Look: College Station rallies to knock off rival A&M Consolidated
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The College Station Cougars quickly found themselves backed into a corner Friday night.
After losing their first district game of the season last week at Georgetown, the Cougars faced a 21-0 deficit by the end of the first quarter against crosstown rival A&M Consolidated.
Led by a prolific rushing attack, College Station staged a strong rally and scored 31 straight points as part of a 38-28 comeback win against the Tigers on Friday night at Cougar Field.
The Cougars, who handed the Tigers its first loss against District 11-5A DI competition this year, improved to 6-1 in district play to create a three-way tie for first place with A&M Consolidated and Georgetown atop the district standings.
A&M Consolidated dominated during the opening quarter, scoring three rushing touchdowns through the first 7 minutes of game time.
The Tigers found the end zone on the first drive of the night when Riley Ash broke free for an 88-yard touchdown run less than a minute into the game, giving his team a 7-0 edge.
A&M Consolidated continued to build onto its early lead when Keshun Thomas scored on a 10-yard touchdown run a few minutes later and again when Ash added his second score of the first half.
He found the end zone again on a 21-yard rushing touchdown that put the Tigers ahead 21-0 with about 5 minutes left during the first quarter.
Although it took the Cougars more time to get going, they were the far more effective team on the ground.
College Station utilized its relentless rushing attack to reel off four straight touchdowns with a field goal sandwiched between them during a dominant run that stretched from the middle of the second quarter to midway through the fourth quarter.
The Cougars got on the board with a pair of second-quarter touchdowns. Zach Dang broke the seal for College Station offensively with a 55-yard touchdown run with about 5 minutes left during the first half.
Cougars quarterback Arrington Maiden then scrambled for a 20-yard rushing touchdown with about a minute remaining during the second quarter to cut A&M Consolidated's halftime lead to 21-13.
Collectively, the Cougars rushed for 300 yards and four touchdown runs on 46 carries, more than doubling the Tigers' rushing output.
Aydan Martinez-Brown led the way with x rushing yards and a pair of touchdown runs on x carries.
Martinez-Brown helped College Station knot the game up at 21-21 on a 1-yard touchdown run with around 4 minutes to go during the third quarter, setting up College Station for a successful, game-tying two-point conversion.
Cougars kicker Conner Young gave his team its first lead of the night on a 20-yard field goal to cap off the first possession of the fourth quarter, while Martinez-Brown added onto that newfound lead with a 40-yard run.
His second rushing touchdown of the second half propelled College Station ahead of A&M Consolidated 31-21 midway through the fourth quarter.
The Tigers responded with their fourth rushing touchdown on their next drive to trim College Station's lead to a field foal with about 5 minutes of game time remaining.
The Cougars, however, completed their comeback win and iced the game during their next possession when Maiden connected with wide receiver Jackson Verdugo for the final score of the night on a 25-yard touchdown pass that gave College Station a commanding two-possession lead with 3 minutes left.
College Station (7-2, 5-1) will close out its regular-season slate when the Cougars return to action for their district finale against the Pflugerville Hendrickson Hawks (3-6, 2-4) at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, at The Pfield in Pflugerville.
A&M Consolidated (7-2, 5-1), meanwhile, will wrap up its regular-season schedule at home when the Tigers take on the Leander Glenn Grizzlies (5-4, 3-3) at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, at Tiger Stadium in College Station.
Both teams can guarantee themselves at least a share of the District 11-5A DI championship with a win during Week 11.
The College Station Cougars can clinch the outright 11-5A DI district championship with a win over Pflugerville Hendrickson and a Georgetown loss to Cedar Park.
The A&M Consolidated Tigers can secure an outright 11-5A DI district title with a win against Leander Glenn and a College Station loss to Pflugerville Hendrickson.
Check out SBLive's exclusive photo gallery from the game:
PHOTO GALLERY — COLLEGE STATION 38, COLLEGE STATION A&M CONSOLIDATED 28
All photos by Dustin Nguyen
Dustin Nguyen, SBLive Sports
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