Not this year.
Temple removed all variables from its equation by winning all three of its Pool C games Friday at Texas A&M’s Penberthy Intramural Fields.
The Wildcats beat Coppell 33-28, Klein Oak 38-31 in double overtime and Duncanville 33-14 to advance to today’s 32-team, single-elimination Class 5A/4A championship bracket.
“They’re all happy about it,” Temple 7-on-7 coach Craig Marshall said of his players. “The guys said Coppell was picked to win our pool, so winning made them feel good. We’ve got high expectations and kids with good attitudes.”
Temple’s Jonathan Bane threw 16 touchdown passes - six to A.J. Coulter, five to Tevin Reese, three to Drew Shenkir and two to Lache Seastrunk.
Meanwhile, Belton struggled in its first state trip since 2000. The Tigers lost 38-7 to Klein, 47-0 to El Paso Montwood and 47-12 to Lewisville Hebron.
Temple will battle Fort Bend Elkins at 9 a.m. today, with the winner advancing to play Katy Seven Lakes or Tyler Lee at 11. The other four teams in Temple’s quarter of the bracket are Arlington Bowie, defending champion Georgetown, Arlington Lamar and Plano West.
The quarterfinal and semifinal games are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 2:30, respectively, and the title game is set for 5 at Kyle Field.
In its first game, Temple made just enough plays to prevail over Coppell. Shenkir, Seastrunk, Reese and Coulter each caught a touchdown before Reese’s second TD clipped the Cowboys.
“It was close throughout the whole game and there was not a whole lot of stops,” said Marshall, whose 2007 team won a total of five games and reached the consolation semis.
Against Klein Oak, Reese scored the game’s first three touchdowns and Temple made several defensive stops, but the Panthers stormed back and scored right before halftime to take the lead.
However, Coulter’s touchdown catch forced overtime, Shenkir made a scoring grab in the first OT and Coulter had a TD reception in the second OT for the lead. Then with Klein Oak threatening to score, Deleon Patterson broke up a pass in the end zone to secure the win.
Coulter made the Wildcats’ first three touchdown catches against Duncanville, D.J. Daniels made a crucial interception to begin the second half and Seastrunk and Shenkir each added a scoring catch after that in Temple’s third - and easiest - victory.
“The whole defense really played well,” Marshall said.
