Needing to beat Killeen Shoemaker on Friday night to secure at least a share of their first district title since 1999, the surging Temple Wildcats ran roughshod over the Grey Wolves for a 54-19 victory at Wildcat Stadium, then celebrated the occasion by dousing coach Bryce Monsen with a cooler full of ice water.
And why shouldn’t Temple have some fun? Only two years after going winless in Monsen’s first season as head coach, the Wildcats are riding a five-game winning streak in District 13-5A and are on the verge of their first perfect league mark since 1985.
“It sounds real good,” Temple senior fullback Adrian Reaves-Brown, who ran for 104 yards and four touchdowns, said of the Wildcats being able to call themselves district champs.
“That’s all we’ve been talking about and striving for - going to the playoffs and trying to win district. My sophomore year, we all know we were 0-10, but the difference this year is we’ve had team unity.”
A soaked Monsen, with a blue blanket draped around his shoulders to ward off hypothermia, had the satisfied look of a man whose team had achieved something special.
“I’m overwhelmed right now,” said Monsen, whose team rushed for 432 yards and eight touchdowns as it moved to 6-3 overall and 5-0 in 13-5A. “We have great kids here and they understand how to work hard. Since they were freshmen they’ve worked hard, and they’re starting to reap the rewards.”
After their open date next week, the Wildcats will complete their regular season Nov. 8 at Killeen Ellison (4-4, 2-2). College Station A&M Consolidated (3-5, 3-1) can tie Temple for the 13-5A title if it wins its last two games and the Wildcats lose their finale. However, Temple won 35-34 at Consol three weeks ago.
With their district’s second-smallest enrollment, the Wildcats have clinched 13-5A’s top seed in the Division II bracket of the Class 5A state playoffs. They will play the lower seed of 14-5A’s Division II qualifiers in a bi-district game in three weeks.
Temple’s hard-charging Wing-T offense continued to operate at peak efficiency against Shoemaker (2-6, 1-3) as the Wildcats beat the Grey Wolves for the first time in four meetings.
Sophomore running back Lache Seastrunk rushed 15 times for 170 yards, including touchdowns of 18 and 33 yards; senior wingback Quentin Tuck carried 14 times for 106 yards and a 6-yard TD; and Reaves-Brown provided his 104 yards and four scores plus punishing blocks to spring his teammates.
Needless to say, Shoemaker coach Ken Gray wanted to see Temple return to its spread offense of 2005-06.
“That would help,” he said. “We prepared all week for it (the Wing-T), but nobody else has the backs they have and the line they have. Those are good backs and they’re hard to defend.
“The most important thing with Temple is that they capitalize on your mistakes.”
The Wildcats took control early, using Seastrunk’s 23-yard scamper and tough runs by Tuck and Reaves-Brown to move from their 32-yard line to Shoemaker’s 18. Seastrunk then followed Reaves-Brown’s lead block to the right side for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead with three minutes gone.
On a fourth-and-5 play to end the first quarter, Cody Monsen and David Johnson stopped Shoemaker quarterback Andre Smith for no gain at the Wildcat 21.
And Temple took advantage of the turnover on downs. Tuck bulled for runs of 8, 18, 11, 7 and 10 yards before Reaves-Brown blasted in for a 6-yard touchdown and a 13-0 lead with 8:05 left before halftime.
The Grey Wolves responded with a 69-yard drive capped by Smith’s tough 1-yard keeper for a touchdown, but Cedric Mosley blocked the extra-point attempt to keep it a 13-6 game with only a minute left until the half.
But a short kickoff set Temple up at its 47, and Seastrunk’s 22-yard dash and Chase Moore’s 16-yard pass to Tevin Reese led to Reaves-Brown’s 1-yard TD run for a 20-6 lead with just 17 seconds remaining.
“That was very important for us,” Bryce Monsen said. “That gave us some breathing room.”
Seastrunk was stripped of the ball on Temple’s first play after halftime and Shoemaker recovered, leading to Smith’s 18-yard TD pass to M.J. Porter for a 20-12 score.
But Temple answered with a 58-yard drive capped by Tuck’s 6-yard scoring romp with five minutes left in the third, then Mosley sacked Smith for another turnover on downs.
Seastrunk’s 33-yard scoring burst to the right side made it 34-12 at the 1:03 mark, and Monsen’s recovery of Dion Everett’s fumble on the ensuing kickoff lead to Reaves-Brown’s 27-yard touchdown run off left tackle to make it 41-12.
Kristian Alexander snared a Shoemaker fumble out of midair three plays later, then Reaves-Brown sprinted for a 16-yard score a minute into the fourth before Arthur Leavell added a 35-yard TD jaunt with 3:32 remaining.
gwille@temple-telegram.com
