Gladewater Clinches Playoff Berth Win With Over Henderson + Spring Hill Victory

[By Colby Fleet, Special to ETSN.fm]

GLADEWATER -- A Spring Hill win, a 21-point fourth quarter and a Daylon Mack game-winning 3-yard touchdown run with 25 seconds left propelled Gladewater over Henderson 49-42 Friday night at Jack V. Murphy Stadium and clinched a playoff berth for the Bears.

Henderson dominated through the air all game long, as Zane Boles completed 33-of-50 passes for 386 yards and six touchdowns to only two interceptions. Teammate Tristan Lary had 10 grabs for 159 yards and three scores, while Tre Hollins hauled in a team high 13 passes for 152 yards and also scored three times for the Lions. Henderson was in control 42-28 at the end of the third quarter.

Henderson (3-7, 2-4) finishes their season. Gladewater (4-6, 2-4) will continue its season next week with an opponent to be determined.

Gladewater drove the ball inside the Henderson 5-yard line, but was stopped on a fourth-and-goal with 6:30 left in the ballgame. Henderson failed to gain any yards and could not escape their goal line. Henderson had to punt and Gladewater retained possession down by 14 points.

Junior receiver Malik Yulee made his only catch of the night and the biggest catch of the game. Nick Canaguier lofted a pass down the left sideline and Yulee out-leaped a Lion defender and broke free as he ran 44 yards to the end zone. A failed fake field goal attempt cut Henderson's lead to 42-34 with 5:03 left in the contest.

On the ensuing kickoff, Gladewater kicked a surprise onside kick and Deion Russell was able to pounce on the ball to swing momentum and give the Gladewater faithful something to cheer about. Two plays later Canaguier was at it again. He faked a handoff and raced 51 yards to the end zone. Daylon Mack plunged in for the two-point conversion and tied the game 42-42 at the 4:52 mark.

Gladewater’s defense then held Henderson to a three-and-out and took possession with 3:17 to go.

Canaguier and company did the rest. Canaguier found Justice Centers twice for 8 and 14 yards, Marcello Jackson ran three times for 24 yards and Centers added two carries for 13 yards to set up a fourth-and-4 from the Henderson 21.

Canaguier kept the ball again and took it down 18 yards to the three yard line. Mack’s number was called and once again he delivered a 3-yard plunge into the end zone to give Gladewater the win.

Henderson started the ballgame fast and scored on the game’s first play, a 39-yard touchdown to Tristan Lary right up the seam from Boles that gave Henderson an early 7-0 lead. Gladewater’s James Reese answered the call as he had five of the six Gladewater runs of the drive and the last one came on a fourth-and-3 five yard run up the middle and tied the game at 7-7.

Gladewater turned the momentum away from Henderson negating a great return and starting field position when Jazsten Tyiska picked off a Boles pass and took it to the house for a 95-yard interception return.

Henderson once again started a drive inside Gladewater territory and Tre Hollins hauled in one of his three touchdowns from Boles for a 18-yard touchdown to tie the game 14-14 with 2:54 left in the first quarter.

Gladewater relied heavily on the ground game all night as four different ball carriers scored a touchdown and complied 349 rushing yards on 56 carries. Daylon Mack finished off a six-play drive—all running plays—with a 3-yard dive up the middle to put Gladewater up 21-14.

Henderson answered two plays later. Boles found Tristan Lary for the longest touchdown pass of his night—a 79-yard strike—that once again tied the score 21-21.

Back to back quick scores by both teams continued to make this game more intriguing by the quarter. First a 32-yard Lary pass from Boles, and then a 54-yard run from Centers. This once again knotted the score 28-28. Boles continued his stellar performance and hooked up with Tre Hollins for a 39-yard touchdown toss to give Henderson a 35-28 advantage at the half.

Defensively both teams recorded interceptions. Jazsten Tyiska and Caleb Williams each had one for Gladewater, while Seth Hensley and Damian Moss each tallied one apiece.

Gladewater 49, Henderson 42
Jack V. Murphy Stadium, Gladewater

Gladewater  14        14        0          21 -- 49
Henderson   14        21        7           0  -- 42
First Quarter
HEN--Tristan Lary 39 pass from Zane Boles (Edgar Sanchez kick), 11:47.
GW--James Reese 5 run (Marcello Jackson kick), 8:37.
GW--Jazsten Tyiska 95 interception return (Jackson kick), 6:07.
HEN--Tre Hollins 18 pass from Boles (Sanchez kick), 2:54.
Second Quarter
GW--Daylon Mack 3 run (Jackson kick), 9:27.
HEN--Lary 79 pass from Boles (Sanchez kick), 8:11.
HEN--Lary 32 pass from Boles (Sanchez kick), 4:53.
GW--Justice Centers 54 run (Jackson kick), 4:04.
HEN--Hollins 39 pass from Boles (Sanchez kick), 3:05.
Third Quarter
HEN--Hollins 9 pass from Boles (Sanchez kick), 2:10.
Fourth Quarter
GW--Malik Yulee 44 pass from Nick Canaguier (Jackson fake field goal failed), 5:03.
GW--Canaguier 51 run (Mack 2-point conversion), 4:52
GW--Mack 3 run (Jackson kick), 0:25.

GW                              HEN
First Downs               17                                14
Total Yards                494                              394
Rushes-Yards           56-349                         7-8
Passing-Yards           145                              386
Comp.-Att.-Int.           8-13-2                         33-50-2
Punts-Avg.                  3-43                             5-38
Fumbles-Lost              3-1                               3-2
Penalties-Yards           11-103                         6-65

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Gladewater, Marcello Jackson 20-67, Justice Centers 16-116, James Reese 9-71, Nick Canaguier 6-78, Daylon Mack 4-16, Daryl Polk 1-1. Henderson, Zane Boles 6-9, Hunter Davis 1-(-1).
PASSING--Gladewater, Nick Canaguier 8-13-2-145. Henderson, Zane Boles 33-50-2-386.
RECEIVING--Gladewater, Justice Centers 5-59, Bailey Glenn 2-42, Malik Yulee 1-44. Henderson, Tre Hollins 13-152, Tristan Lary 10-159, Vince McNew 7-43, Zedrick Lister 3-32.