WEST RUSK STUNS TROUP | Raiders escape, 29-27, cause a three-way tie in 10-3A
TROUP – Four of the best teams in the state in UIL Class 3A, Division II are all in one district.
Realignment placed Troup, Arp, West Rusk, and Jefferson all in a district (10-3A, DII) together for this season and next, and threw another talented team, New Diana, in for good measure.
The result has been some fun games. Oh, and there’s this: as if he didn’t already have it, West Rusk’s Rafe Mata has earned his ‘big game coach’ merit badge.
In a nail-biter down to the end, the Raiders escaped from Troup Friday night, 29-27, giving West Rusk wins over two of those other teams: Arp and Troup. Jefferson did hand the Raiders their only district loss.
The game at Troup came down to a 40-yard field goal try by the Tigers in the final seconds, but one that would be no good.
A key moment in the game: Troup quarterback Trevor Golightly, who transferred from Edgewood prior to the season and has been very good for the Tigers, was ejected in the first half.
West Rusk’s win gives the Raiders and Troup identical 3-1 records in district play. Jefferson is 4-0 in the standings and now atop the district. Arp slipped to 2-2.
In the final moments Friday night in Troup, coach Sam Wells’ Tigers got the ball back with 2:21 left in the game for what would end up being the game’s final drive. Troup took over at its own 42-yard-line.
A key pass interference penalty on West Rusk on a fourth and long allowed Troup to extend the drive, with a first down at the Raiders’ 42.
James Pierce would convert for another first down, and Troup eventually had to try what would’ve been the game-winning field goal, had it made it, from West Rusk’s 23. Troup kicker Anthony Zuniga had hit 52 of 54 extra points this season, but the field goal didn’t happen, leaving West Rusk fans celebrating the win.
West Rusk opened the game with the ball at their own 39-yard-line, and concluded the drive in impressive fashion: a 46-yard pass from Trigg Pratt to Gunner Harp.
Diego Martinez hit the extra point and gave West Rusk an early 7-0 lead, with less than a minute off the game clock.
Troup punched right back.
After the kickoff, Troup began at its own 29, and after back-to-back runs, Golightly connected with running back Brett Wells on a pass to midfield.
Golightly hit brother Desh two plays later, on a 6-yard pick-up to the Raiders’ 33, and then the brothers connected again, this time for a 33-yard score. Zuniga’s extra point tied the game at 7 with 7:28 left in the first quarter.
Troup’s defense held West Rusk to a three-and-out, and forced a punt. The Tigers were to begin the possession at the Raiders’ 46.
But officials threw a flag on Trevor Golightly, then ejected him from the game for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Golightly was tossed for allegedly headbutting a West Rusk player.
That would leave Troup without its starting quarterback for the remainder of the game. Brett Wells was moved to the QB position, and he is not unfamiliar with it, of course.
The game resumed, with Troup beginning the drive at their own 43-yard-line instead, after the 15-yard walk-off.
Two plays and the Tigers were quickly at the West Rusk 24: a run for 6 yards by Wells, and a 25-yard run by Cameron Hollie-Williams.
The drive stalled out at the West Rusk 16. Troup coaches elected to go for the fourth-down conversion, but came up short, giving the Raiders the ball at that spot.
Raiders running back Daylan Williams picked up a yard on first down, as the first quarter ended with the game still tied at 7.
Pratt connected with Kam Brown on back-to-back plays, but Troup forced the Raiders’ punt, and the Tigers took over once again at midfield, their own 47.
Hollie-Williams reeled off a 13-yard run, and three plays later, after overcoming a false start penalty, Wells had a 40-yard touchdown run. Zuniga’s extra point with 8:38 left in the half gave the Tigers a 14-7 advantage.
A pass from Pratt to Kemontrea McGregor for 35 yards got the Raiders to Troup’s 24. West Rusk would get to the Tigers’ 10 before being forced to kick a 27-yard field goal. Martinez hit it, and Troup still led, 14-10, with 5:34 left until halftime.
West Rusk’s defense rose up on Troup’s next possession, forcing a turnover on downs at Troup’s 39.
The Raiders were flagged for a hold, then another, but overcame the penalties on a 21-yard run by Williams for a first down.
Pratt and Harp hooked up for an 11-yard pass to Troup’s 19, and then Pratt hit Brown, who was stopped at the Tigers’ 3-yard-line, knocking on the door of points.
Ultimately, though, the Raiders would have settle for another field goal by Martinez, kicked from the 3, giving the game a 14-13 score with Troup in front by a point with 48 seconds left in the half, and the eventual halftime score.
Troup scored on its opening possession of the second half, which included a big play by James Pierce that got the Tigers inside the West Rusk 5-yard-line.
Pierce did the scoring honors from there, and Zuniga’s extra point gave Troup a little bit of a cushion, a 21-13 lead with 10:36 still on the third quarter clock.
A quick 6-yard pass to the Tigers’ 43 from Pratt to Harp, then a first-down run by Williams to Troup’s 35 was a good start to the Raiders’ drive. Pratt found Brown for a big gain, 33 yards, all the way to the Troup 2-yard-line, and Williams took it in from there, the 2-yard score.
The extra point missed, leaving West Rusk trailing, 21-19, still with 8:37 left in the third.
There was a fumble on the kickoff, handing the Raiders the ball at Troup’s 25. A holding call on Troup exacerbated things, and got West Rusk even closer. Williams got 6 yards on back-to-back carries before Pratt and Brown hooked up yet again, this one for a 9-yard score. West Rusk got the two-point conversion, and took a six-point lead (27-21) with 6:26 left in the third quarter.
Troup coaches elected to keep the ball on the ground, for the most part, on their next possession, and the Tigers got a big fourth-down conversion by Wells at West Rusk’s 27, as the third quarter expired.
Troup scored on a 7-yard pass from Wells to Hollie-Williams, tying the game at 27. But on the extra point, the holder couldn’t get the ball down after the snap and it ended up in the hands of West Rusk’s Tucker Heathcoe, who raced downfield for two points. Incredibly, the Raiders were in front, even after the Tigers’ touchdown, 29-27, with still almost the entire fourth quarter (11:53) remaining.
But the teams’ defenses stood tall, with Troup finally taking over at its own 42 for the game’s final sequence. Zuniga’s 40-yard kick fell just short.
West Rusk is 7-2 overall and will host Winona (1-8) to close out the regular season.
Troup is also 7-2 on the season, and has a huge game next week: at Jefferson.