Quick take
Conroe is heading back to the playoffs for the third straight year. College Park is heading home for the winter.
It was a win-or-go home matchup in District 13-6A for the fourth and final playoff spot.
Despite some issues with turnovers, the Tigers led virtually the whole night for the 55-28 win over the Cavaliers Friday at Woodforest Bank Stadium.
The Tigers (6-4, 4-4) overtook fourth place from College Park (4-6, 4-4) and extended their winning streak to three games heading into the postseason.
The Tigers hit a lull starting in late September when they dropped four straight games. They beat Grand Oaks and Cleveland the last two weeks to set up the opportunity.
“It feels pretty amazing to finish the last three games and go three-and-out to get in,” Conroe senior wide receiver Nigel Leday said. “We just worked it week-by-week. Understand the process. Coaches put in the game plan and we just executed.”
Conroe junior running back Dramekco Green had a sensational night with four touchdowns and 210 yards on the ground.
“That dude is the guy,” Conroe coach Cedric Hardeman said. “Dramekco Green is the best running back in the state. He’s starting to figure it out and understand. He’s still learning. But he was able to show everybody who he was.”
Quarterback Christian Nunley threw three touchdown passes and rushed for another.
Conroe led 21-7 heading into the final quarter before the teams combined on eight fourth-quarter touchdowns.
Highlights
Conroe led 14-7 at halftime despite turning the ball over twice.
The Tigers went up 7-0 on the first play of their second drive as Nunley connected with Leday down the middle of the field for 77 yards and his team high sixth receiving touchdown.
“I have to thank my O-line first for holding it up,” Leday said. “My quarterback had the room and he put up a good throw. That’s all on them. That’s all glory to God, my O-line and my quarterback.”
The Tigers drove deep into College Park territory on their next drive, but Nunley was picked off by sophomore Marco Beltran for his district-leading fourth interception of the season.
After a missed College Park field goal, Conroe went up 14-0 as Green capped an 11-play drive with 4:13 left in the second quarter with a 3-yard run.
College Park broke up the shutout with a minute left before halftime and perhaps had another chance to tie it before the break.
Rodrigo Bravo Jr. hit Conner Dunphy for a 21-yard score in the corner of the end zone.
The Cavaliers then recovered a fumble on Conroe’s first play of the ensuing drive as Emiliano Molinar stripped the ball from Nunley and Rema Nwoso recovered.
As time expired, College Park doinked a 38-yard field goal attempt off the left upright.
“They did well and got put into some tough situations,” Hardeman said of the defense as the Tigers never trailed despite five turnovers total. “First half, we had a muffed punt and we held. They could have tied 14-14 at halftime and kept them 14-7. They were put into some tough, tough situations. In the end, we made some plays. For the most part they did a pretty good job.”
With 5:27 left in the third quarter, Conroe went back up two scores as Nunley hit a juggling Green down the right sideline for a 31-yard touchdown.
The scoring drive came after the Tigers coughed up a punt return with a College Park recovery by Beltran. But the Conroe defense stepped up to force the punt.
The fourth quarter was absurd with 55 points scored.
College Park briefly pulled to within a touchdown on a 1-yard run by Cole Snodgrass. He later caught a 66-yard pass from Bravo and the Cavaliers had a late 14-yard touchdown reception by Brayden Lee-Denton.
For Conroe, Green had scoring runs of 45 and 1 yard, respectively. Dorian Brew had an interception to set up the second Green run. Nunley hit Jalen Mayon on an 8-yard touchdown. Nunley also had an electric 82-yard run.
As time expired, Tatum Bell scored a 1-yard touchdown. The scoreboard never reflected the scoring play, but an official signaled touchdown before the ice buckets were dumped on Hardeman on the sideline and the handshake line began.
“We didn’t play clean and there’s some things we have to clean up,” Hardeman said. “We got down in the red zone and had two turnovers. We can’t do that. We can’t muff punts.”
What it means
Conroe returns to the playoffs for the third straight year. The Tigers haven’t had a stretch of that many consecutive playoff appearances since 2007-09. The Tigers also ensured a winning record for the second straight year, an accomplishment that hadn’t been achieved since 2007-08.
Quotable
“It hasn’t been easy,” Hardeman said. “It’s been a grind. The kids were battle-tested. Mentally they were prepared for it and that’s how they were able to pull it out.”
Game balls
Green totaled 210 yards on 22 carries and has 789 rushing yards on the year. He also had five catches for 61 yards on the night.
Nunley threw for 224 yards while rushing for 147.
Leday had three receptions for 115 yards.
Snodgrass had five receptions for College Park for 108 yards and he totaled two touchdowns.
Bravo threw for 259 yards.
Beltran had an interception and two fumble recoveries for the Cavaliers.
Up next
Just like the past two years, the Westfield Mustangs await a Conroe ISD opponent for the bi-district round of the playoffs.
Westfield (8-2, 7-0) capped its regular season Thursday night with an unbeaten District 14-6A title after a 70-0 win over Aldine.
The Mustangs feature a potent offense led by senior running back Taji Atkins and junior quarterback Miles Dent.
