into the half, none of us had our heads down,” Moeller said. “We knew we still had a lot of work to get done, and we knew that we were in a good spot to make things happen for us.”
Not that Consolidated was going down without a fight. Meyers pulled down a 43-yard pass from Hargett and scored with more than 9 minutes left in the quarter. Six minutes later, senior Ranger kicker Clayton Amaya made a 28-yard field goal to bring the score to 17-24.
That’s when the ground game took its turn in the end zone. Cade Spradling scampered 3 yards for a touchdown with 6:26 left in the game, and Sowersby’s 9-yard TD run with 3:19 left gave the Rangers a lead they would not relinquish.
