ARLINGTON – Woodville football was met with a buzzsaw in its first ever trip to the UIL State Championship. The Gunter Tigers won 28-0 for their third consecutive state title, and fifth in the past nine years at AT&T Stadium in Arlington Thursday.
“Obviously, we are disappointed with the outcome,” Woodville coach Ty Robinson said. “It is not going to take away from the season that we had. They (Gunter) are in the position that they are in for a reason. I couldn’t be any prouder of my guys and watching them for the last six years grow up has been one of the true blessings in my life. Being able to cap off their senior season with the historic run like we had this year is something that will always be a cherished memory.”
A crowd of 9,531 fans saw a defensive struggle in the first half, as the two teams combined for just 160 yards. The Woodville offensive line failed to give much protection for ball carriers and its passer versus a stingy Tiger defense. Quarterback Luke Babin (9-for-23, 93 yards, 2 Int) was sacked six times.
A punt return of 34 yards by Gunter senior Easton Overman set up good field position early in the second period. On the third play of the drive, quarterback Preston Tarpley (9-for-15, 121 yards, 2 TDs) found Cole Harpole running loose in the secondary for an easy 18-yard touchdown. It was the only trip to the red zone for either squad across the half.
A line drive kickoff to begin the second half was returned by Mitchell Gage 96 yards through a large hole near the hash marks to double the Tiger lead at 14-0. It was the longest in Class 3A state championship history, and second longest in any 11-man state title game.
Confusion in coverage moments later allowed Cash Rumage to slip behind defenders and haul in a 59-yard strike from Tarpley, opening the gap to 21-0. In three minutes, the Tigers had 155 yards on the two scoring plays after just 82 total yards in the first half.
An interception off a tip by Tiger Brock Boddie midway through the fourth quarter was returned 62 yards for the final score.
Though the score didn’t indicate it, the Woodville defense played well. The two busts in coverage overshadowed a performance by the unit that displayed its athleticism and solid tackling Thursday afternoon. Jacob Hyder and Jaythan Traylor each had 11 tackles, with the latter also picking up a sack and two and a half tackles for loss. Defense kept the game within reach, despite an offense that sputtered and special teams that made mistakes and surrendered big plays.
The Eagles had more punts (10) than first downs (nine). They were held to 147 yards of total offense. Yet, Gunter did not have much more at 205, with half of the Tiger points credited to special teams and defense.
Woodville finishes the year with a 13-3 record, while Gunter raised its mark to 14-2.
Robinson had a positive outlook on the future of Eagle football after the contest.
“Our J.V. team was undefeated this year, our seventh-grade team was undefeated, and I believe our eighth grade lost one game. We are graduating some great players, but we graduated some great players last year. We graduated some great players the year before and we have six or seven kids right now that are playing college football. ‘Next man up’ is the mentality we raised these guys with, and we will see if maybe we can come back (to state).
“Getting out of the second round (of playoffs) is something that Woodville High School has never done. We’ve had three or four 10-win seasons since I’ve been here, so we’ve gotten the program to a level, and we have maintained that level. Now, we have taken another step. The objective now is to not go back and to keep climbing.”
The coach said the season has allowed the community to unite in its support for the team and each other over the past few months.
“There is overwhelming support. This is what is so important about public schools and what is so important about athletics. It is so much more than football. It is so much more football and so much more than the team. Everybody came together. A lady put on social media that only two times has our community come together. One was with Hurricane Rita. I didn’t live there then, but everybody lost power for over a month, and the community really came together. It was first for tragedy and now in triumph. It’s been great to see that for our community, and I know the community appreciates what we’ve done. That is what’s so great about this sport in small town Texas. It is just different, and it is unbelievable. It is why I became a coach.”
