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

Frisco Emerson breaks through to semis; defending champ South Oak Cliff rolls again

The fourth round of the Texas high school football playoffs wrapped up on Saturday and UIL state semifinal matchups were set.

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

EMERSON REACHES SEMIS FOR FIRST TIME

Second-year program Frisco Emerson is headed to the semifinals for the first time.

Emerson won a shootout with Colleyville Heritage on Friday night at Ford Center in Frisco.

Heritage (12-2) and Emerson (12-2) combined for 66 points in the second half.

Emerson held a slim 21-20 lead at the break and held on despite the Panthers pulling with 2 points on three occasions.

Oklahoma pledge Michael Hawkins threw for 316 yards and three touchdowns, while running for three touchdowns and 128 yards for the Mavericks.

They will await the winner of the South Oak Cliff vs. Lucas Lovejoy game that is Saturday.

Heritage quarterback Luke Ullrich threw for 413 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 169 yards and two more touchdowns.

The offensive shootout also led to big numbers for wide receivers. Braden Blueitt had nine catches for 175 yards for Heritage, though he was held out of the end zone. Hayden Golden had seven catches for 120 yard and two touchdowns.

Texas State pledge Kylen Evans had eight catches for 196 yards and a pair of scores for Emerson. 

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PORT NECHES-GROVES BEATS HUNSTVILLE

Port Neches-Grove picked up a 24-14 win over Huntsville in the regional finals and won its 13th straight in the process in a game Friday at NRG Stadium in Houston.

The Indians (13-1) are one win away from a return trip to the state finals.

It started by scoring the first 17 points of the contest.

Connor Bailey threw a pair of touchdowns in the first half, connecting with Shea Adams and London Nunley. A field goal by Giovanni Oceguera made it 17-0.

Huntsville (8-6) got on the board late in the first half when Austin Taylor hit TraeShawn Brown for a 31-yard touchdown.

The Indians got the ball to open the second half and running back Isaiah Nguyen capped that drive with a 7-yard score.

Taylor’s 1-yard run for Huntsville was the final score of the contest.

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LIBERTY HILL UPSETS SAN ANTONIO PIEPER

Liberty Hill is back in the state semifinal for the fourth straight year after knocking off San Antonio Pieper, 28-14, on Friday night at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos.

Liberty Hill (10-4) avenged an earlier loss to Pieper, 33-23, on Nov. 3.

The Panthers got three touchdowns from Noah Long in the win. Joe Pitchford also had a touchdown for Liberty Hill.

Both of the touchdowns for Pieper (13-2) came on passes from Jake South.

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DEFENDING CHAMP SOUTH OAK CLIFF LOOKS NEAR-FLAWLESS — AGAIN

South Oak Cliff continued its impressive postseason run by manhandling a strong Lucas Lovejoy team for the Class 5A Division II Region II title. 

Behind a pair of first-half touchdown runs from Danny Green, the Bears rolled to a 21-0 lead by halftime on their way to a 42-0 win at Choctaw Stadium.

Read more on the game from Arlington here:

South Oak Cliff dominates Lovejoy to reach Texas high school football state semifinals

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-- Cody Thorn | @sblivetx