Last-second FG lifts China Spring past Stephenville in matchup of 4A Texas state champions
CHINA SPRING, Texas — From the opening kickoff, China Spring and Stephenville — the No. 4 and 1 teams in SBLive's Texas Small School Top 25 power rankings — traded blows like a pair of heavyweight fighters.
Stephenville and China Spring — the reigning 4A DI and 4A DII Texas high school football state champions, respectively — played like a pair of Class 4A heavyweights squaring off until the final buzzer and a chaotic 2-minute stretch to finish the game.
With less than 2 minutes to play, the Cougars held a 35-28 advantage and possession of the football after Stephenville senior quarterback Ryder Lambert connected on a late fourth-quarter touchdown pass to senior tight end Tytus Russell.
But in a bizarre three-play sequence, the Yellow Jackets completely turned the tables.
On a third-down situation rolling out to the right, China Spring junior quarterback Cash McCollum rolled out and tried to throw the ball away out of bounds to avoid a sack.
But remarkably, a deflection along the sideline helped the Yellow Jackets come down with a bobbled-ball interception that gave them the ball back on the Cougars' side of the field with less than a minute remaining.
On the next play, Lambert delivered a deep pass downfield to sophomore wide receiver Tristian Gentry, who hauled it in for a 38-yard touchdown pass to cut China Spring's lead to 35-34.
On the ensuing snap, the Yellow Jackets decided to line up for a two-point conversion and go for the lead rather than a potential game-tying extra-point.
Lambert faked a handoff, rolled to his left, tucked the ball and scored on a 2-yard run that served as the go-ahead two-point conversion, pushing Stephenville ahead 36-35 with 49 seconds left during the fourth quarter.
The Yellow Jackets took their first lead of the second half after rattling off 15 unanswered fourth-quarter points, but China Spring delivered the knockout blow.
In a dramatic finished, the cardiac Cougars drove nearly the length of the field in less than a minute to set up senior kicker Thomas Barr, who drilled a game-winning 40-yard field goal as time expired to lift China Spring to a 38-36 win over previously undefeated Stephenville on Friday night at Cougar Stadium.
China Spring improved to 8-1 overall this year with the win and also secured sole possession of first place in District 5-4A DI and at least a share of the district title with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
The Cougars' win also snaps a 23-game winning streak for Stephenville, which hadn't lost a game since November 2020.
China Spring (8-1, 3-0) will wrap up its regular season next week when the Cougars hit the road to face Life Waxahachie (2-5, 0-2) at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, at Mustang Stadium in Waxahachie.
Stephenville (7-1, 1-1), meanwhile, will look to bounce back and stay in the District 5-4A DI title race when the Yellow Jackets return to action against Alvarado (3-5, 0-2) at the same time Friday, Oct. 28, at Memorial Stadium in Stephenville.
Editor's note: This story will be updated throughout the night.
