NACOGDOCHES -- Whitehouse quarterback Nate Brooks had a field day in the first half and Justin Dunning's late, 43-yard pick six in the frame made Nacogdoches fans question whether it was worth sitting through the heartbreak that was forming Friday at Dragon Stadium.

Momentum swung wildly on the first play from scrimmage in the second half. In the Dragons' last opportunity to clinch the playoffs for the second consecutive season and only for the fourth time since 1965, everything came together in the form of 36 straight points.

Nacogdoches won the pivotal District 16-5A game, 46-36, and will participate in the Class 5A Division II playoffs as the league's second seed team. Whitehouse's undoing cost it a playoff berth and its season will end next week after taking on Lindale at home. 

"The first half, I've got to give Whitehouse a lot of credit," Dragons head coach Bobby Reyes said. "They played really good and we played really poorly in the offensive line. As poorly as we've played all year because we've got a good offensive line.

"We just went into half and there was no screaming or hollering. I just said, 'Look. We're better than this. Let's take care of business and do the things we know we can do.' That's what we did."

Whitehouse quarterback and safety Nate Brooks had a fantastic first half with 182 passing yards, another 54 net rushing yards and three total touchdowns. Nacogdoches clamped down in the second frame. (Rob Graham, ETSN.fm)
Whitehouse quarterback and safety Nate Brooks had a fantastic first half with 182 passing yards, another 54 net rushing yards and three total touchdowns. Nacogdoches clamped down in the second frame. (Rob Graham, ETSN.fm)
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Friday's game was essentially a play-in game. The Wildcats (5-4, 2-4) could have tied Nacogdoches (7-2, 4-2) in the standings and owned the tiebreaker heading into a winnable regular season finale while the Dragons simultaneously play on the road against a very good John Tyler team.

As it is, the win for Reyes' squad gave the Dragons a two-game lead against Whitehouse with just one game to play. It also sealed a postseason berth for Lufkin. John Tyler and Ennis had already clinched to round out the top four teams from the district.

Coronado Tolbert, a top-tier senior running back in terms of rushing yardage entering Friday's game, came out like a man on fire in the second half behind the rejuvenated offensive line. He had scored in the first half yet was well off pace for his normal damage with just 26 yards.

He recorded 13 yards on the first play of the second half and accounted for 59 yards on Nacogdoches' five-play, 71-yard touchdown drive. Quarterback Hunter McClellan cut Whitehouse's lead to 29-17 on a 12-yard carry with 22 minutes to play.

Tolbert finished the game with 169 yards and four touchdowns.

The Dragons' defense took their play to another level in the second half.

Brooks, a North Texas defensive back commitment, had completed 9 of 12 passes in the first half for two scores and 182 yards in addition to a touchdown on the ground and 54 rushing yards. He got boxed into the pocket in the second half and did not score again.

The Wildcats responded to Tolbert's drive with a turnover on downs at Nacogdoches' 35-yard line, but the defensive remnants of a 2013 district championship winning group appeared to still have the answers when they forced a three-and-out.

Things came undone shortly after the Dragons' punt. Whitehouse's Keatlon Coffer was crushed by a pack of defenders on a run to the Nacogdoches 36 and his fumble was recovered by defensive tackle Colin Carrell.

Dragons running back Coronado Tolbert carried the ball 29 times for 169 yards and scored four touchdowns in Friday's 46-36 win. (Rob Graham, ETSN.fm)
Dragons running back Coronado Tolbert carried the ball 29 times for 169 yards and scored four touchdowns in Friday's 46-36 win. (Rob Graham, ETSN.fm)
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McClellan guided the offense on a 10-play, 65-yard drive to set up a Tolbert run from seven yards out and a 29-24 deficit at the end of the third quarter.

A holding penalty, one of Whitehouse's 10 flags in the game, crippled the ensuing drive. The Wildcats punted and Tolbert helped give Nacogdoches a 32-29 lead with 8:04 to play on a one-yard run. McClellan ran in a two-point conversion.

A face mask penalty on the conversion run put the kickoff on Whitehouse's 45-yard line and a personal foul after the aided kick backed the Wildcats to their own seven-yard line. Kyle Krenek's six-yard tackle for loss pinned Whitehouse at its own goal line and Brooks threw an interception to Corey Lane in the face of pressure for a 21-yard score the other way.

"Nate played a great game for them," Lane said. "He just wasn't letting the ball go much in the first half because he could scramble on us. Once he realized he couldn't get as many yards on us in the second half, he started throwing it. That wasn't too good for them because we started making plays."

Brooks threw a second interception two offensive plays later. Cornerback Jaylon Lane returned it to the 10-yard line and Tolbert found the end zone the next play for a 46-29 lead with 6:20 to play.

