Whitehouse Survives Arlington Seguin’s First-Round Upset Bid in 50-44 Overtime Thriller

[By Anthony Hawthorne, Special to ETSN.fm]

MESQUITE -- An upset-minded Arlington Seguin team pushed the third-ranked Whitehouse Wildcats to the brink at Mesquite Memorial Stadium on Friday night.

Patrick Mahomes wasn’t having any of it.

The Texas Tech-committed senior quarterback scored on a 25-yard scramble with 0:29 remaining in regulation to tie the game, and Dominique Hollie scored from two yards out in overtime to send the Wildcats to a 50-44 victory in a Class 4A Division II Region II bi-district matchup.

The Wildcats move to 11-0, setting a school record for wins in a season, and advance to play a familiar foe, Sulphur Springs (8-3), in an area-round matchup next Friday in Forney at 7:30 p.m. The matchup will be a rematch of a Week 2 showdown that the Wildcats won 61-22 in Sulphur Springs.

The wild finish was set up after an impressive performance from Seguin quarterback Kelton Moore, who accounted for 489 total yards and three touchdowns on the night.

Moore led three consecutive fourth-quarter scoring drives to turn a 37-23 deficit into a 44-37 lead in just over a 5-minute span. Moore led a 13-play, 71-yard drive in which he accounted for 65 of those yards on the ground, including a 17-yard score, to get things rolling in the 4^th and bring his team to within a score.

The Cougar defense forced a punt and used just over 2 minutes to go 80 yards, aided by two Wildcat penalties. Darrian Hammonds punched it in from 4 yards out for his 2^nd touchdown of the night on the Cougars' next possession, tying the ballgame, 37-37.

Seguin's defense stepped up once again, stuffing Mahomes on a 4^th-and-1 to get the ball back with 2:28 remaining. A Tyvaughn Napier 27-yard run set up Moore at the Wildcat 44-yard line. In what looked to be the game-winning score, Moore went 44 yards to the house to give the Cougars a 44-37 lead and the potential for a huge upset.

That’s when Mahomes worked his magic. Aided by a Drew Smith kickoff return that gave the Wildcats the ball at the Cougar 49-yard line, Mahomes went to work.

A 9-yard run by Mahomes and a 13-yard pass to Shemar Smith had the Wildcats moving. However, a penalty, incompletion and two short runs put Whitehouse with what looked to be its final shot.

Following the Wildcats' final timeout, Mahomes took the ball up the middle, bounced off several defenders and dragged a couple more into the end zone to bring the Wildcats within a point. Travis Blackburn’s extra point tied the game 44-44 with 29 seconds remaining to force overtimee.

“We called a running back rail on that final play, and Pat was going to do anything he could to get in the end zone," said Whitehouse head coach Adam Cook. “We rode on Patrick Mahomes' shoulders on that last drive, no doubt.”

“I saw a seam and just ran through it, got by the linebacker and just kept trucking my feet and ended up in the end zone,” said Mahomes, who accounted for 414 total yards and five touchdowns, including 214 and three scores on the ground.

Seguin got the ball to start overtime. Hammonds lost 5 yards on the first carry, Moore hit Hammonds for 12 yards, then scrambled for another three, setting up 4^th-and-2. Anton Cook took only his 2^nd carry of the night to the left side where he was wrapped up for an 8-yard loss by Whitehouse senior outside linebacker Chris Reese.

“That (4^th-down stop) was huge. We called an outside linebacker blitz and they had been getting cut all night long," Cook said. "After we did that we thought maybe we should have called that a little more. For those guys to get in there and get that last stop that was huge."

Mahomes took the first two carries of overtime for 18 yards and Dominique Hollie did the rest.

The junior, who didn’t have a carry until the middle of the 3^rd quarter, picked up 6 yards on 1^st-and-goal from the 8, then found the end zone on the next play, sending the Whitehouse players onto the field in celebration.

“Our kids always believe, it’s just something about these guys they always believe they can win," Cook said. "A lot of that starts with Patrick. He took it on his shoulders tonight."

Mahomes completed 14 of 31 passes for 200 yards and two scores to accompany his huge rushing night, which came no 24 carries.

“They kept giving (the run) to me, they put four people in the box and I told coach just keep giving me the run/pass option and I just made some plays,” said Mahomes.

Jake Parker caught 3 passes for 88 yards, Jaylon Dews added 2 catches for 30 yards and a score, and Ryan Cheatham caught 3 for 28 yards and a touchdown.

Smith, just a sophomore, finished a big night with 4 catches for 38 yards, adding 29 yards on the ground and had several big kickoff returns putting the Wildcats in good field position.

Moore led the way for the Cougars, completing 15 of 28 passes for 280 yards and a TD. The dual-threat QB added 209 yards on 41 carries and 2 touchdowns. Hammonds, just a sophomore, finished with 28 yards rushing and 2 scores while catching 6 passes for 92 yards.

The Cougars opened the second half with scores on their first two possessions, making things interesting after a first half that had been controlled for the most part by Whitehouse.

Moore hit Jamon Allen all alone for a 74-yard score on the opening play of the second half. The Cougar defense forced a punt on the next possession and give the ball right back to Moore.

The senior, who accounted for nearly 3,500 yards on the season, used his arm to move the ball down the field on their next drive, going 3-for-4 for 39 yards, then using his legs to find the end zone from 9 yards away tying the game at 23-23.

That marked a 23-point Seguin run that answered Whitehouse's 23-0 start to the game.

Mahomes answered on the Wildcats' next two possessions. The QB rushed for 47 yards as part of a 10-play, 70-yard drive that was capped off with Hollie’s first TD of the night from a yard out.

The Wildcat defense forced a 3-and-out, giving the ball right back to Mahomes and company. A cougar penalty moved the ball over midfield and Mahomes hit Jake Parker for a 44-yard gain to the 1-yard line. Mahomes got in from a yard away on the next play, giving Whitehouse what seemed like a comfortable lead at the time, 37-23.

---

Class 4A Division II Region II

Bi-district Playoff

Whitehouse 50, Arlington Seguin 44

Mesquite Memorial Stadium

Arlington Sequin -- 0 10 13 21 0 -- 44
Whitehouse -- 14 9 14 7 6 -- 50

First Quarter
WH – Patrick Mahomes 14 pass Jaylon Dews (Travis Blackburn Kick) 7:25
WH – Patrick Mahomes 4 run (Colby Crim Kick) 4:28
Second Quarter
WH – Snap out of endzone safety 7:56
WH – Patrick Mahomes 6 pass Ryan Cheatham (Blackburn Kick) 6:29
AS – Darrian Hammonds 6 rush (David Albert Kick) 4:50
AS – David Albert 36 Field Goal :00
Third Quarter
AS – Kelton Moore 74 pass Jamon Allen (Kick Failed) 11:44
AS – Kelton Moore 9 run (Albert Kick) 7:49
WH – Dominique Hollie 1 run (Crim Kick) 5:38
WH – Patrick Mahomes 1 run (Blackburn Kick) 2:37
Fourth Quarter
AS – Kelton Moore 17 run (Albert Kick) 7:59
AS – Darrion Hammonds 4 run (Albert Kick) 3:32
AS – Kelton Moore 44 run (Albert Kick) 2:04
WH – Patrick Mahomes 25 run (Blackburn Kick) :29
Overtime
WH – Dominique Hollie 2 run

                                 AS                   WH
Total Yards                556                 459
Rushes-Yards            60-276           40-259
Pass Yards                 280                 200
Comp-Att-Int             15-28-0          14-31-0
Penalties-Yards         3-30                11-97
Fumbles-Lost             1-1                  1-1
Punts-Avg                  2-38                6-41

Individual Stats
Rushing – Arlington Seguin: Kelton Moore 41-209 (2 TD), Darrian Hammonds 12-28 (2 TD), Tyvaughn Napier 5-51, Anton Clark 2-(-12). Whitehouse: Patrick Mahomes 24-214 (3 TD), Shemar Smith 8-29, Tre Staples 2-8, Ryan Cheatham 2-(-6), Dominique Hollie 4-14 (2 TD).
Passing – Arlington Seguin: Kelton Moore 15-28 280 (1 TD). Whitehouse: Patrick Mahomes 14-31 200 (2 TD).
Receiving – Arlington Seguin: Gary Jolivet 3-46, Hammonds 6-92, Jalen Morton 1-20, Jamon Allen 3-98 (1 TD), Napier 1-16, Isaiah Spencer 1-8. Whitehouse: Shemar Smith 4-38, Jake Parker 3-88, Jaylon Dews 2-30 (1 TD), Ryan Cheatham 3-28 (1 TD), Drew Smith 1-15.