In the Class 5A Bi-District Football Playoffs that will take place this week, Iowa Colony secured home field advantage by defeating Texas City by a score of 40-18 on Friday at AISD Freedom Field in Iowa Colony.
Killeen Ellison will be the opponent for the Pioneers, who will play at Freedom Field on November 16 at 7:30 p.m. and have a record of 9-1 overall and 6-1 in the postseason. The Pioneers are the No. 2 seed from 9-5A Division 2.
The Iowa Colony’s head coach, Ray Garza, stated that the matchup against Ellison would be beneficial for the team.
They have a quarterback who has thrown for 3,000 yards and several more outstanding players. The children have to come to terms with the fact that everything is now a 0-0, and that everything begins again.
Carson White, the quarterback for Iowa Colony, connected Antoine Martin Jr., who was wide open downfield at the Texas 25-yard line. This allowed the Colony to reach the end zone in just two plays after forcing the Stings to punt on their first series.
The remaining distance was scorched by Martin, who made a touchdown reception of 66 yards with 8 minutes and three seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Pioneers took a 7-0 lead after Andy Cruz kicked the extra point through the uprights to give them the lead.
On their subsequent possession, the Stings drove to the interior of the IC 33-yard line; however, the IC defense stepped up to force an incompletion on fourth and seven, which resulted in the turnover of the ball on downs.
After that, Iowa Colony drove into the territory of Cruz, who made a field goal from 45 yards out that went through the uprights to extend the Pioneers’ lead to 10-0 with 1 minute and 54 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
On the other hand, Texas City, which is also headed to the playoffs as the fourth seed in the district, did not instantly give up.
In spite of the fact that White responded for the Pioneers with a three-yard keeper to make the score 17-6, the Stings’ quarterback Clyde Votaw hit Jayden Johnson with a seven-yard scoring pass to narrow the deficit to 17-12 heading into the halftime break. Xavier Skowron had raced 89 yards with a fumble return to score the first touchdown for the Stings.
I am most happy of the way that our men went into the locker room and were determined not to allow the first half dictate the second half,” Garza said. “Our guys had their ups and downs in the first half, but I am most proud of how they went into the locker room.”
With the way the children handled the issue and carried out their responsibilities, I believe that it was a learning opportunity for all of us.
Cruz kicked a field goal from 32 yards out during the third half, and Aaron Tenner kicked a field goal from 18 yards out to give Iowa Colony a 27-18 lead with 5:29 left in the third period.
White burst for a scoring run of 70 yards and later chipped in a sneak for 1 yard to cement the game and secure the No. 2 seed for the Pioneers.
While Kaden Clay broke loose for a touchdown run of 60 yards, which helped the Stings get closer to the score at 27-18, White scored both of his touchdowns.
On the ground, White rushed for 102 yards on seven attempts and scored three touchdowns. He completed seven of seventeen passes for 207 yards and one touchdown.