GRAPELAND OUTLASTS OVERTON | Mustangs dig too deep a hole to get out, and slip, 31-23 (W/ VIDEO)

EDITOR’S NOTE: Much more on this game in a few hours, a gallery by the great Ronnie Sartors.

ATHENS – For three and a half quarters here at Bruce Field against Grapeland on Friday night, the Overton Mustangs didn’t really look like themselves.

With seven and a half minutes left, the real Overton showed up.

But it was just too late.

Trailing two touchdowns with just over two minutes left, Overton got the ball back, drove down quickly and scored a touchdown with 1:07 left and two-point conversion to get within a touchdown of the Sandies, who had led the entire game.

But down still by eight, with only the little time left on the clock, the Mustangs were forced to go for an onside kick. It failed, with Grapeland recovering the attempt, and while Overton did have one time out, they couldn’t stop the clock after that.

Grapeland ran out the clock and won the UIL Class 2A, Division II regional semifinal, 31-23.

The Sandies (10-3) move on to face Bremond in the regional finals next week.

But for coach Scotty Laymance and the Overton Mustangs, the season ends – they finish it with a 10-3 record, and the knowledge that they had beaten Grapeland earlier in the season, so they did at least have a win over the team that beat them.

For Overton, since the beginning of the 2023 season, the Mustangs are 20-5, a huge turnaround for a program that had difficulty winning more than two games in a season just a couple of years ago. What Laymance and his staff and the Overton athletes have done has been an amazing turnaround, and it’s across the board in athletics, not just in football. Overton is a contender in about every sport now – and awfully dangerous in football, having knocked off state-finalist Mart in the second round.

Against Grapeland, with 7:27 left, and trailing 25-7, the Mustangs had the ball at Grapeland’s 27-yard-line in a second down and 10. The very next play: a 27-yard touchdown strike from Bryce Still to Jacob Osburn. Still flipped it to Jayden Edwards on the two-point conversion, and Edwards dropped his shoulder and got into the end zone. The Mustangs trailed 25-15 with 7:22 left.

An onside kick attempt by Overton failed: Grapeland got it at the 50.

The Mustangs’ defense got Grapeland into a fourth and 3 at Overton’s 29, and not only got a stop, but threw Maleek Johnson for a 5-yard loss. Overton, after the turnover on downs, took over at their own 34, with 4:21 left.

Still hauled off and launched it downfield to Edwards, who was double-covered, and nobody could come up with the ball at the Sandies’ 30.

Another incompletion followed on second down, and then another on third down, leaving the Mustangs’ season hanging in the balance with a fourth and 10, still at their own 34. The fourth-down pass to Edwards was low, and he couldn’t haul it in at midfield, giving the Sandies the ball back with 4:02 left and a 25-15 lead.

Johnson then made the play that really hurt Overton, a run for 25 yards to Overton’s 8. The clock running, Grapeland of course took its time.

Overton’s Gabriel Miller chased Walker out of bounds for no gain on second down, and on third and goal, Johnson would roll to his right and score on an 8-yard run (officials did appear to miss a hold by the offensive line on Overton’s Kash Holleman), with 2:12 left, in what would turn out to be a back-breaker for the Mustangs. The extra point was missed, but Overton trailed by 16 – 31-15.

Just as they’d done their entire high school career, one more time, Still hit Edwards for a long pass to Grapeland’s 26, then another to the 17, and out of bounds. He caught a third straight pass to the Sandies’ 9, and then went incomplete to Bryson Bobbitt at the goal line.

The clock stopped with 1:25 left.

Weir took the ball inside Grapeland’s 5, but was tackled in bounds. Laymance took a time out, leaving Overton with one, with 1:14 left on the clock.

On the very next play, Osburn was in the end zone, waving his arms frantically. Still lofted the ball over everyone’s head – except Osburn’s, who caught the ball for a touchdown. Edwards made the two-point catch while covered, and Overton was within a touchdown, 31-23, with 1:07 left!

Another onside kick attempt failed, though, and Grapeland recovered, again at the 50. Overton took its final time out with 1:03 left, and unable to stop the clock, couldn’t stop Grapeland from kneeling, as the game came to an end.

How did we get to that point? Grapeland held the Mustangs in check most of the first half.

After the Mustangs were unable to move the ball much on their first drive, Kash Holleman recovered a muffed punt for Overton at the Grapeland 35-yard-line.

But Still was wrapped up on first down for a 3-yard loss, not a sack, but on a quarterback run.

Still’s pass downfield, around the 10-yard-line, to Osburn, was incomplete, almost intercepted, and Grapeland took over on downs on its own 32.

Grapeland quarterback Sean Walker completed a pass to Maleek Johnson for a yard, before Johnson was ran out of bounds. Walker kept the ball for 3 yards on second down, and on third and 6, Walker hit Ja’Keyveon Bruins for a 23-yard gain to the 43.

Runs on first and second down left the Sandies in third and 4 at Overton’s 37. That call was a run, too, by Trey Gilmore, down to the 31 for 6.

A new set of downs, Walker kept the ball for 3 yards, then handed to Gilmore for 1. Elijah Dorsey stopped Gilmore. On third down, Walker hit Bruins down to Overton’s 12, a first down there.

