Fort Bend Sun - Sports
Travis’ dream season ends with 38-14 loss to Gators
By WES SWIFT
SUGAR LAND -- Sparked by a 49-yard touchdown pass on the last play of the first half, the Dickinson Gators topped the Travis Tigers, 38-14 in the bi-district round of the Class 5A, Division 2 football playoffs Friday night at Mercer Stadium.
The win was the Gators’ first playoff win under coach Warren Trahan, and came in the school’s first season as a 5A team.
“It’s a big win,” Trahan said. “I don’t think anybody thought we were going to do this. I don’t think anyone thought we were going to win.
“We knew we had a good ball club. We knew if we came out and played error-free football, played smart, this could happen. I can’t say enough about our kids.”
The Gators seized the game on the last play of the first half on the strength of quarterback Clay Honeycutt’s arm.
With a second left to go in the first half and trailing 14-10, Honeycutt lofted a pass to receiver Ricky Gaines, who snared the ball in the end zone to give the Gators a 17-10 lead.
“(That was) a big momentum play, no doubt about it” Trahan said. “The quarterback did a heck of a job, our receiver made a heck of a catch.
The Gators then came out on fire in the second half, taking the opening kickoff and marching 66 yards in eight plays to score on a 12-yard Honeycutt pass to Donald Hunter at 9:35 in the third quarter.
“We told them at halftime that the first four minutes of the second half would decide the ball game, and by God, if we didn’t go down and score,” Trahan said.
After forcing the Tigers to go three-and-out on their next possession, the Gators went back to work.
Dickinson blew down the field on a eight-play, 58-yard drive that ended with another Honeycutt touchdown to Gaines, effectively putting the game out of reach at 31-14.
Honeycutt finished the game with 221 yards at four touchdowns on 12-of-20 passing. The Gators racked up 386 yards of offense, and limited the Tigers to 169 yards.
The loss capped an unexpected season for the Tigers, who advanced to the playoffs in their first varsity season.
“That touchdown before the half took a lot of wind out of our sails,” Tigers coach Randy Cunningham said. “I thought we’d regroup coming out in the second half and pin them down. Then they go down and have a nice little drive and we’re down 24-14. We just had a hard time stopping them all night.”
Dickinson (8-2) will face the winner of Saturday’s winner of the Beaumont West Brook-Pasadena Memorial game.
The Tigers finish their season at 6-3.
The win was the Gators’ first playoff win under coach Warren Trahan, and came in the school’s first season as a 5A team.
“It’s a big win,” Trahan said. “I don’t think anybody thought we were going to do this. I don’t think anyone thought we were going to win.
“We knew we had a good ball club. We knew if we came out and played error-free football, played smart, this could happen. I can’t say enough about our kids.”
The Gators seized the game on the last play of the first half on the strength of quarterback Clay Honeycutt’s arm.
With a second left to go in the first half and trailing 14-10, Honeycutt lofted a pass to receiver Ricky Gaines, who snared the ball in the end zone to give the Gators a 17-10 lead.
“(That was) a big momentum play, no doubt about it” Trahan said. “The quarterback did a heck of a job, our receiver made a heck of a catch.
The Gators then came out on fire in the second half, taking the opening kickoff and marching 66 yards in eight plays to score on a 12-yard Honeycutt pass to Donald Hunter at 9:35 in the third quarter.
“We told them at halftime that the first four minutes of the second half would decide the ball game, and by God, if we didn’t go down and score,” Trahan said.
After forcing the Tigers to go three-and-out on their next possession, the Gators went back to work.
Dickinson blew down the field on a eight-play, 58-yard drive that ended with another Honeycutt touchdown to Gaines, effectively putting the game out of reach at 31-14.
Honeycutt finished the game with 221 yards at four touchdowns on 12-of-20 passing. The Gators racked up 386 yards of offense, and limited the Tigers to 169 yards.
The loss capped an unexpected season for the Tigers, who advanced to the playoffs in their first varsity season.
“That touchdown before the half took a lot of wind out of our sails,” Tigers coach Randy Cunningham said. “I thought we’d regroup coming out in the second half and pin them down. Then they go down and have a nice little drive and we’re down 24-14. We just had a hard time stopping them all night.”
Dickinson (8-2) will face the winner of Saturday’s winner of the Beaumont West Brook-Pasadena Memorial game.
The Tigers finish their season at 6-3.
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