By Michael Adams
michael@otsssports.com
PFLUGERVILLE – The writers of the award-winning series “Friday Night Lights” wouldn’t have written a better ending than what occurred Friday night at The Pfield in Pflugerville.
With rivals Connally and Pflugerville tied 38-38 in overtime, and the Cougars well within range to kick a game-winning field goal, the Panthers of Pflugerville pulled off some of that Dillon Panther last-minute magic.
On third down, Connally quarterback’s Kaden Nguyen’s pass was tipped and picked out of the air by Pflugerville junior linebacker Brandon Bradshaw and returned 78-yards for the game-winning touchdown to punch the Panthers’ postseason ticket.
“I just felt the ball hit my hands and I started running,” Bradshaw said. “We’ve been working all summer, and all offseason for this.”
The 44-38 win by Pflugerville (3-7, 3-3 District 11-5A-II) was the second week in a row the Panthers have had to come from behind to win. Last week, Pflugerville trailed Rouse 22-0 after the first quarter and the Panthers came from behind to beat the Raiders 29-22.
This week, Pflugerville found itself in a similar situation.
After Connally senior Lawrence Doe returned the opening kickoff 84 yards to put the Cougars (3-7, 1-5) up 7-0, Pflugerville never held a lead until the final buzzer. As they say in sports, the only score that matters is what’s on the scoreboard at the end of the game.
“The kids believed, and they fought until the end, that’s a first for me as a football coach, but they never stopped believing they could win,” said Pflugerville head coach Charles Taylor. “The kids show up every day, they work hard, and it paid off for them.”
Both teams traded points throughout the first and second quarter. Pflugerville tied the game at 14-14 with a 43-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Cole Taylor to sophomore Javion Martin with 7 minutes left in the first half.
However, Connally scored on back-to-back possessions to take a 28-14 lead into the locker room at halftime. Jamal Abercrumbia scored on a 1-yard run and Landon Bailey caught the second of his two first half touchdowns.
The Panthers clawed back into the game in the second half with a 42-yard touchdown run by Taylor, but Connally responded with a 25-yard pass from Kaden Nguyen to Aidan Smart to put the Cougars ahead by 14 points.
But it wouldn’t stay that way long. Taylor scored his second rushing touchdown early in the fourth quarter and Christian Baham returned a punt for 85-yards to tie the game at 35 with 6:53 left in the fourth quarter.
Connally kicked a field goal with four minutes left to take a 38-35 lead, but the Panthers kept clawing back and got the ball down to the Connally 2-yard line with just 12 seconds on the clock. Taylor ran in what would have been the game-winning touchdown as time expired, but the referees were unclear as to whether the ball crossed the goal line.
Pflugerville settled for a field goal to tie the game and send it into overtime, where Bradshaw’s made-for-TV moment will be remembered for years to come.
The Panthers will play LBJ in the first round of the playoffs next week.