In 2007 the Wildcats had a 5-2 record and reached the consolation semifinals, and last year they went 4-1 and tied for ninth place out of 64 teams.
Temple’s third trip to state, however, wasn’t a charm.
Hindered by inconsistent offense, defensive breakdowns and strong competition, the Wildcats lost to Lewisville Hebron, Edcouch-Elsa and North Richland Hills Birdville in Division I pool play Friday afternoon at Texas A&M.
“We came out here looking to win state, but even though we were 0-3 we came together as a team,” said Lache Seastrunk, the senior-to-be star running back who led Temple with four touchdown catches. “We don’t care about our 7-on-7 record as much as we’re looking forward to the (fall) season.”
In its 2 p.m. opener on a sweltering day at Penberthy Intramural Fields, Temple led Hebron 25-14 early in the second half before allowing 19 unanswered points and losing 33-25.
Interceptions - some that Edcouch-Elsa made and some that Temple didn’t - played a key role as the Wildcats incurred an early 14-0 deficit against the Yellow Jackets, then got back to within eight points on two occasions but never solved their scrappy opponent in a 34-25 defeat.
In the finale against unbeaten Birdville, Temple missed crucial scoring opportunities and couldn’t contain an offense led by prolific Josh Dorman as it succumbed 34-19.
It was a tough day overall for the Wildcats, though Temple 7-on-7 coach Alan Brown said they played reasonably well other than the first half against Edcouch-Elsa of South Texas.
“I thought we only played one really bad half today,” said Brown, filling in for Craig Marshall. “They (Edcouch-Elsa) got two picks and we dropped two, and other than that it was an even game.
“I didn’t think we played badly today; the ball just didn’t bounce our way,” he added. “The kids were having fun at the end.”
Senior quarterback Isaac Matamoros threw 11 touchdown passes but also was intercepted eight times for Temple, which fell into today’s 32-team, single-elimination consolation bracket and will play Keller Central at 8 a.m.
A victory would send the Wildcats into a 10 a.m. matchup with District 12-5A rival Copperas Cove - which lost to Houston Jersey Village, Richardson Pearce and Southlake Carroll - or Garland Lakeview Centennial.
Temple could play a maximum of five games today, with the consolation final set for 4 p.m. at Kyle Field.
Complementing Seastrunk’s four touchdown catches, Chris Garcia grabbed two and Jeviah Amos, Robert Benford, Devonte Collins, A.J. Coulter and Dominique Robertson had one scoring reception apiece.
Matamoros and the Temple offense came out blazing against Hebron, scoring on all three of their first-half drives as the Wildcats overcame a pair of seven-point deficits to lead 19-14 at the break.
Seastrunk got behind the secondary to haul in a length-of-the-field Matamoros heave for Temple’s first score, then had the second TD on a quick toss to pull within 14-13.
Derrick Davis broke up a fourth-down Hebron pass at the goal line, and Garcia got open to catch a nicely thrown fade pass from Matamoros and give the Wildcats their first lead at 19-14.
Temple had possession to begin the second half and made it count, driving to the 1-yard line before Collins made a sliding grab for a 25-14 lead.
However, the rest of the 20-minute half was all Hebron.
Kyle AuBuchon hit Steven Tocci for a touchdown, then a Matamoros pass was picked off at the goal line. AuBuchon threw a short TD pass on the Hawks’ next drive for a 27-25 edge before Matamoros was intercepted in the end zone.
After a would-be interception glanced off Davis’ hands, AuBuchon hit Kurt Walker for a long gain before an open Tocci reeled in the final TD and Temple’s last-gasp possession came up empty.
The Wildcats seemingly couldn’t get a break against Edcouch-Elsa, which later beat Hebron to advance to today’s championship bracket.
Temple’s Ryan Powell intercepted a pass on the game’s first possession, but it was negated because referees ruled that quarterback Roger Garcia didn’t release the ball before the 4-second limit, simply meaning a loss of down. Jesse Jalomo caught a TD pass on the next play for a 7-0 lead.
Stedman Moore narrowly missed an interception on E-E’s next possession, then Jalomo picked off a Matamoros pass and returned it for a score to make it 14-0.
Temple responded with a long TD strike to Coulter, but another 4-second call wiped out a Michael Sullivan interception and Palomo picked off a Matamoros pass at the goal line. Garcia added a touchdown throw right before halftime for a 21-6 advantage.
Garcia, Seastrunk and Benford caught long second-half touchdown passes from Matamoros to keep it interesting, but Edcouch-Elsa scored twice more to seal it.
“We see that we can hang with anybody,” Seastrunk said. “But instead of stepping on their throat, we let off.”
Temple led Birdville 7-0 early on a Seastrunk TD catch, and Robertson’s grab-and-dash score to begin the second half sliced a 14-7 Hawks lead to 14-13.
But Dorman - a 3,622-yard, 33-touchdown passer last season - came right back with a scoring toss to Clarke Renfro, and Birdville followed an end-zone interception with another Dorman TD pass to make it 27-13. Amos’ late scoring catch brought Temple within 27-19, but Dorman hit a wide-open Cory Hines for another touchdown to seal it.
NOTES: Cameron Yoe, Rockdale and Gatesville competed in the 16-team Division II championship bracket Friday but were a combined 1-3. Yoe defeated Gatesville 20-15, then lost 30-26 to Glen Rose to tie for fifth place in the 32-team field for 3A, 2A and A schools. Rockdale lost 47-26 to Brownwood in its finale.
