In a
game billed as a rare bi-district playoff clash
between a pair of one-loss teams, Arlington Bowie
used a punishing second-half offense to blow past
Richland, 36-10, in a Class 5A Division II game
Friday night at wind-swept Mansfield ISD Stadium.
Trae Hawkins rushed for
107 yards and cemented the victory for Bowie (10-1)
with a 67-yard touchdown run with 4:19 remaining in
the game.
Bowie, the District 4-5A champion, will face El Paso
Coronado or Midland next week. Richland, the
runner-up from District 3-5A, ends its season at
9-2. Phillip Anderson caught eight passes for 118
yards in his last game for Richland.
Bowie
outscored Richland, 26-3, in the second half to
break the game open after a tense, back-and-forth
first half.
Richland had its chance early in the third quarter,
but a decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 from
midfield backfired. Bowie scored three plays later
to grab a 16-7 lead.
Richland failed on several fourth-and-short attempts
throughout the game.
Bowie
scored on its first possession of the game, driving
61 yards in nine plays.
On
Bowie's lone third-down play of the drive,
quarterback Christian Matthews
threw a middle screen pass to
Jordan Selexman for a 13-yard touchdown.
After
the kickoff, Richland moved into Bowie territory on
24- and 45-yard receptions by Anderson. But the
offense stalled at the Bowie 19.
On
its next possession, Richland took advantage of a
7-yard Bowie punt into the wind that set up the
offense at the Bowie 32. Later a face mask penalty
against Bowie put the ball at the 18.
But
Richland's hopes ended when Bowie's
Donovan Vestal pounced
on a fumble on second-and-7 from the 14
Richland finally broke through on its third trip
deep inside Bowie territory.
Quarterback Phillip Gonzales got Richland on the
scoreboard when he stretched his arms out for the
end zone on a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:20
remaining in the second quarter.
Bowie
mounted a final threat in the last minute of the
second half, aided by a personal foul penalty
against Richland. But Ryan Tice's interception with
30 seconds left in the half ended Bowie's drive.
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