One bit of execution that left three Killeen Shoemaker players sprawled on the turf of Leo Buckley Stadium unclogged the Eagles path to the Class 5A state playoffs.
Michael Knapp, a sophomore linebacker, opened the door for teammate Daniel Cobb’s 48-yard punt return and Ellison’s 27-20 victory over the Grey Wolves Friday night.
With the immediate challengers from the Shoemaker coverage unit flat at his feet, Cobb headed for the sideline and then cut past the final tackler at the 20 to score with 6:14 remaining in the game.
Rafael Saenz’s third extra point put Ellison ahead 21-20.
The Eagles would add an insurance touchdown on a 24-yard run by do-everything quarterback Ivan Delgado with 1:01 to go.
Ellison’s third consecutive victory improved the Eagles record to 3-2 in District 13-5A and 5-4 for the season. In so doing, Ellison completed the district playoff picture.
Temple and Ellison will go into the playoffs as the Division II representatives, while College Station A&M Consolidated and Bryan will be 13-5A’s teams in Division I.
Even with the playoff position secure, Ellison coach Bret Boyd indicated that his team was not looking past Thursday’s game against the first-place Wildcats (5-0 in district).
“We’re not going to think playoffs and ignore Temple,” Boyd said. “We want to be able to say we beat the No. 1 team in the district.”
The loss, which dropped Shoemaker to 1-4 in district, eliminated the Grey Wolves from playoff contention. They complete their season Friday when they travel to Bryan.
“Obviously, Cobb’s return was huge,” Boyd said. “We felt that if he got his hands on the ball, he could go. We got good blocking on the play and it really was a team effort.”
The return blunted Shoemaker’s momentum. The Grey Wolves had taken the lead at 20-14 in the third quarter after the teams had battled to a 14-14 deadlock in the first half.
Shoemaker had taken the lead on its first possession of the third period - a two-play, 75-yard drive that actually required 85 yards because of a holding call. The score came on a 61-yard pass from Andre Smith, who threw for 228 yards, to wideout Derrick Mays with 9:59 to go in the period.
The Grey Wolves surprised everyone by lining up and going for two points - a run that failed.
Shoemaker coach Ken Gray actually was forced into the move.
“Our regular deep snapper (Noel Austin) broke his leg in the first half and his backup had a concussion,” Grey said.
Ellison took an early lead on a 2-yard run by Michael Holloway in the first quarter, but a broken field goal attempt resulted in Shoemaker’s tying touchdown. Kicker Paul Grande fielded the bad snap and threw a 7-yard desperation pass to Austin.
Ellison went back up 14-7 on a 6-yard touchdown run by Delgado with 8:56 to go before the half. Shoemaker’s Dion Demers, who ran 12 times for 115 yards, tied it with 7:03 to go in the half with a 1-yard run.
