BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
CORPUS CHRISTI — The Sharyland High players and coaching staff had every reason to feel upbeat heading into the halftime locker room.
The Rattlers led by two touchdowns against a Brazos Valley-area program with a rich pedigree. Brenham qualified for a Class 4A state championship game three times dating back to the 2002 football season, the last of which took place in 2013.
Sharyland High’s defense bent but didn’t break against physical runners Tyree Jackson and Daylonn McCowan of Brenham and the offense punted the ball once in its five first-half possessions. The sting from a triple-overtime loss to Alice in the area round last season would soon be over.
“We were focused, but I think we were thinking about it too much,” Sharyland High quarterback Edgar Longoria said. “We were excited that we were up and beating a Houston team because no Valley team usually does that. We were doing well, but then we lost control and they (Brenham) did what they did.”
The Cubs found their roar in the third quarter, scoring twice to square the game at 21, forcing a 28-all tie entering the fourth quarter and eventually overtime.
Brenham took its first lead of the game on a McCowan 1-yard touchdown run in the second overtime period and held on. The Cubs defeated the Rattlers 42-35 in a Class 5A DII Area Round victory Friday at Cabaniss Stadium.
“They kept us bottled up,” Sharyland High coach Ron Adame said. “When you look at key momentum changes, that was one in the second half. We didn’t win the second half. That’s the reason they were able to catch up to us and send it to overtime.”
Sharyland High linebacker Javo Lopez capitalized on Brenham’s lone turnover of the first half when he intercepted Cubs quarterback Garrison Weiss. The takeaway led to an Edgar Longoria touchdown pass to Gabriel Tamez to put the Rattlers ahead, 21-7.
Longoria had his best individual passing game of the season, completing 18 of 28 passes and a season-best 249 yards. His four touchdown passes were another season-high.
After McCowan’s rushing touchdown gave the Cubs their lead to start the second overtime, the Sharyland High (8-4) offense went backwards when it regained possession at Brenham’s 25. A 5-yard loss on a carry, a false start and an incomplete pass from Longoria put the Rattlers in a third down situation with 20 yards to make up for.
On the third-down play, Longoria dropped back, stepped up and tried to launch a pass deep before he took a huge hit. The hit caused the trajectory of Longoria’s pass to sail out of bounds and put Longoria onto the turf writhing in pain.
Adame called timeout to check on Longoria’s health and a way to give his senior a chance to reenter the game on fourth down.
“The interpretation that I was given by the officials is unless he (Longoria) loses his helmet, that’s the only way we could bring him back into the game after the timeout. But that was not the case because he still had his helmet on,” Adame said.
With Longoria ruled out for the Rattlers’ fourth down, backup quarterback Oscar Valdez was inserted to keep the drive alive. In last season’s overtime loss to Alice, Valdez replaced Longoria due to an injury and forced extra time with a brilliant fourth quarter.
But Valdez was sacked on fourth down, ensuring another Brenham (8-4) third-round appearance and the end of the Rattlers’ season.
“It is what it is,” Adame said. “We had opportunities to take care of business prior to that, so I don’t think it really came down to that play.”
Along with starters like Longoria, Gabriel Tamez, Ruben Davila and Brandon Mireles, Lopez is one of the Rattlers’ 14 returning starters this season who ended their high school careers on Friday afternoon.
Lopez’s senior class was responsible for 31 wins, three area round appearances and two district titles since 2015.
“I won’t ever forget this year,” Lopez said. “We had a tough start to the year, going 1-3. When you’re able to bounce back and go undefeated in district and come short of an area championship, sure, it sucks right now. But this whole year has been full of great memories. These are guys I know I can always count on. If I ever need anything, I know I can give them a call and vice versa.”
“We’ve accomplished a lot,” Adame said. “It looked a little gray after our non-district schedule, but we told them that it would pay off in the end and it did. The tears that they are letting go means that this game has meant something and that their teammates mean something to them.”