Texas high school football playoffs: 5A Division I regional final roundup

Smithson Valley rallies past A&M Consolidated, Forney edges Lancaster and more from UIL state playoffs

The fourth round of the Texas high school football playoffs are here. 

Here is a recap of every game in the UIL Class 5A Division I regional finals:

ALEDO STARTS FAST, BEATS ABILENE

Aledo, the defending Class 5A Division I champions, scored four times in the first quarter to set the tone for a 56-21 win against Abilene on Friday in Stephenville.

Linebacker/Wildcat quarterback Dahvon Keys ran for three touchdowns, while quarterback Hauss Hejny had three touchdowns for the Bearcats (14-0).

Keys had two of his three touchdowns in the first quarter, as Aledo ran out to a 28-0 lead over the Eagles (11-3).

Hejny, a TCU pledge, threw a 16-yard touchdown to Colton McCoy and Hawk Patrick-Daniels had an 18-yard touchdown run.

Abilene pulled with 28-14 by halftime with two second-quarter touchdowns. Brayden Henry ran for a touchdown and Dylan Slack threw a 14-yard touchdown to Ryland Bradford.

Hejny’s 35-yard touchdown run opened the scoring in the second half, a 28-0 surge that spanned into early in the fourth quarter.

Keys and Patrick-Daniels added rushing scores, while Hejny tossed a 50-yard score to Trace Clarkson.

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FORNEY DOWNS LANCASTER IN 2OT

The Forney Jackrabbits are in the semifinals for the first time since 2000 after a 43-41 win against Lancaster on Friday at Wilkerson-Sanders Stadium in Rockwall.

Forney (13-1) and Lancaster (8-6) were tied at 28 after regulation. Neither team scored in the fourth quarter.

The Jackrabbits got the ball first in OT and sophomore Javian Osborne ran for a 17-yard touchdown.

Mar’kel Porter ran for a 2-yard score for the Tigers to forge a 35-35 tie.

Porter followed up with a 25-yard score, but a two-point conversion failed. Osborne’s third touchdown, from 17 yards away, tied the game.

The Jackrabbits won it when Kyle Crawford hit Kofi Eduful for the game-winner.

This was the Forney’s first regional final since 2002 and now it will face Aledo next week in the semifinals. 

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SMITHSON VALLEY SCORES LATE TO TOPPLE A&M CONSOLIDATED

Smithson Valley scored in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 31-24 win over Texas A&M Consolidated on Friday at Gupton Stadium in Cedar Park.

It is the first trip to the semifinals since 2008 for Smithson Valley.

The Rangers (13-1) forged a tie on a 3-yard run by Cade Spradling with 6:28 to play. A little more than 3 minutes later, Brad Sowersby’s 9-yard run gave the Rangers the lead with 3:25 to play. He had a 13-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

A&M Consolidated (10-4) once led 17-0 and later 24-14 in the game.

Will Hargett had two touchdown passes to Ellis Myers and ran for a 16-yard score for Consolidated.

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VETERANS MEMORIAL DEF. CORPUS CHRISTI MILLER

Veterans Memorial continued to turn doubters into believers Friday, using a four-touchdown second half by quarterback Storm Montoya to overcome a three-score deficit and take down the Buccaneers 35-28 during the Region IV-5A championship game at Sams Memorial Stadium in Brownsville.

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-- Cody Thorn | @sblivetx