Jasper Blows Past Brownsboro to Set Up Area-Round Clash With Defending Champ Navasota

LUFKIN -- The Jasper Bulldogs passed their first challenge of the playoffs, and an even bigger one now awaits.

Jasper scored on its first five possessions of the game, and coasted to a 57-14 win over Brownsboro in their Class 4A Division I bi-district playoff Saturday afternoon at Abe Martin Stadium.

The win sets up next week's area-round clash between the Bulldogs (7-4) and defending state champion and top-ranked Navasota (11-0). Kickoff is scheduled for Friday night from Conroe's Moorhead Stadium.

"We respect everyone but we're not going to fear anybody," Jasper coach Darrell Barbay said of next week's opponent. "We're going to go into it, and we're going to get after it. We'll accept the challenge and we'll be ready."

The Bulldogs made it look easy Saturday.

Jasper senior quarterback Tiger Williams ran for 237 yards and two touchdowns, and added 117 yards through the air with a touchdown pass to senior tight end and Louisiana-Lafayette commit Cody Mitchell.

Bulldogs running back Decorian Holmes added 153 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries, as Jasper rolled up 418 team rushing yards and 535 total yards of offense.

"It wasn't me, it was my offensive line," said Williams, who scored the game's first touchdown, and later added a 47-yarder in the fourth. "We played as a team, and we said we were going to come out and do everything the right way, and we did."

Brownsboro was inconsistent, especially in the first half. The Bears committed three turnovers, including a fumble that was returned 66 yards for a touchdown by Jasper's Devonta Armstrong in the fourth for the Bulldogs' final score of the day.

Bears senior quarterback Tamrick Pace, in his second game back from a late-season injury that caused him to miss two games, passed for 226 yards and both Brownsboro touchdowns.

But he was bottled up for 66 yards on 16 rushing attempts, despite entering the playoffs with 1,200 rushing yards on the season.

"He's a great player, but he's gimped up; I could see that, he's not the same kid," Barbay said of Pace. "If he would've been healthy it would've been different on the scoreboard. He'd been hurt and he tried to come back last week, and I think played some. He was not healthy, and that was very advantageous to us."

Brownsboro receiver Jamal Bell was on the receiving end of both Pace touchdown passes, which covered 20 and 24 yards, respectively. He finished with eight catches for 123 yards, while Xavier Richardson caught six passes for 90 yards.

Jasper's first scoring drive took all of three plays, and ended on a Williams 3-yard run, which followed a 26-yard completion to Tyler Ruiz on first down and a 29-yard WIlliams rush.

Brownsboro's next drive stalled, but its punt pinned Jasper inside its own 5. But the Bulldogs' offense went to work, methodically moving 97 yards in eight plays. Mitchell caught a 32-yard pass, Holmes ran for 24, and Dustin Foshee hauled in a 23-yarder to get the ball into the red zone.

Holmes' 6-yard run, and Foshee's two-point conversion extended Jasper's lead to 15-0 with 47 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Brownsboro's next series ended in Jasper territory, and the Bulldogs put together an 80-yard drive culminating in Williams' 5-yard touchdown run with 5:49 to play in the half.

Another three-play scoring drive from Jasper pushed the lead to 29-0 as Williams connected with Mitchell for an 8-yard touchdown. JaKeithon Adams intercepted Pace on the ensuing series, and Holmes' 9-yard scoring run on the second play of the drive gave Jasper a 36-0 lead with 2:43 remaining until halftime.

Brownsboro got on the board before intermission. A 41-yard completion from Pace to Richardson helped set up his 20-yard scoring toss to Bell. The extra point was no good, leaving the Bears trailing, 36-6, after two quarters.

"After last week (59-48 loss to Silsbee), we wanted to control the ball," Barbay said. "We felt like we kinda needed to hold the ball to help our defense some. We wanted to see what our offensive line could do, and we managed them pretty good. Both the quarterback and running back got up there and ran well, and we didn't turn the ball over."

Jasper 57, Brownsboro 14

Class 4A Division I Region III Bi-District Playoff

At Abe Martin Stadium, Lufkin

Jasper                   15    21      7    14    --    57
Brownsboro             0      6      0      8    --    14

First Quarter
JAS--Tiger Williams 3 run (Rafael Mijares kick), 9:09.
JAS--Decorian Holmes 6 run (Dustin Foshee run), :47.
Second Quarter
JAS--Williams 5 run (Mijares kick), 5:49.
JAS--Cody Mitchell 6 pass from Williams (Mijares kick), 3:51.
JAS--Holmes 9 run (Mijares kick), 2:43.
BRO--Jamal Bell 20 pass from Tamrick Pace (kick failed), 1:40.
Third Quarter
JAS--Holmes 8 run (Mijares kick), 6:56.
Fourth Quarter
BRO--Bell 24 pass from Pace (Kevon Thompson pass from Pace), 9:54.
JAS--Williams 47 run (Mijares kick), 7:19.
JAS--Devonta Armstrong 66 fumble return (Mijares kick), 5:18.

                                                  JAS               BRO
First Downs                                    26                  17
Total Yards                                   535                348
Rushes-Yards                          50-418           29-122
Passing Yards                               117               226
Comp.-Att.-Int.                          7-14-0        15-27-2
Punts-Avg.                                 1-32.0          3-27.0
Fumbles-Lost                                  0-0               1-1
Penalties-Yards                            9-68              6-40

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Jasper, Tiger Williams 23-237, Decorian Holmes 22-153, Jekerion Simmons 3-24, Leon Sells 2-4. Brownsboro, Tamrick Pace 16-66, Wyatt Rinehart 5-27, Bryant King 4-16, Kevon Thompson 4-13.
PASSING--Jasper, Williams 7-13-0--117, Sells 0-1-0--0. Brownsboro, Pace 15-27-2--226.
RECEIVING--Jasper, Cody Mitchell, 4-56, Tyler Ruiz 2-38, Dustin Foshee 1-23. Brownsboro, Jamal Bell 8-123, Xavier Richardson 6-90, Thompson 1-13.