By David Campbell
BRENHAM — On Brazos Christian’s go-ahead scoring drive, Jesse Honnas ran 3 yards, stayed on his feet and his Eagle teammates shoved the pile another 7 yards into the end zone.
With the power came the glory.
Brazos Christian (12-0) qualified for the TAPPS state championship game for the first time in school history, winning its Division III semifinal over Bay Area Christian 17-10 on Saturday at Cub Stadium.“The guys stacked the box on us, and we know there are going to be times when they will stop us,” Brazos Christian coach Brandon Green said. “We’re going to continue to run the ball. We’re going to make it a tough game.”
Jesse Honnas rushed 25 times for 238 yards and two touchdowns from his fullback spot. Jesse’s brother Kenny Honnas gained 99 yards 20 carries for the Eagles, who threw one pass the second half. It was intercepted, the second of the night by Bay Area Christian’s Evan Wold.
From that point, Brazos Christian didn’t have to announce its intention to run. The Eagle just did it, time after time, piling up first downs. Jesse Honnas finished a 10-play, 60-yard drive with the 10-yards on the third play of the fourth quarter for a 14-3 lead.
It gave the Eagles a security net. For 13 seconds.
Bay Area Christian’s John David Bishop fielded the ensuing kickoff and ran to the right sideline. He escaped a traffic jam while tight-roping the line then burst free for a 77-yard touchdown return that cut the lead to 14-10.
Brazos Christian then ran off 16 plays, moving from its 25-yard line to the Bay Area Christian 8, where Colin Lee contributed a 25-yard field goal with 2:33 left. On the march, each Honnas sibling had eight carries. That included an 8-yard run by Kenny to convert a fourth down. The drive consumed 8 minues, 25 seconds.
And the Brazos Christian defense consumed Bay Area Christian’s final hopes, swarming quarterback Clayton Webb, who was sacked first by Luke Thomas. Jesse Honnas got the second and Thomas teamed with Cole Elms on the third. A 20-yard fourth-down pass fell well short of a first.
Brazos Christian (12-0) will play Dallas First Baptist for the state title at 6 p.m. Saturday at Corsicana Tiger Stadium. First Baptist beat Frisco Legacy 47-4. Bay Area Christian, the third straight team from District 6 that the Eagles have met in postseason play, finished at 9-4.
A towering 45-yard field goal by Connor Crow opened the scoring on the fourth play of the second quarter to give Bay Area Christian a 3-0 lead, but the Eagles took the lead in three plays. Jesse Honnas took the ball on a trap play from his 46 and scored on the 54-yard run on one of Brazos Christian’s go-to plays.
“The one thing that play does is make [opposing defenses] play disciplined ball,” Green said. “You can shoot gaps but if you do, that play is going to be hard to stop. They stacked a lot of guys in there, but our guys really did a good job. ”
Honnas made the play somewhat spectacular with an extravagant cut back to his right that sent two Bronco defenders falling to the turf.
“He’s a great player, no doubt about it,” Green said. “He and his brother are two of the most humble, hardest-working players you’ll every want to meet. A lot of times it depends on what a team is going to give us to determine which one has a big night.”
Both teams had chances to score late in the second quarter
A scrambling 41-yard pass from Webb to Barrett Skeeter put Bay Area Christian in position at the 14, but Crown missed wide right on a 30-yard field goal try. Bay Area Christian held the field position advantage in Eagles territory until Sam Thomasson cut in front of a Webb pass for an interception.
Honnas, who had 145 rushing yards by halftime, burst 25 yards to the Broncos’ 22, but John Mather’s pass to the end zone for Justin Duewall was intercepted by junior cornerback Wold.
Story courtesy of brazossports.com