This time, Jacquizz Rodgers and Rosenberg Lamar Consolidated were the ones who denied the Bulldawgs.
Rodgers ran for three touchdowns to extend his state career record to 136 and lead the Mustangs to a 20-14 victory over ninth-ranked Cove on Saturday night at Round Rock ISD Stadium.
“This is what I’ve been getting all those touchdowns for - a state championship,” said Rodgers, an Oregon State commitment. “All this hard work was for this title. This is a dream come true.”
And while Rodgers and the Mustangs (13-2) celebrate their first state championship, the Bulldawgs (12-3) finished as state runners-up for a second season in a row.
“I’m hurting inside right now,” said Copperas Cove coach Jack Welch, whose 2006 squad lost 40-28 to San Antonio Alamo Heights in the 4A-I state final. “The team is hurting right now. When you’re winners, it should hurt when you lose.”
But Welch walked away with respect for the Mustangs and Rodgers, who finished the night with 240 yards - including scores of 31, 8 and 87 yards - on 31 carries.
The Bulldawgs had done an excellent job of limiting Rodgers in the first half, holding him to 64 yards, but when he finally broke free, he couldn’t be stopped.
The Mustangs trailed 7-0 at the half, and after their first second-half drive ended on an interception their defense came up big, limiting the Bulldawgs to just 1 yard and taking over on downs after a run by Troy Vital went nowhere on fourth down.
Lamar took over on its 26-yard line and D.J. Smallwood ran the Mustangs’ offense brilliantly, calling his own number three times, handing off to Rodgers three times and completing an 18-yard pass to Domonique Briggs to help get the Mustangs to the 31. From there, Rodgers ran a simple dive play up the middle, broke free from at least four defenders and found open field to tie the game at 7 with 2:45 left in the quarter.
The Mustang defense again came up big, forcing a Cove punt on the next possession before Lamar started its next drive on its 7.
Smallwood, who ran for 104 yards on 17 carries, was even more brilliant, faking handoffs to Rodgers and keeping it himself on a series of trap plays.
“That’s really what hurt us,” Welch said. “We did a good job containing Rodgers, but Smallwood ran that counter trap and it made the difference for him. They pulled those linemen and stopped our defenders. It will look like Rodgers had the big yards and he is a great running back, but Smallwood is what hurt us.”
Smallwood methodically moved the offense from the 7 to the Cove 8 on an 11-play drive on which he accounted for 61 yards. Then a dive by Rodgers finished the job to put the Mustangs up 14-7 with just under eight minutes to play.
But the Bulldawgs, who had trailed in three of their previous five games, weren’t done yet.
A short kickoff gave the Dawgs the ball on their 44 and quarterback Robert Griffin needed just seven plays to get the Dawgs a first-and-goal just inside the 10.
However, the Mustangs’ defense came up with its biggest stop of the night.
Griffin called his own number on first and second downs to get to the 1, then on third down his pass to Josh Boyce fell incomplete before the Dawgs, who had a field goal blocked earlier in the game, decided to go for it on fourth-and-goal.
Everyone in the stadium knew Griffin likely would call his own number again, and he obliged. He ran outside to the right, but when he tried to dive in as the pursuit closed in he was knocked out of bounds by Chuck Obi and Cory Green, denying Cove and giving the Mustangs the ball back with just under five minutes to play.
That wouldn’t have been too bad had the Bulldawgs stopped the Mustangs. But Rodgers made enough yards on three plays to gain a first down, then from his 13 he again busted free up the middle and raced 87 yards for his 136th career touchdown.
The Bulldawgs’ Brandon Byrd scored a touchdown with just under a minute to play, but they couldn’t recover the ensuing onside kick and one first down by Rodgers sealed the game.
“I’m very proud of these kids,” Welch said. “When we were picked preseason No. 1, I didn’t understand that because we were so young. We only had three returners on defense and four on offense, and these guys worked hard all season long to get back here.”
The Bulldawgs struck first on an end-around handoff to Josh Boyce. On third down, Griffin was working under center with an empty backfield and three receivers to the left. Boyce went in motion from the right to the left, Griffin took the snap, flawlessly handed off to Boyce, and Boyce had plenty of blockers on the left for the touchdown with 36 seconds left before halftime.
The score was set up by a 25-yard pass from Griffin to Daniel Cabral, who got open inside the 10. Griffin and Vital has short dives to get the Dawgs to the 4, where Boyce ran it in.
Prior to the the lone scoring drive of the half, the game had all been about all control and big defensive plays.
Cove didn’t allow the quick Rodgers to break free, limiting him to 64 first-half yards on 15 carries. His longest gain was 13 yards right before halftime.
On the other side, the Mustangs had Vital’s number, swarming to him every time he touched the ball. A 2,000-yard rusher for the season, he was held to 26 first-half yards and 36 overall. Griffin gained 48 yards on seven first-half carries and passed for 48.
mhood@temple-telegram.com
