Texans avenge loss, head to State Semi-Finals

As the old saying goes, “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”

Jumping out to a 21-0 lead, the Wimberley Texans football team never looked back as the Texans defeated the rival Navarro Panthers 42-12 in Region IV Final in the Alamodome.

The victory advances Wimberley to the State Semifinals for the first time since 2017 and for just the sixth time in school history.

It was the case of sweet revenge for the Texans as the team lost the Navarro Panthers in regular season 42-14 for the district championship.

“I knew we had a good chance to beat those guys (Navarro) if we played clean,” Head Football Coach Doug Warren said after the game. “They (Wimberley) got after them (Navarro) from the start… this team keeps getting better and better every week.”

Receiving the opening kickoff, the Texans wasted no time getting on the board. Facing 4th down, Cooper McCollum hit Christian Marshall for the 21-yard touchdown pass to take an early lead at 7-0.

After forcing the Panthers punt following a Navarro fumble, which they recovered, the Texans scored again as McCollum found Marshall for their second touchdown to go up 14-0.

Following the touchdown, the Texan defense came up with their biggest play of the game as the Panthers fumbled the ball and was recovered by Jadon Potts.

On the very next play, McCollum hit Josh Limley for the 10-yard touchdown pass to extend lead at 21-0.

Navarro finally got their first points in the game following a Johnny Alegria 11 yard run early in the second quarter to cut the 21-6 following the missed extra point.

After receiving the kickoff to start the second half, Navarro drove deep into Texan territory to the one-yard line.

Following a false start penalty, the Panthers were back up to the six yard line. After three tries saw Navarro move the ball to the one yard line, the Panthers decided to go for it on 4th and Goal.

But the Texan defense held firm and stuffed the Panthers to give the ball back to the offense.

Following an unsportsmanlike conduct on the Navarro coaching staff, which pushed the ball to the 15 yard line rather than the one yard line, the Wimberley offense took advantage of the Panthers misfortune with a touchdown drive as Mc-Collum found Jaxon Watts on the 13-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead at 28-6.

The Panthers scored again early in the fourth quarter following a Alegria six-yard run to cut the lead 28-12 after another missed extra point.

But it wasn’t enough as Wimberley scored two more times in the fourth quarter following a McCollum one-yard touchdown run and a McCollum 56-yard touchdown pass to Josh Limely to seal the deal for the 42-12 victory.

Wimberley will play the Silsbee Tigers in the State Semifinal round on Friday at 7:30 in Katy’s Legacy Stadium. The Tigers knocked off West Orange Stark in the Region III final after the Mustangs defeated Silsbee earlier in the regular season.