His team may have come up a little short, but John Tyler senior quarterback Greg Ward capped his stellar high school career with a performance for the ages.

With the Lions trailing Denton Guyer by 19 points with six minutes remaining in their Class 4A Division I state semifinal last Friday night in Midlothian, Ward evoked memories of the famed 1994 classic between JT and Plano East by rallying the Lions to 22 consecutive points in 2:16 giving his team the 53-50 lead.

Guyer, however, answered with a game-winning touchdown drive, ending the career of arguably the greatest quarterback in John Tyler history.

Ward, a Houston commit, finished the night 48 of 65 for a career-best 551 yards and five touchdowns, while rushing for 109 yards and a touchdown. He threw three interceptions, after committing just two in his first 14 games of the year, but kept the Lions in it with 660 yards of offense and six TDs.

“He’s a leader,” John Tyler coach Ricklan Holmes said of Ward following the game. “He’s a real quarterback and he’s gonna be a real quarterback at the next level. He’s gonna continue to do what he’s been doing from this time on up. He just has to stay the course and continue to do what he’s been doing and keep working hard and good things will happen for him."

Ward's final senior season stats: 280 of 400 (70 percent) for 4,202 yards, 44 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also led JT in rushing with 861 yards and 13 touchdowns on 170 attempts.

In two years at quarterback, Ward threw for 7,985 yards with 78 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions, while rushing for 2,107 and 31 more touchdowns.

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