On the snap, Walker bolted up the middle on a designed quarterback run, down to Overton’s 2 for a first-and-goal. But on that first down, when Walker tried to run again, Brody Brown was first to hit him, throwing Walker for a 3-yard loss.

He couldn’t connect with Johnson on second down, and on third down from the 5, the play was blown dead, a false start by the Sandies.

The third-and-goal was moved back to the 10, Walker hesitated, saw an opening, and then took off for the pylon, where he vaulted into the end zone for the score. He was sacked by Gabe Miller on the two-point conversion, but the Sandies had taken a 6-0 lead with 3:01 left in the first quarter.

Still was sacked on third down on the next Mustangs’ possession, and left Overton in a fourth and 18 from its own 22.

No punt return by Grapeland this time, as the ball rolled to a stop at the Sandies’ 34, where Grapeland took over with 1:29 left in the quarter.

Walker, in third and long, converted with a pass to Johnson into Overton territory, at the 44.

On the very last play of the first quarter, Bruins got free, got open, and Walker saw him: Bruins caught the ball inside Overton’s 15, then outran defenders to the end zone, a 44-yard pass. The conversion attempt failed again, but Grapeland doubled its lead to 12-0.

The Sandies tried a bit of a pop-up kick, almost looked like they attempted to recover it, but it was recovered at the Overton 48 by Landon Hill.

On third and 1 at Grapeland’s 43, Still took it himself for 3, and a first down to the 40.

Just when it appeared Overton had recovered, Johnson picked off a Still pass and returned it to the 50, where he was tackled by Eathen Oates.

Walker converted for a first down to Sawyer Perry, to Overton’s 35.

Two plays later, Hunter Klima saved a touchdown, as Johnson got free down his own sideline, all the way to the 4.

In a wild play at the goal line, the runner was popped, and the ball came out into the air. Gunnar Whitfield grabbed it for Overton, preventing a score by the Sandies and giving the Mustangs the ball at their own 5.

Still and Jayden Edwards connected for a first down at the 20, but on that first down play, a loss of 1 on a pass to Weir, who was wrapped up, about midway through the second quarter.

Still and Osburn couldn’t hook up on third down and 7, forcing Overton to punt from its own 23. The punt looked to be tipped, but it took an Overton roll all the way down to Grapeland’s 37.

A handoff to Johnson on first down fooled no one: Miller hit him and had help, as Johnson was wrapped up for a 5-yard loss. A false start brought the Sandies back even more, into second and 20 from the 27.

Walker dropped back, with time, and lofted the ball downfield, where it was caught by Bruins for a 41-yard gain, all the way to Overton’s 32.

Bruins was big again two plays later on a third-down conversion at Overton’s 18.

Bryson Johnson grabbed a pass from Walker to Overton’s 5, for another first-and-goal. Malik Johnson took the handoff and this time, no freaky fumble: he bulled his way into the end zone.

After failing on the two-point conversions after their first two touchdowns, Grapeland elected to kick the extra point after the third, and was good (Ray). The Sandies took a 19-0 lead with 1:57 left in the half.

A short kick fielded by Kash Holleman left Overton with good field position at its own 43. With three time outs left, Still completed a pass to Osburn for 11, into Grapeland territory to the 44.

A pass downfield fell incomplete, leaving the Mustangs in second and 10. Weir cut that in half, to a third and 5.

Grapeland’s Rickie Gilmore tipped Still’s third-down pass, but it was still caught by Weir, down to Grapeland’s 28.

On first down, Edwards caught a pass all the way down to the Sandies’ 16, with 25 seconds left. Overton took a time out, and still had two remaining.

They wouldn’t need it. With everyone appearing to be covered, Still took off to his right, getting free and into the edge of the end zone for Overton’s first points of the game with 15 seconds left in the half.

Freshman kicker Jackson Furlow booted the extra point after the score, out of Still’s hold, and Overton trailed 19-7, the halftime score (The half ended with Maleek Johnson out of bounds inside Overton’s 20).

Grapeland had first possession of the second half, and drove quickly into Overton territory, but turned the ball over, a fumble, and Klima recovered for Overton at the OHS 18.

Overton’s offense couldn’t manage a first down, though, and had to punt.

Neither team could manage much and traded punts – Grapeland was in fourth and 7 at Overton’s 44, and converted, a pass from Walker to Bryson Johnson to the Overton 29 for a first down.

The Sandies wound up in first-and-goal at Overton’s 1, fumbled the ball into the end zone and recovered it there for the touchdown, with 14 seconds left in the third quarter.

The extra point was wide left, but the TD put Grapeland up, 25-7.

Overton turned the ball over on downs at its own 20 on its next possession. A Grapeland receiver was wide open in the end zone, and the ball bounced off his hands, leaving the score at 25-7.

With 9:25 left, Overton clinging to its playoff life, the Mustangs’ offense came back out onto the field, a first down at its own 18.

Still scrambled for 12 yards on first down, to the 30, and out of bounds. He couldn’t find anyone on second down, as the pass rush bore down on him, and then Rylan Holleman came free at the 45, where Still hit him.

 With under nine minutes on the game clock, Weir caught a ball on the next play for a first down, to Grapeland’s 42, then two plays later, back to Holleman to the 27.

That set up the game’s final moments, with the two Overton touchdowns, but not enough to catch the Sandies.