Goldthwaite managed half of a major bidistrict football upset Thursday night, but the Eagles couldn’t finish the job in the second half.
The Hawley Bearcats rallied for a 34-20 Class 2A Division I bidistrict win at Gordon Wood Stadium, outscoring Goldthwaite 15-0 in the second half and limiting the Eagles to 47 total yards after halftime.
Xavier Rodela, who usually alternates at quarterback, was moved to running back because of an injury to 200-pound sophomore Austin Cumpton, who rushed for 1,294 yards during the regular season. Rodela rushed for 149 yards and a touchdown Thursday as Hawley won for the 32nd time in 37 games over the last three seasons.
Hawley (9-3) advanced to the area round of the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season. The Bearcats, the champion and No. 1 seed from District 3-2A DI, will face Sundown, a 34-6 winner over Farwell on Thursday, in next week’s area round.
Goldthwaite, which placed fifth in District 4-2A DI but got into the playoffs because COVID-19 ended Coleman’s season prematurely, finished 3-8. But the Eagles stunned the Bearcats on Thursday by rallying from a 19-6 second-quarter deficit to take a 20-19 halftime lead.
Jackson Patrick returned a kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown that pulled Goldthwaite within 19-13 with 9:17 left in the second quarter. Then the Eagles’ defense posted its first stop of the game at the Goldthwaite 10-yard line with 4:04 left in the second quarter.
The Eagles drove 90 yards in 15 plays to take the lead, twice converting on fourth down. Patrick ran 4 yards from the Bearcats’ 26 to narrowly convert a fourth-and-4. Four plays later, Patrick completed a 12-yard pass to Dusty Partin that converted a fourth-and-6 from the Hawley 18.
On second-and-goal, Patrick threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Cason Guthrie, who broke free from a Hawley defender with just 15 seconds left in the first half and Goldthwaite out of timeouts. Saul Vaquera’s kick gave the Eagles a 20-19 halftime lead.
The turning point came on the second-half kickoff when a holding penalty backed up Goldthwaite to its 16. Hawley’s defense posted a three-and-out, and after Patrick’s 24-yard punt, the Bearcats inherited a short field at the Eagles’ 46.
Hawley scored in five plays as Rodela’s 21-yard run set up Kason O’Shields’s 7-yard touchdown run that gave the Bearcats the lead for good at 25-20 with 8:41 left in the third quarter.
A safety after a high punt snap eventually went out of the end zone extended Hawley’s lead to 27-20. Then in the fourth quarter, the Bearcats clinched the win with an 11-play drive. Rodey Hooper, who played full time at quarterback with Rodela sliding over to running back, threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to O’Shields that extended Hawley’s lead to 34-20 with 8:41 to play.
Goldthwaite, which scored 20 points and gained 199 total yards in the first half, was held to three-and-out on its first three possessions of the second half when the Eagles’ upset bid faded.
Hooper finished an efficient 11-for-19 passing for 114 yards and three touchdowns. O’Shields caught seven passes for 86 yards, including TDs of 37 and 13 yards from Hooper. O’Shields, a 5-foot-11 sophomore, also scored on a 7-yard run and finished with 129 all-purpose yards.
For Goldthwaite, Patrick finished 8-of-17 passing for 94 yards, and the junior quarterback also led the Eagles in rushing with 64 yards. He also had the 88-yard kickoff return for a score.
Partin, who had missed the last four games with a shoulder injury, scored the Eagles’ other touchdown on a 9-yard run.
Hawley 34, Goldthwaite 20
Score by Quarters:
G’waite 6 14 0 0 — 20
Hawley 13 6 8 7 — 34
First Quarter
HAW — Xavier Rodela 26 run (run failed), 9:05
GOL — Dusty Partin 9 run (kick failed), 7:58
HAW — Kason O’Shields 37 pass from Rodey Hooper (Josiah Willits kick), 4:44
Second Quarter
HAW — Aeneas Segura 21 pass from Hooper (kick failed), 9:30
GOL — Jackson Patrick 88 kickoff return (Saul Vaquera kick), 9:17
GOL — Cason Guthrie 6 pass from Patrick (Vaquera kick), 0:15
Third Quarter
HAW — O’Shields 7 run (pass failed), 8:41
HAW — safety. Goldthwaite snapped ball over punter’s head out of end zone, 0:55
Fourth Quarter
HAW — O’Shields 13 pass from Hooper (JWillits kick), 8:13
Gol Haw
First Downs 12 26
Rushes-Yards 30-152 50-261
Passing Yards 94 114
Total Yards 246 375
Comp-Att-Int 8-17-1 11-19-0
Punts 1-20 0-0
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 8-84 5-45
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Goldthwaite – Jackson Patrick 9-64, Aaron Anzua 7-57, Angel Morales 8-33, Dustin Partin 4-10, Cason Guthrie 1-2, Team 1-(-)14. Hawley –Xavier Rodela 28-149, Kason O’Shields 7-43, Aeneas Segura 7-42, Hez Parker 1-20, Rodey Hooper 5-13, Team 2-(-)6.
PASSING: Goldthwaite – Patrick 8-17-1 for 94. Hawley – Hooper 11-19-0 for 114.
RECEIVING: Goldthwaite – Partin 3-51, Guthrie 3-39, Anzua 1-4, Seth Garnder 1-0. Hawley – O’Shields 7-86, Segura 2-18, Chandlin Myers 1-11, Will Scott 1-(-)1.
RECORDS: Hawley I 9-2. Goldthwaite finished 3-8.
NEXT WEEK: Hawley vs. Sundown in the area round.