Editor’s note: This story was updated on Nov. 19, 2023 to correct the spelling of Cooper Reid’s last name.

By Michael Adams
michael@otssports.com

CONVERSE –Jack Williams will replay the final 12 minutes of Dripping Springs’ area playoff game in his mind for the rest of his life. 

The senior quarterback put together a monumental second-half comeback on Saturday to lead Dripping Springs to a 38-34 win over Converse Judson in a Class 6A-II area playoff at D. W. Rutledge Stadium in Converse. 

Williams took over for junior Maddox Maher, who started the game, late in the first half after Dripping Springs (10-2) had to settle for a field goal with Judson leading by a touchdown with three minutes left in the half. 

Williams was the starter at the beginning of the season for the Tigers, but an early season injury sidelined him and Williams worked to get back to the playing field.

He had his “biggest football moment,” on Saturday.

“I’ve been waiting since my sophomore year to come into a game at an important time of the game, and I felt like I did pretty good,” Williams said. 

“Pretty good”  might be an understatement. 

• Photos: See photos from Saturday’s area playoff game
• Video: See highlights and postgame comments
  

Judson (4-8) held a 21-17  lead at halftime and extended it to 34-17 with 13 unanswered points  to start the third quarter. 

A 10-yard touchdown pass from Judson junior quarterback Elijah Favela to tight end Davian Watson put the Rockets up by 9 points after a failed two-point conversion. On the next possession, senior Nathaniel Stanley scored on a 2-yard run with 4:43 left in the third quarter to give Judson a 17-point lead. 

From that point on, it was all Williams and the Tigers offense. 

With 2:10 left in the quarter, Williams found Cooper Reid for an 8-yard touchdown pass to cut the Rockets’ lead to 10 points. 

Reid and Williams connected again at the 7:49 mark in the fourth quarter on a 32-yard touchdown pass to move Dripping Springs to within three points. 

Judson drove the ball deep in Dripping Springs territory, but the Rockets committed their fourth turnover of the game. 

Williams led the ball down to the Judson 2-yard line, which is where Kyle Koch took a handoff into the endzone to give Dripping Springs a 38-34 lead with 58 seconds left on the clock. 

Two plays later, the Tigers’ intercepted Favela to secure the win.

“These guys don’t have quit in them,” said Dripping Springs head coach Galen Zimmerman. “Jack’s had an up and down senior year, he’s been hurt and came back late, and he’s been asked to be ready when we needed him, and he was ready. I’m just so proud of him and he’s such a great kid.” 

The game got off to a messy start. After back-to-back fumbles by both teams and a Judson interception, the Tigers put together its first scoring drive of the game that capped off with a 2-yard touchdown run by Jack Tyndall. 

Judson answered on its next possession with Stanley scoring the first of his two touchdowns on an 8-yard run to tie the game at 7-7.  

Tyndall scored his second touchdown on a 4-yard run with 1:51 left in the first quarter to retake the lead for Dripping Springs. However, on the ensuing kickoff, Texas A&M pledge Myles Davis returned it 84 yards to tie the game just before the end of the quarter. 

The Rockets took their first lead of the game when junior Jack Call caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Favela with 7:29 left in the first half. 

The Tigers had a scary moment midway through the second quarter when Tyndall had to be helped off the field. The junior running back grabbed his ankle after being tackled on a run. He didn’t return to the game. 

Dripping Springs recovered a Judson fumble on the Rockets’ 25-yard-line but failed to convert on fourth down. Williams took over at quarterback on the Tigers’ next possession. 

“Our receivers coach told us to plan for adversity all year long, and we faced adversity (Saturday) and overcame it, it was as simple as that,” Reid said. “We fought back for our seniors, They’re my brothers now, we couldn’t have them going home early.” 

Dripping Springs moves on to the Class 6A-II, Region IV semifinals where the Tigers will face San Antonio Jay (10-2) at The Alamodome in San Antonio. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday.