28-Point Fourth Quarter Lifts Highlanders Past Conroe

CONROE - The Highlanders sputtered out of the gate but overcame four turnovers with a big 28-point fourth-quarter explosion to pull away from Conroe 55-21 Friday night at Buddy Moorhead Stadium.

“We overcame the turnovers and put some points on the board,” said The Woodlands head coach Mark Schmid. “ We got some help out of special teams. Got some help from the defensive side. All in all it was a great effort by our kids.”

In a battle of the district’s top two passing quarterbacks, The Woodlands’ Trent Eckel earned the edge, throwing for 237 yards and two touchdowns to take the top spot from Conroe’s Jordan Marah, who finished with 184 yards and two touchdowns. For the season, Eckel now has 1,373 yards (12 touchdowns) while Marah has 1,365 (15 touchdowns).

Eckel threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Wilcher in the final seconds of the first half and added a 35-yard touchdown pass to Blake Webb, one of four touchdowns the Highlanders scored in the final 12 minutes.

The Highlanders extended a 27-14 lead entering the fourth quarter, following a 24-7 halftime advantage. Daniel Lasco, who rushed for 151 yards, scored on a 7-yard run to compliment a 39-yard touchdown run he scored in the second quarter.

Lasco has 1,195 yards and 14 touchdowns for the season.

“We knew we could come out and win,” Lasco said. “We had to forget about the turnovers and all that and show them that we could play.”

Wilcher led five Highlanders receivers with four catches for 85 yards. Brett Felton grabbed two passes for 48 yards and Peter Falivene hauled in an Eckel pass and with some nifty footwork turned it into a 70-yard gain.

“We feel real comfortable with our receivers,” Schmid said. “We feel real good about getting the ball to any one of them.

“Tonight we were able to spread the ball around and a lot of kids got some touches. And that’s great to see. It only helps in their development. And they’ll be better next week for it.”

But it was defense that held off Conroe before the offense got going. Garrett Grimes blocked a Conroe punt and then recovered it in the end zone for the first score of the game. Senior Perry Cooper came up with a sack, forcing the Tigers into the punting situation.

Garrett Hope recovered a Conroe fumble, and Ryan Clapsaddle intercepted to Tigers’ passes, returning one 82 yards for a touchdown highlighting the fourth-quarter fireworks.

Cooper Woodyard put the exclamation point on the victory with a 23-yard touchdown run in the waning seconds.

The Highlanders, now 3-0 in District 14-5A play and 8-0 overall, visit Lufkin next Friday for a game that could very well decide the district championship.

“We’re going to enjoy tonight, come to work tomorrow and put this one behind us,” Schmid said. “Once we get the kids out of the weight room tomorrow and we watch video with them we’ll start thinking about Lufkin.”

Lasco said he’s looking forward to the challenge.

“We’re going to see what happens,” Lasco said. “It’s going to be a good game.”