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TITLE GAME BOUND!

Fri, 12/11/2020 - 11:53
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The Windthorst Trojans are going to State!

Windthorst (14-1) executed one play on offense to perfection and the defense made the lone touchdown stand up in a 7-0 victory over third-ranked Wellington (13-1) to advance to the Class 2A-DII State Finals.

The Trojans make their sixth trip to the title game and first since the 2010 season on Wednesday, Dec. 16, at 7 p.m. against three-time defending state champion Mart (14-0). With a win, these Windthorst players and coaches will be forever immortalized as the third state champion in school history.

“It’s a lot of fun, the reward for hard work,” Trojans’ head coach Chris Tackett said. “These kids deserve it. They put in the time. We just get them on the bus. This group and these kids, they deserve a chance to go play down there.”

Tackett will be coaching in his fourth title game after serving as the defensive coordinator in 2003, 2006 and 2010. Wednesday marks his first trip at the helm of the Windthorst program.

Senior Max Owen scored the decisive touchdown on a trick play at the 1:14 mark in the third quarter. Owen pretended to come off the field on a substitution, but stopped shy of the sidelines and remained uncovered by Skyrocket defenders. Quarterback Cy Belcher lobbed a quick pass to Owen who raced down the sidelines for a 26-yard score that proved to be the difference in the contest.

“We worked on it in practice,” Owen said after the game. “It was honestly just a hit or miss play and it turned out to be a huge hit. It’s probably the most stressful play I’ve ever run in anything in my life. I was just thinking ‘Don’t get tackled. Don’t step out of bounds and get in the endzone, whatever it takes.’ This is a great team win. We’re state bound.”

Wellington entered the contest averaging nearly 38 points per game on offense, headlined by star junior running back Marc Ramirez. The Trojans pitched a shutout, yielding 172 yards of offense, 139 of which came from Ramirez on the ground.

“We knew that they loved running the ball and No. 5 (Ramirez) is a really good running back,” defensive coordinator Juan Cavazos said. “We focused on stopping him and making them throw the ball when they had to. Wellington is one heck of a program. Our boys did everything we asked them for. I’m so proud of them right now. They deserve everything that’s come to them.”

Cavazos has coached with a heavy heart over the last month of the season. The defensive signal caller tragically lost his mother in early November.

“I feel like she’s here with us,” he said choking back tears. “I wish she was here with us so I could tell her. She was here in spirit and she helped us out tonight. We’re going to state!”

Cavazos’ defense turned away the Skyrockets twice on fourth down inside the Trojans’ 10 yard line in the first half. Wellington churned out an 18-play drive to open the game, chewing up nearly 11 minutes of game clock before being turned back at the five. Following a Windthorst three-and-out, the Skyrockets took over at the Trojans’ 36 and again marched inside the 10. Facing a fourth and two from the six, Windthorst stuffed Ramirez for a loss to again turn back the Skyrockets.

After the second drive, the Skyrockets wouldn’t sniff the endzone for the remainder of the night as the Trojans held Wellington to just 56 yards in the second half.

“I can’t say enough about our defense,” Tackett said. “They were lights out. Bend don’t break and the offense will take care of it and they did.”

After both sides exchanged punts early in the second half, Tryston Harding pinned the Skyrockets at their 12 yard line. A three-and-out forced a Wellington punt. Kyle Wolf muffed the punt at the Wellington 47 and immediately fell on the ball. Laying on the ground, Wolf was speared by a Wellington defender to give the Trojans their best field position of the night at the Skyrockets’ 32.

Two plays later, Owen found himself all alone on the sideline for the decisive score.

Windthorst mustered just 100 yards of total offense in the contest, but the phenomenal effort by the defense made the difference. Cy Belcher went 4-of-7 for 34 yards and a score while Ethan Belcher logged 59 yards on 17 carries. Ethan needs 36 yards in his final high school game to become the first 2,000 yard rusher in Trojans’ history.

It wasn’t always pretty, but man if these Trojans aren’t a ton of fun to watch.