Whitehouse turned to strong-armed quarterback Jackson Allen to dig it out of the late hole. He completed 10 of 18 passes for 139 yards and got the Wildcats' final score of the night with 4:06 to play on an 11-yard pass to Trent Williams.

Allen's side recovered an onside kick, but a nine-yard sack on second down from the Dragons' 36 and an incomplete pass the next play set up a fourth-and-19. With under three minutes left and short of the yardage at initial contact, the the team fumbled on a desperate hook-and-ladder attempt.

Whitehouse safety Justin Dunning gets to Nacogdoches Tae Thomas for a one-yard loss in the second quarter. Dunning had an interception returned for a touchdown earlier in the game, (Rob Graham, ETSN.fm)
Whitehouse safety Justin Dunning gets to Nacogdoches Tae Thomas for a one-yard loss in the second quarter. Dunning had an interception returned for a touchdown earlier in the game, (Rob Graham, ETSN.fm)
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Nacogdoches burned a minute off the clock, punted and the Wildcats' meaningful season ended on Alex Guillory's fourth down pass breakup near the end zone with 37 seconds to play.

"There was a lot of excitement when we kicked the ball off, but then we started losing," Tolbert said. "We went inside, talked it through and got through it. We had a great second half. It just feels real great. We have an opportunity now to reach state."

Reyes upped his Dragons coaching record to 14-6 after an 0-10 campaign in 2012, his first on the job. The team has, for the second time under the headman, opened the door for up to a 14-win season.

Nacogdoches will take on Hallsville, Marshall or Sulphur Springs after next week's conclusion to the regular season.

"I love our seniors," Reyes said. "Thirty-three kids. They've all been with us. They've stuck with us. We went 0-10 when they were sophomores, and a bunch of them were on the varsity. We had some success thanks to our seniors last year and we've just built on it.

"We worked hard in the offseason. I know everybody does, but we do some things that are really difficult. It makes our kids understand we don't quit."

Nacogdoches head coach Bobby Reyes celebrates with running back Coronado Tolbert and receiver Tae Thomas in the final seconds of Friday's playoff clinching win. (Rob Graham, ETSN.fm) 
Nacogdoches head coach Bobby Reyes celebrates with running back Coronado Tolbert and receiver Tae Thomas in the final seconds of Friday's playoff clinching win. (Rob Graham, ETSN.fm) 
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Nacogdoches 46, Whitehouse 36

At Dragon Stadium, Nacogdoches

Whitehouse               15    14      0     7    —    36
Nacogdoches           10       0    14   22    —   46

First quarter
WHI--Trent Williams 74 pass from Nate Brooks (kick failed), 10:53
NAC--Rudy Fuentes 28 field goal, 6:26
WHI--Colby Crim 24 field goal, 3:00
NAC--Coronado Tolbert 1 run (Fuentes kick), :53
WHI--Drew Smith 14 pass from Brooks (pass failed), :00
Second quarter
WHI--Brooks 20 run (Crim kick), :41
WHI--Justin Dunning 43 interception return (Crim kick), :19
Third quarter
NAC--Hunter McClellan 12 run (Fuentes kick), 9:55
NAC--Tolbert 7 run (Fuentes kick), 1:03
Fourth quarter
NAC--Tolbert 1 run (McClellan run), 8:04
NAC--Corey Lane 21 interception return (Fuentes kick), 7:13
NAC--Tolbert 10 run (Fuentes kick), 6:20
WHI--Williams 11 pass Jackson Allen (Crim kick), 4:06

                                              WHI              NAC
First Downs                             19                19
Total Yards                            449                398
Rushes-Yards                     29-54               38-184
Passing-Yards                       395                214
Comp.-Att.-Int.                    25-41-2           13-26-1
Fumbles-Lost                         2-2                0-0
Penalties-Yards                   10-103            6-80
Punts-Avg.                            2-35.5            3-21.3

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Whitehouse, Nate Brooks 15-38, Dominique Hollie 9-30, Keatlon Coffer 2(-4), Jackson Allen 3-(-10). Nacogdoches, Coronado Tolbert 29-169, Tay Forest 1-11, Hunter McClellan 8-4.
PASSING—Whitehouse, Brooks 15-23-2--256, Allen 10-18-0--139. Nacogdoches, McClellan 13-26-1--214
RECEIVING—Whitehouse, Trent Williams 8-156, Eric Munoz 8-145, Drew Smith 6-98, Hunter Franks 1-5, Dominique Hollie 1-0, Isiah Clark 1-(-1). Nacogdoches, Alex Gregory 3-68, Taylor White 3-60, Ken Rogers 3-55, Tae Thomas 4-31.

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