That’s because the one thing which really did matter was what the Rebels did when it counted.
Despite being outgained by Lubbock Coronado by a fairly decent margin, Tascosa came out of it with the better end of the deal. The Rebels hung their hat on two huge plays resulting in 15 points, and that was the difference in a district opening 29-16 victory.
What might not show up statistically or in the scoring tally is the matter of character, which Tascosa (2-3, 1-0 in district) needed to display after a rough pre-district showing. It came down to finding a way to win, which was the best news of all for the Rebels.
“I think it was a great win,” Tascosa coach Ken Plunk said. “I don’t know that we were technically great tonight, but our opponent was 0-0 in district, and they have some talent. I anticipated that we would have to play a good game, and we did not play great in the first half but we played really well in the second half.”
Coronado (1-4, 0-1) took advantage of Tascosa being unable to cash in after moving the ball to the Coronado 13-yard line but giving the ball up on downs.
The Mustangs moved to Tascosa’s 27, then with 24 seconds left in the half, Isaiah Vazquez hit Campbell Stanek on a hook pattern, and he tossed it back to Demarion Finch on a hook and lateral to complete scoring pass for a 16-7 lead.
That rush disappeared instantly, though, when Tascosa’s T.J. Tillman fielded the ensuing kickoff, hesitated, then cut back to the center of the field where he found a seam. Tillman then simply ran through and away from the crowd, going 83 yards for a touchdown with seven seconds left in the half to cut the margin to 16-14.
It was the beginning of 22 straight points by the Rebels to close out the game.
“I like to really trust my vision so I can take a little bit to look around, scan the field and find a little hole, and once I find a crease I attack it,” Tillman said. “My guys always block hard. I just knew we needed it. When I broke from the sideline and cut in, I saw the kicker and I knew it was six.”
The Mustangs had dominated statistically and ended the game outgaining Tascosa by a 435-267 margin. They also had 19 first downs to Tascosa’s 12.
However, Tillman’s return was the first big play which negated such an advantage, especially considering the Rebels got the second half kickoff.
“We were going to get the ball back to start the second half, so the message was we were down two so go down and score and get a stop,” Tillman said. “It just shows the type of team we have. The biggest thing the coaches preach is don’t panic.”
While the Rebels didn’t roll over the Mustangs on the ground, they got stronger running the ball as the game progressed. They ran for 145 of their 234 yards after intermission.
It was still a tense second half, as both teams lost the ball on fumbles once with the Rebels stopping the Mustangs on downs in the third quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, Coronado had the ball just inside territory facing a fourth-and-eight and elected to go for it.
Vazquez hit Dom Parrish a yard short of the sticks when a group of Tascosa tacklers converged on him. Desperately trying to keep the play alive, Parrish tried to make the second big lateral of the night and it worked out huge again.
Only this time, it worked out for the Rebels. Tascosa defensive lineman Andrew Nick picked the ball out of the air, and rumbled 54 yards for a touchdown, giving the Rebels a 29-16 lead with 7:40 left and ultimately sealing the game.
“He’s trying to pitch it and my boy Jaden (King) forced the throw and it came straight to me,” Nick said. “It was second nature after that. I turned around making a cut right after that. As soon as I made that one cut it was over after that. As a D-lineman to run the ball like that it was very special.”
It was the second long scoring play of the game for the Rebels, and certainly the least expected of the two.
“T.J. certainly has some explosiveness,” Plunk said. “I would have never guessed Andrew Nick had that explosiveness. That was not on the bingo card tonight, but he made a great play.”
Coronado struck first on a 30-yard field goal by Dylan Corley for a 3-0 lead. Tascosa wasted little time in answering back, as on the third play of the ensuing drive, quarterback Coltyn Fulton kept the ball and ran 38 yards for a touchdown to give the Rebels their only lead of the half, 7-3. Fulton led the Rebels with 70 yards on 13 carries.
The Mustangs answered back late in the first quarter with a big play of their own, as Vazquez hit Ke’Vonte Carr on a wide receiver screen, and Carr turned it into a 68-yard scoring pass for a 9-7 lead.
Tascosa looked vulnerable on defense, especially against the pass, as Vazquez completed 20-of-31 passes for 322 yards and Parrish had nine catches for 106 yards. The good news was that Tascosa’s defense responded against the run, as Finch had 105 yards on 23 carries, but only six of them came in the second half.
“We’ve got to get better, there’s no doubt about it,” Plunk said. “I didn’t think it was super clean on either side but it was a gutty effort to fall behind and come back and win. That’s always good. We’re one win closer to going to the playoffs.”