Nothing Special About Wills Points' Special Teams In 23-7 Playoff Loss

The Prosper Eagles brought a quick end to the playoffs for the Wills Point Tigers by scoring 23 unanswered points in the second half. Wills Point held Prosper scoreless for the first 27:00 at Wylie’s Pirate Stadium, but special teams would be the Achilles heel in the Tigers’ paw, and a tackle of Austen Brewer in the end zone with 9:13 left in the third opened the floodgates in a 23-7 loss for the Tigers.

Both offenses moved the ball effectively early, but were held out of the end zone. Wills Point’s opening drive went from their own 32 to the Prosper 39 before they punted. Prosper then picked up a pair of first downs before punting back to the Tigers.

Chris Pruitt (14 carries, 111 yards) returned to a running form that he had earlier in the season, and took off on a 22-yard run to the 42, but three plays later the Tigers punted.

Prosper then went on a nine-play drive that stalled near midfield, thanks largely to a holding penalty. Poised to take control of the field position game with a punt, the Eagles chose to run a fake on fourth-and-19, but they were stopped after a four-yard pickup, giving the Tigers possession at their own 48.

After a clipping call on first down, Pruitt ran for 26 and a first down at the 28. He added runs of 4 and 14 later in the drive, and Mark Barefield picked up six on a second-and-six at the 17. On second down the Tigers were called for holding, setting up second and 17, and Pruitt passed to Barefield over the middle for a 15-yard gain. On third-and-three, Pruitt went on a mad scramble, breaking three tackles and passing to Larry Dotson, but the play netted minus four. Tyler Wicks came on to try a field goal, but a bobbled snap turned into a scramble for the ball that stopped at the 30-yard line, where Prosper took over.

Quarterback Hunter Hix connected with running back Juan Williams for a gain of 24, but a miscue on a shotgun snap pushed the Eagles back into a second-and-25. Two incompletions later, Prosper punted and Wills Point took over at their own 41 with 3:26 left in the half.

After an interference call on Prosper, LeHendrick Qualls picked up 17 yards on a draw play, and Pruitt picked up nine to the 32. Then, on first-and-ten from the 23, Brewer went in motion from his flanker position, taking a sprinting handoff from Pruitt. He picked up good perimeter blocking, made one Eagle miss and ran through another, finding the corner of the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown. Wicks added the kick, and Wills Point led, 7-0 with 1:58 left.

Brewer picked off a Hix pass on Prosper’s next possession, and the Wills Point lead held at the half.

Prosper received the second half kickoff, and started at their own 29. On third-and-five at the 34, Hix lofted a perfect pass over the shoulder of Cory Miller, who sprinted down the sideline for a 62-yard gain. Steven Cunigan made a touchdown saving tackle at the four. A penalty on Wills Point moved the ball to the two, and Hix tried a quarterback sneak to the one. On his next try, though, the ball slipped out of his hands, and Wills Point fell on it at the two.

Against Nevada-Community the previous Friday night, Wills Point found themselves in a similar situation. They pitched the ball deep to Brewer, and after a bobble, he fell on it far a safety. On this night, the Tigers decided to avoid that by handing the ball to him, but three Prosper defenders crashed through the  line anyway, tackling him in the end zone for two points, cutting the Tiger lead to 7-2.

After the free kick, Prosper went on the move again. After Pruitt sacked Hix for a six-yard loss, he converted a third-and-16 with a 17-yard pass to Jacob Dickey. Rusty Neely picked ran for two, and Hix passed to Taylor Thompson. Cody Henderson made a nice open field hit to stop the big receiver for a seven-yard gain, setting up a third-and-one. Neely got the ball again, but Brewer made a vicious hit from his safety spot for minus one. Then, on fourth-and-two from the 26, it looked as if Williams had plenty of room to run on the outside, but Revio Hickmon chased him down and held him up for no gain, giving the ball to Wills Point.

After Pruitt ran for 13, the Tiger offense could produce nothing else, and they lined up to punt at their own 42. Neely took the punt at his own 24, and sprinted untouched up the  middle, then down the left sideline for a 76-yard return. Hix passed to Thompson for the two-point conversion, and with 2:41 left in the game, Prosper had their first lead, 10-7.

The Tigers looked poised to answer on their next drive, moving from their own 19 to the Eagle 36 in seven plays. Pruitt hit Marshal McAlister for a gain of 11, M.J. Adair ran for 7. Pruitt ran for 19 on the last play of the third, and the fourth quarter started at the Prosper 42. After a six-yard pass to Hickmon, though, Jon Michael Williams stepped in front of a pass intended for Brewer at the 36.

The Tigers would overcome a questionable interference call to force a punt, but the special teams would fail them again, as the punt was muffed and recovered by Prosper on the 13. Hix ran for 10 to the three, then hit Thompson for the TD. Cory Miller added the extra point, and Prosper held a 17-7 lead with 9:09 left.

Wills Point went three-and-out after the kickoff, and forced Proper to do the same. Garland Perry came on at quarterback for Wills Point and connected with Larry Dotson for a 19-yard gain, and passed to Hickmon for four yards, but with 4:50 left, and facing a fourth-and-six, the Tigers chose to punt.

Prosper closed the game by moving 51 yards in five plays, the last one a 25-yard touchdown by Juan Williams. Wills Point would block the extra point, but the Eagles had all they would need for a 23-7 win.