Football defeated Flour Bluff 49-14 to advance to the state semifinal against the Angleton Wildcats at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Baylor’s McLane Stadium.
A win against Angleton will put the football team in the state final for the second year in a row.
In the second round of playoffs, Flour Bluff defeated Pieper on a last second score in overtime. Pieper, a 5A Division 2 quarterfinalist in 2023, snuck past the Rangers 39-36 in a district showdown on Sept. 26.
During the region final, the Rangers struck first with a 61-yard pass from senior quarterback Cade Spradling to senior wide receiver P.K Moeller with 10:53 in the first quarter. Not long after with 8:53 in the first, the Hornets tied the game with an 18-yard passing touchdown from senior quarterback Jayden Paluseo to senior wide receiver Cameron Dickson.
Nineteen seconds later, Spradling broke loose for a 78-yard rushing touchdown to put the Rangers on top 14-7 with 7:51 in the first.
Spradling scored another rushing touchdown for 5 yards putting the score at 21-7 with 1:48 left in the first quarter .
On defense, Spradling returned an 84-yard pick six to extend the Rangers’ lead to 28-7 with 5:09 seconds left in the second quarter. To close the first half, senior running back Brad Sowersby scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown with 0:28 left, leaving the Rangers ahead 35-7.
Trying to push the ball down the field with 28 seconds left, Paluseo threw an interception that senior defensive back Julian Colunga for a 37-yard pick six that left the score 41-7 going into halftime.
The Rangers were the first to score in the second half with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Spradling to senior wide receiver Brody Day with 8:36 on the clock. At that point, coach Larry Hill pulled the starters.
With 0:20 in the fourth, the Hornets scored on a 54-yard passing touchdown from Paluseo to senior wide receiver Andre Mimms, leaving the score 49-14.
Spradling completed 4 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns and ran 7 times for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Sowersby ran 13 times for 46 yards and a touchdown.
Moeller had 4 receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown while Day had 2 receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown.
