After three straight seasons of getting so close to a playoff berth but not quite making it in, coach Sam Jones and the Killeen Kangaroos all but secured one with a 49-35 win over Hutto at Leo Buckley Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
“I am just elated,” Jones said. “It’s been since 2004 since Killeen last made the playoffs. One year we are one game away, next year we are tied but lose a coin flip and then the next year lose head-to-head. Finally, we can walk through the door.”
The Roos (5-3 overall, tied for third place in District 25-4A at 2-2) still can miss the playoffs if several things happen - the most important of which involves winless Lampasas upsetting Killeen this coming week.
But one thing that was certain was that the Roos had little chance of making the playoffs if they lost to Hutto, and they had no plans of doing that.
Killeen scored on its first two possessions and forced the Hippos to punt on theirs, leading the Roos to a 14-0 lead after the opening quarter and a 21-14 edge at halftime.
The Roos then made a statement early in the third quarter, when their opening drive looked like it had stalled out at Hutto’s 40-yard line and they faced a fourth-and-12 situation.
Jones decided it was time to make a key call in the game and ordered a fake punt. The ball was directly snapped to Titus Barnes, who found a hole on the right side and carried to the 16. Three plays later quarterback Michael Cummings found Deonte Epps for an 11-yard touchdown pass and a two-touchdown lead.
“That was extremely big,” Jones said. “It was a gut feeling. We had watched them on tape for about two weeks and I knew where we could hit it. We had worked on it and maybe if we needed it we would run it.”
It was almost crucial that the Roos did. After Killeen sniffed out the Hippos’ offensive schemes in the first part of the game, it seemed like the game was being played without defense the second part, with the teams trading touchdowns for most of the rest of the way.
“I have to take my hat off to Hutto - they have a great running game,” Jones said. “We knew it going in, and you could see in the first quarter against their wishbone we had somebody on the dive, somebody on the quarterback and somebody on the pitch. Then they started running in and we had to change it up.”
Hutto had also sniffed out Killeen’s top weapons - the running game led by Cummings, who had 584 of Killeen’s 1,505 rushing yards entering the day. The Hippos limited him to just 42 yards in 14 carries and also held starting running back Marcus Tillman to just 48 yards, 34 of which came on the game’s first touchdown, on just six carries.
Killeen answered by letting Cummings pass and letting Jaquail Haskins run. Cummings completed 12 of 19 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns, and Haskins rushed 18 times for 169 yards, including two 2-yard touchdowns and a 22-yarder.
“I just wanted to do my best,” Haskins, a sophomore who had previously had only one 100-yard game. “I was pushed because everyone wanted to make the playoffs. I wanted to make the playoffs. It’s exhilarating and I was so happy to do what I could to contribute to the team.”
It was Cummings’ running ability that might have also helped contribute to the win as Jones took another risk while leading 42-35 with 2:13 to play.
The Roos faced fourth-and-1 on their 45 and Jones didn’t even hesitate, opting to go for the first down. Cummings took the ball to the left and got stuffed at the line but kept pushing forward and stretched out the ball for the first down, keeping the late drive alive.
“I thought at that point, we needed to keep the ball,” Jones said. “We hadn’t been slowing their offense down, so we couldn’t give it back to them. We made it by a chain link.”
And a few plays later, Haskins gave the Roos the final touchdown of the afternoon with 42 seconds left and the Roos’ sidelines erupted, sensing the return to the playoffs.
“It was a perfect day,” Jones said. “It was like a playoff atmosphere and it gave our kids a chance to start getting excited about playing. Hopefully we can stay in the playoffs a little while and return Killeen to its playoff tradition."
mhood@temple-telegram.com
