Then the Wildcats conjured up some of what they like to call “Blue Front, White Back Magic,” as on their next play Derek Marshall hauled in a 66-yard touchdown pass from Chase Moore to produce a 28-28 tie and send the game to overtime.

The Panthers were stunned, but, unfortunately for Temple, they weren’t done.

After Chris Winkler kicked a 38-yard field goal for a 31-28 Temple lead, Pflugerville quarterback Brandon Wilson weaved through the Wildcat defense for a 25-yard touchdown that gave the Panthers a 34-31 win over the Wildcats in a Class 5A Division II bi-district playoff game Saturday afternoon at Leo Buckley Stadium.

“We wish the outcome was different, but it was a great game - as good as it gets,” said third-year Temple coach Bryce Monsen, whose District 13-5A-champion Wildcats finished 7-4. “It’s so hard to put it all together in words, but our kids rose up and played hard and gave everything they had.

“We just didn’t execute in overtime and they did. Their quarterback just made a play in open space.”

Senior fullback Adrian Reaves-Brown, who ran for a 40-yard touchdown en route to a 110-yard performance to complement Lache Seastrunk’s 147 yards, was one of many Wildcats who took their first loss in almost two months very hard.

“It hurts pretty bad because I’m a senior and this is my last game as a Temple Wildcat,” he said. “We talked before the season about making the playoffs at least, and the seniors on this team really stepped up. It was a blast.

“Coming into the game, we knew they (Pflugerville) were good,” he added. “We did all we could do today.”

Nwoko rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns and Wilson ran for 114 yards and three scores for 14-5A third-place team Pflugerville (8-3), which advanced to play Klein Forest (9-2) - a 23-16 victor against Lufkin - in the area round.

For the second consecutive season, 14-5A’s four playoff qualifiers swept 13-5A in the postseason, and 14-5A has won the last 19 meetings between the two districts.

“After Temple scored to tie it, we still felt confident we could score in OT,” Panthers coach George Herrmann said. “Greg ran hard all day and Brandon came up big when we needed him to.”

Said Wilson: “Temple’s a really good team and they fought us the whole way. Coach came up to me before OT and said, ‘All we need is a touchdown.’ I just saw a hole and ran it in.”

The first half was a back-and-forth affair, with Pflugerville twice seizing seven-point leads but Temple responding each time to create a 14-14 halftime tie.

Wilson’s 43-yard touchdown scamper put the Panthers up 7-0 with five minutes gone, but sophomore Seastrunk answered two plays later by ripping around the right corner on a sweep, fighting through a defender and racing 80 yards for his 19th touchdown of the year and a 7-7 game.

Pflugerville came right back with a 66-yard drive that Wilson capped with a 1-yard scoring sneak, making it 14-7 with a minute left in the first quarter.

Temple began a possession at its 13-yard line 4:11 before halftime, and Seastrunk had a 21-yard gain before Moore dropped back and fired a perfect deep pass down the middle to Tevin Reese, who snared the ball at the Panther 35 and raced for a 64-yard touchdown and a 14-14 tie.

Pflugerville ran out of time on its final possession of the half, and Temple seemingly took all of the momentum into the break.

Reaves-Brown’s hard running led the Wildcats to the Panther 3, but he fumbled when hit on a run and Pflugerville recovered.

However, Reaves-Brown made up for that when on Temple’s next possession he went off right tackle and followed Daniel Carr’s block to crash in for a 40-yard touchdown and give the Wildcats their first lead of the day at 21-14 with three minutes left in the third.

Nwoko completed the Panthers’ ensuing drive with a 5-yard TD rumble to make it 21-21 early in the fourth, and after the teams traded interceptions Pflugerville made what seemed to be the game-winning drive.

The hard running of the 6-3, 225-pound Nwoko drove the Panthers from their 20 to Temple’s 4 with a minute left. The Wildcats initially stopped him on a rush up the middle, but he escaped and bounced out right for a TD and a 28-21 Pflugerville edge with 48 seconds left.

But Temple wasn’t out of it.

Reese’s kickoff return went to the 34, then Moore - who left five minutes earlier with a knee strain - launched a pass deep down the middle to fellow senior Marshall, who caught the ball in between defenders and raced in for a 66-yard touchdown before Winkler’s extra point forced OT with 31 ticks left.

“That was a blessing,” Reaves-Brown said. “That was just our seniors, Chase and Derek, coming through.”

Pflugerville won the overtime coin toss and Temple got the ball first at the 25, but three running plays gained just 4 yards before Winkler kicked his 38-yarder for the 31-28 lead.

The Wildcat defense dropped Nwoko for no gain, but then Wilson ran left, cut back and sprinted through the secondary for his game-ending 25-yard score - setting off a celebration on Pflugerville’s side and bringing a sudden close to Temple’s breakthrough season.

“That was just two great offensive teams in the 5A playoffs,” Monsen said. “We didn’t want it to turn out like it did, but for our kids to fight like they did shows how far they’ve come.

“I just say thank you to our players and coaches and Wildcat nation. This was as good of a team as we’ve put on the field in a long time.”

gwille@temple-telegram.com