Summer Creek beats Steele: Live score, Texas high school football state semifinals recap (12/9/2023)
The Texas high school football playoffs continued this weekend with more action from the state semifinals.
Summer Creek earned a trip to next week's UIL 6A D2 state championship with a 38-14 victory over Steele on Saturday at Baylor University's McLane Stadium.
The Bulldogs will meet up with nationally ranked DeSoto, which defeated Southlake Carroll this weekend, in the state championship next week at AT&T Stadium.
Summer Creek (14-1) entered the playoffs at No. 21 in the state rankings after finishing the regular season with one loss coming against nationally-ranked North Shore. Quarterback Blake Thomas and Tulsa running back commit Lloyd Avant both had three touchdowns for the Bulldogs in the semifinals.
Steele (13-2), which finished the regular season ranked No. 11 in Texas, was led offensively by junior quarterback Chad Warner and Oklahoma running back commit Jonathan Hatton. The Knights' only loss during the regular season came to Lake Travis in their second game.
STEELE 14, SUMMER CREEK 38 (FINAL)
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FOURTH QUARTER
-- Summer Creek takes a knee to run out the final seconds on the clock. For the first time in program history, the Bulldogs are going to the state finals, where they'll meet up with nationally ranked DeSoto.
-- Avion Fareaux runs for a seven-yard touchdown to put Steele back on the board. It won't make much of a difference in the result of this game, but the Knights aren't quitting. (Summer Creek, 38-14 | 1:27)
-- Summer Creek punts for the first time today. Steele starts the drive at its own 33 looking for a score to kickstart a comeback.
THIRD QUARTER
-- Once again, Summer Creek makes a stop on fourth down. The Bulldogs take over on offense at their own 25-yard line with 45 seconds left in the quarter.
-- Steele's offense comes back out at its own 29 following a stop by the defense.
-- Summer Creek's defense makes a stop on 4th and 3 near midfield. The Bulldogs take over on offense at their own 46.
-- Summer Creek has turned this into a blowout. After the Bulldogs get a stop on defense, the offense finds the end zone again on a 45-yard touchdown run by Blake Thomas. (Summer Creek, 38-7 | 7:09)
-- Lloyd Avant makes some moves and breaks free for a 25-yard touchdown run, his third score of the game, and the Bulldogs go up by 24 points early in the second half. (Summer Creek, 31-7 | 10:52)
-- Steele goes with an onside kick to open the second half, and Summer Creek recovers. The Bulldogs offense takes over at their own 47.
SECOND QUARTER
-- Summer Creek moves the down the field, but Steele's defense stands tall in the red zone. Brian Mays hits a 25-yard field goal to extend the Bulldogs' lead. (Summer Creek, 24-7 | 1:09)
-- Steele is unable to score off the turnover. Summer Creek makes a stop on fourth down to give the ball back to the offense.
-- Steele is officially back in business. The Knights defense comes up with a takeaway, as Jalen Morgan snags an interception and returns it back to Summer Creek's 45-yard line.
-- Following the Steele touchdown, Lloyd Avant returns the ensuing kickoff back to the Knights' 46-yard line.
-- Chad Warner and Royal Capell hook up for a 73-yard gain to move Steele all the way down to the 8-yard line. Three plays later, Warner finds Jalen Cooper in the end zone for the Knights' first points of the game. (Summer Creek, 21-7 | 6:36)
-- Lloyd Avant gets loose for a 47-yard touchdown run. The Bulldogs are on the brink of putting this game away in the first half. (Summer Creek, 21-0 | 8:04)
-- Steele goes for it on fourth down instead of opting for a long field goal, and Summer Creek gets the stop with a sack. The Bulldogs take over on offense at their own 27 with 9:30 left in the half.
-- Steele is on the move. A big run by Jonathan Hatton and a big pass from Chad Warner to Royal Capell has the Bulldogs right outside the red zone.
FIRST QUARTER
-- On 3rd and 12 from Steele's 19-yard line, Blake Thomas scrambles around before throwing a laser to Caleb Welch for a touchdown to extend the Bulldogs' lead. (Summer Creek, 14-0 | 0:13)
-- Steele has some success on its second drive of the game but is forced to boot it away. A great punt pins Summer Creek inside its own 5-yard line.
-- Summer Creek scores first in this state semifinal game. Lloyd Avant takes a Blake Thomas screen pass 25 yards for a touchdown to give the Bulldogs the lead. (Summer Creek, 7-0 | 9:24)
-- Steele starts the game on offense but quickly punts after a three-and-out.
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-- Zach Shugan | zshugan@gmail.com | @SBLiveTX
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(Feature photo by Paul Brick)
