One of the most exciting games of the 2018 Texas high school football season was Austin Vandegrift's 28-21 double overtime UIL 6A Division II Region II Area Round win against Klein Collins at Waller ISD Stadium. On Friday, the teams matched up in the same round of the 2019 postseason, but this time Klein Collins (11-1) pulled out a comfortable 28-14 win at Austin Vandegrift's (11-1) Ed W. Monroe Memorial Stadium.
"I think last year [Austin Vandegrift] had more enthusiasm than us," said Klein Collins coach Adrian Mitchell. "I don't necessarily know if they played better than us, but I do know that they were enthused the entire game, and we had to match that enthusiasm with our kids, with our sideline [and] with our fans, and we were able to do that [tonight]. And doing so, I think that was the difference in the game."
Klein Collins got its revenge started when it forced an Austin Vandegrift interception on the game's opening drive. That set up VYPE Player of the Game Braelon Bridges' first of three touchdown runs at the 11:31 mark of the opening quarter. His second score was four yards long and made it a 14-0 advantage with 1:26 left in the period.
"It gives us a lot," Bridges said of the momentum going into next week's UIL 6A Division II Region II Semifinal against Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas. "But, I feel like we're still going to play KC football and keep on going."
Austin Vandegrift's Trey Mongauzy tried to turn the tide with a spectacular 33-yard reception to the Klein Collins 11-yard line with 11:53 left in the second quarter, but quarterback Dru Dawson's fumble to Klein Collins' Trent Ward prevented that at the 11:34 mark of the period.
Klein Collins extended its lead to 21 points when Colby Powers scampered for a 19-yard touchdown run at the 2:35 mark of the frame and, just over a minute later, Donavan Phenix intercepted a Dawson pass to give Klein Collins great field position at the Austin Vandegrift 25-yard line.
The Vipers got a break when Tanner Ward missed a 35-yard field goal with 19 ticks left in the first half, but Bridges' third score at the 7:13 mark of the third quarter overcame the Tigers' hiccup to make it a 28-0 advantage.
A repeat of last year wouldn't play out, but Austin Vandegrift recorded a 14-point fourth quarter for the second straight week to tighten the gap late. The Vipers' defense forced a late Klein Collins turnover on downs, while Blake Youngblood recorded a pair of fourth down receptions on his team's first scoring drive of the game and Nathan Andrade wrapped up the game's scoring with a touchdown run at the 2:51 mark of the period.
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