COLDSPRING — Shepherd defeated Coldspring 52-6 as two Coldspring graduates meet on opposite sidelines.
Friday night's Battle of San Jacinto County was certainly the latter. The annual showdown between the Shepherd Pirates and Coldspring-Oakhurst Trojans took on an entirely different meaning this year as the game was played on Sept. 11, a date forever etched into the history of the nation.
With the stadium packed from end zone to end zone, fans arrived wearing red, white and blue in recognition of the evening's theme. The Shepherd Pirates entered the field through a cloud of blue, while the Coldspring Trojans answered with a red haze of their own. Before the first snap, the crowd stood together for a moment of silence in remembrance.
For one night, San Jacinto County came together under the Friday night lights. Then came the football.
Shepherd, a Division II Class 4A program, entered the contest riding the momentum of two impressive victories. Coldspring, a Division I Class 3A program, is working through a rebuilding season under new Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Chad Allen, a new coaching staff and a completely new
Allen knows exactly what this rivalry means.
“It's important to me, not only winning, but just having the chance to be back on the field for this huge San Jacinto County event, the Battle of San Jacinto County,” Allen said.
Robison shared a story that brought the hometown connection even closer. “Chad Allen and I grew up on the same road not far from here,” Robison said. “The only difference was, as I was graduating from Coldspring High School, Chad was only a small kid.”
Allen pointed out that people on both sides of the field are family, friends and longtime community members.
“The thing about the Battle of San Jacinto County is that we both have kin folks on both sides of the field. It is all about representing your school colors,” Allen said.
Allen added that while the game does not count toward the UIL playoff standings, it still carries plenty of meaning.
“This game means a lot to both teams,” he said. “Although it has nothing to do with the UIL playoffs, for us it is about Trojan Pride, and for Coach Robison it is about Pirate Pride.”
Shepherd found the end zone early and took a 6-0 lead after the point-after attempt was unsuccessful. Coldspring answered with a determined effort of its own, as Quarterback Deshawn McKinney, operating the Trojans' spread offense, connected with Tyler Stuckey, putting Coldspring on the scoreboard. That would be the Trojans' only touchdown of the night.
Shepherd's Brayden White and Michael Weekes helped create problems for the Coldspring offense with aggressive defensive pressure, while Pirate quarterback Kyler Syracuse kept the Shepherd offense moving and consistently challenged the Trojan defense.
The Pirates had a total of 368 yards, which included 334 rushing yards and 34 passing yards. Jacorey Davis posted 128 yards for the night followed by Ben Coyle with 100 yards. Quarterback Kyler Syracuse had 57 yards, which included 34 yards passing. Ben Coyle had 4 TDs followed by Davis Turner posting 1 TD. The defense gave up only 112 yards for the night. Michael Weekes had 6 tackles for a loss, followed by Gustavo Espino with 5. Jamil Butler had a pick 6 for the night. Weston Hoffart had 2 sacks followed by Brayden White with 1 sack.
•After opening the season with a surprising road victory over Huffman-Hargrave, the Pirates returned home on Sept. 4 and delivered another impressive performance, shutting out the Tarkington Longhorns 44-0 in a non-district matchup.
•On Sept. 4, the Trojans lost to Crockett 41-20.
Ja’koby Parks and Nicolas Hardin both had 10 rushes for a total of 52 yards to lead the Coldspring ground game. In the air, Tyler Stuckey pulled in 3 passes for 111 yards and 2 TDs, while Jacoby Johnson nabbed 1 for 7 yards and a TD.
Deshawn McKinney completed 2 of 11 passes for 107 yards and 2 TDs, while Reagan Leasman completed 2 of 2 passes for 11 yards and 1 TD. Neither QB was intercepted.
