MADISONVILLE — The effort was there, the will was there, but the scores weren’t, and ultimately, the Coldspring-Oakhurst Trojans lost to first-round opponent Teague in the 2024 UIL Texas Football State Championships on Friday.
The Trojans at 4-2 in District, and the Lions at 3-2 in District, seemed evenly matched; however, the Coldspring defense couldn’t find a handle on the twin rushing attack from Teague’s Zak Leija and Ny’land Coaster.
The Lions went up two touchdowns in the first half, and it wasn’t until the third quarter that Coldspring was able to change the scoreboard. The Trojans managed another touchdown and a 2-point conversion in the fourth, but with Teague scoring 3 TDs in the second half, it wouldn’t be enough.
Coldspring Head Coach Ken Stanley said he couldn’t take anything away from Teague as they have a good program, and his team couldn’t get feet on the ground in the first half.
“Every time we turn around, we were dropping passes,” he said. “The kids played hard and fought hard, but there were stupid mistakes and got us behind the 8 ball.”
Stanley said quarterback David Rowe threw the ball well, and on defense, D.Q. Gray stood tall, Dacoryan Barnes had a good night and Landon Ellisor had a good night in the secondary.
“I told them I can’t fault them — they played their backsides off,” Stanley said. “We just need to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. They may look like adults, but they’re kids.”
Coldspring has made it to the playoffs in four of the last six years, but mistakes have kept them from advancing past the first round.
Looking to the future, Stanley said that he has team members ready to step up in both the double wing and spread offenses, and they look forward to another successful year on the gridiron.
