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STATE CHAMPS!

Wed, 12/16/2020 - 23:11
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As the old saying goes, ‘To be the best, you have to beat the best,’ and as Ethan Belcher trotted into high school football immortality on a two-point conversion with 26-seconds remaining, Windthorst did just that. The Trojans ended Mart’s quest for a four-peat in a 22-21 classic on Wednesday, Dec. 16, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

As Windthorst wins its third state title, this team will forever be enshrined as legends, joining the 1996 and 2003 squads as champions.

“It was a joy the whole year working up to it,” Windthorst head coach Chris Tackett said. “We knew we were up against a great competitor in Mart and Coach Hoffman. We fought hard and executed the gameplan.”

It cannot be overstated how phenomenal the Trojans defense played. Mart entered Wednesday’s contest averaging 53.6 points and hadn’t scored fewer than 32 in a game this season. The Windthorst defense held the Panthers to just 21. Title game Defensive MVP, Tryston Harding, came up with a pair of fumble recoveries and logged six tackles in keeping the high-flying Panthers offense in check.

After battling to a 14-14 draw going into the intermission, things appeared bleak in the second half for the Trojans. Mart opened the third quarter with a 12 play, 53-yard scoring drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock and gave the Panthers their first lead of the night, up 21-14, at the 5:13 mark.

The Trojans offense quickly stalled, giving the ball right back to the Panthers after just five plays and a punt. Mart churned out a 17-play, 53-yard drive that chewed up 9:56 of game time but failed to produce points following an incomplete pass on fourth and long.

Windthorst took over, needing to cover 75 yards in 4:11 for immortality. Kyle Wolf burned the Panthers’ defense for 27-yards on a fourth and six before adding 15 more on a screen to move down to the Mart 24. Faced with a fourth and 12 from the 26, quarterback Cy Belcher perfectly placed a back-shoulder throw to Wolf to again move the sticks and advancing to the 12. Three plays later, Cy Belcher went over the top to force the biggest decision of Tackett’s coaching career.

Initially, the Trojans trotted the field goal unit on to attempt an extra point to tie the game before a Windthorst timeout. After sending the field goal team back onto the field, the Panthers called a timeout in an attempt to ice Harding, the Trojans’ kicker. Harding missed the attempt, but Mart jumped offsides. With a shorter distance, Tackett elected to go for the win.

“When we got the penalty, it was set up. We knew we had a good play we could go to. That’s what we called, and the guys executed it.”

“That’s probably the happiest (I've been) to miss an extra point,” Harding echoed. “It’s incredible.”

“We called a smash play to our strong side,” Ethan Belcher said on the two-point play. “They had it overloaded. We motioned Kyle out, and nothing really changed. We snapped the ball, and they slanted in hard, pretty much what they’d been doing in heavier sets like that. I saw the wide side of the field open up and just ran to it. (…) I don’t even know if I can explain how happy I am for this team and our community.”

Wolf earned game Offensive MVP honors, finishing the night with five catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. Three of his catches came on the game-winning drive, including a pair on fourth down to keep the title dreams alive.

Ethan Belcher concludes his high school career as the first Windthorst player to run for 2,000 yards in a season. The senior logged 21 carries for 70 yards to finish the year with 2,034 yards.

“That’s more of a team accomplishment than an individual thing,” Belcher said. “Kudos go to the offensive line. They were the real heartbeat of our team this year. Being able to run the ball helped us to get where we are. I don’t think the 2,000 yards should go to me; it should go to the offensive line. I can’t be more thankful for them.”

Quarterback Cy Belcher went 9-of-11 passing for 99 yards and a score while adding a pair of short touchdown runs.

Statistically, the Panther dominated the Trojans on both sides of the ball. Mart quarterback Roddrell Freeman single-handedly outgained Windthorst, rushing for 192 yards and three scores. Windthorst was limited to just 154 yards of total offense.

But at the end of the day, all that matters are the points on the scoreboard, and where it mattered most, the Trojans came out on top.