Riders fall short against Aubrey, 43-41

Quadruple overtime.

New UIL rules that changed the overtime process in high school football games for 2022 have left many fans unsure of what they are watching. In the state’s first quadruple overtime under those new rules, Center opened the 2022 season beating Tatum on their turf, 44-42.

Funny how history and fate, however, often borrow the same theme when they write their stories for people and nations. And football teams.

The Roughrider team that won in quadruple overtime against Tatum to start the season was ranked #57 in the state. The same team that took on the Chaparrals from Aubrey (north of Dallas near Denton) at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium, Earl Campbell Field, last Saturday was a battle-tested state ranked #11.

But the outcome for the state’s first overtime in a playoff contest under the new rules ended differently for the Riders.

When Center played Tatum in August, the overtime went something like this: both teams took turns lining up at the 25-yard line and driving for a touchdown with a successful extra point. Still tied.

Then, in opposite order, they took turns scoring again from the 25. But each team added a successful 2-pt conversion. Still tied.

Then, to the befuddlement of fans and announcers alike, the team that just made the 2-pt conversion lined up for another one. Was there a penalty? No, the score is still tied so...?

The team converted the 2-point conversion. The scoreboard awarded them with two points. Their opponents lined up for their own 2-point conversion ... and made it. Score still tied.

Slowly the crowd was made aware that what it was seeing was the “third overtime.”

First overtime = a chance to score from the 25 with an extra point. Second overtime = the same chance but with a 2-point conversion. After that, one play each from the three-yard line. And that’s where the Roughriders found themselves: engaged in gridiron trench warfare, tied up through three overtimes.

In the fourth overtime, Rider quarterback “Cash” Cross ran across the goal line untouched. On the next 2-point try, the Rider defense held the running back just short of the goal line.

Center won. “It’s the most exciting win of my career in any sport, hands down,” Mar-Mar Evans said after the Tatum game that warm August night. And that says a lot for a player who has over 1,000 points in basketball, has won Area Championships in that sport and qualified for state in track.

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3 Fast forward to Center’s match against the Aubrey Chaparrals on a cold November night.

The pregame chatter on sports websites and chatrooms shared a common theme: the Roughrider defense would never be able to stop the Aubrey running attack. Like the Roughriders, Aubrey was used to scoring 60 and 70 points. Unlike the Riders, almost all of it was on the ground. Despite the lopsided chatter, Aubrey was only a two-point favorite.

“We know what they like to do,” Head Coach and Athletic Director Michael Meeks said. “They run on 90-percent of their plays, and they dare you to stop it. Very few have been able to this year.”

In the first quarter, Aubrey gained yards on the ground but never crossed the goal line. The Roughriders offense scored first on a 41-yard Emonte “Cash” Cross pass to wide-out Lance Wilburn.

“The Ray Jones key to the game for Center was to slow down the Chaparral ground attack,” announcer Larry Pierce said. “So far, that’s what they’ve done.”

Aubrey scored in the second quarter with a 25-yard touchdown run. But on the next drive, Cross would lead a varied Rider attack, ending with his keeper for 25 yards and the score. Center led 14-7.

In the half, Center lost the turnover battle. It’s last promising drive ended with a fumble giving Aubrey a chance to end the quarter with a score. A long run left them with a last play field goal attempt from 43 yards that just missed left.

Center led 14-7 at half. Both schools put on worthy shows for the Area playoffs. Center had “Chaparrals” of their own who danced flawlessly at halftime, but Center’s band had to overcome challenges in Tyler.

“We missed 35 students yesterday to either strep throat or flu,” Center Band Director Chris Smith said. “Still, we’re going to suit up and give it a try even if we have holes to fill.” The band only marched a little over 80-percent of its musicians, but nailed the slightly abbreviated drill just the same.

The third quarter belonged to Aubrey. They opened with a long drive and a tying touchdown. Center would score on its first possession with Wilburn’s second TD reception from Cross to regain the lead 21-14. But Aubrey would mount another long scoring drive to tie, then take a Center fumble to the end zone right before the quarter ended to go up 28-21.

“It’s the first Aubrey lead of the game,” announcer Stephen Shires said. “We’ll see how the Riders respond.”

In the fourth quarter, a Ja’Marion Crawford interception and a Cross-to-Evans touchdown (on the most perfect throw of the season) would tie the game.

But the fourth quarter also saw lost Center opportunities to move ahead.

On a gutsy fourth and 8 call in field goal range, Center called a beautifully executed fake to the left which moved 21 players toward the sideline. But Cross threw a strike to a wide-open fullback rarely used in the passing game. The dropped pass cost the Riders an easy score.

Then, when Aubrey failed to make a first down, a bad snap and an excellent Roughrider punt-rush gave Center a safety and a two-point lead. But a penalty for 12-men on the field took the points off the board.

“Mistakes count,” Roughrider announcer Chase Mayfield said. “In games like this, they usually haunt you.”

The game ended in regulation with a 28-28 tie. The 56 points together were a few points below these teams’ individual average during district play.

For the Roughriders, the end was as dramatically ironic as a Hollywood script: both traded scores and extra points in Overtime Round I. Then they traded touchdowns and 2-point conversions in Overtime Round II. Neither team made their 2-point conversions in Overtime Round III.

“Oh, that hurts,” Mayfield said. “We complete that pass and we’re Area Champions!”

Quadruple Overtime. New UIL rules that changed the overtime process left most of the Aubrey crowd unsure of what they were watching. But the Center fans remembered. It was how they started the season, all the way back in August.

To begin Overtime Round IV, Center’s standout running back Kaden Dixon was stopped short of the goal line. And, on the next play, Aubrey’s Lebrylon Bell fell over the same goal line.

An exhausted Mar-Mar Evans would lay on the field for a long time, eventually helped up by an Aubrey player, both teams with sincere respect for the other.

“It hurts to lose this one,” Coach Meeks said. “I said it back in August when the outcome was different: a game like this, it’s a shame either team has to lose.”

In the state’s first quadruple overtime under the new rules, Center opened the season beating Tatum 44-42.

In the state’s first quadruple overtime playoff game under the new rules, Center closed the season losing to Aubrey 43-41.