Mineola Rallies to Knock Off Whitesboro, 50-33

GREENVILLE -- The Mineola Yellowjackets recovered from a 13-point deficit in the first half, and secured a 50-33 win over Whitesboro in their Class 3A Division I, Region II area-round playoff Friday night at T.A. "Cotton" Ford Stadium.

Mineola (10-2) will face Howe (9-3) in the regional semifinals next week. The date, time, and location have yet to be determined.

The Yellowjackets turned the ball over twice on their first three possessions, and fell behind 13-0 and later 20-7.

But Kourtland Sinches' 90-yard kickoff return pulled Mineola to within a touchdown at 20-14, and Jeremiah Crawford's second of five touchdown runs -- a 26-yarder -- gave the 'Jackets a 21-20 halftime lead.

Crawford added scoring runs of 34 and 8 yards to help Mineola build a 35-20 lead, but a turnover led to another Whitesboro (5-7) score, which cut the deficit to 35-27.

Michael Drennon then forced and recovered a fumble at the Whitesboro 28, which led to Chantz Perkins' 4-yard touchdown run. A Frankie Meason interception then set up Crawford's 1-yard score that pushed Mineola's lead to 50-27 in the fourth quarter.