BANGS – The Bangs Dragons scored the go-ahead touchdown with less than two minutes left, then turned away the Coleman Bluecats inside the 10-yard-line in the closing seconds for a 20-14 victory Friday night in the District 5-2A Division I finale for both squads.

With the win, Bangs (6-4, 3-2) is headed back to the playoffs for the first time 2022, while Coleman (2-8, 1-4) was eliminated from postseason contention with the loss. A Bluecat victory would have created a three-way tie for third place with Coleman grabbing the third seed and Bangs falling to the fourth seed. Instead, the Dragons locked up sole possession of third place in the final league standings.

Scoreless after one quarter Friday night, Coleman grabbed a 7-0 lead in the second period on a 7-yard Braylen Stewart run. Bangs closed the gap to 7-6 by halftime as Connor Bible hauled in a 38-yard touchdown reception from Hunter Withers.

The Dragons grabbed their first lead, 12-7, in the third period on an 8-yard touchdown carry by Eliseo Rivas, but the two-point try failed. The Bluecats forged ahead once more, 14-12, as Paul Salas rumbled into the end zone from 29 yards out in the fourth period.

With just under two minutes left in the contest, Bangs seized the final advantage on a 4-yard touchdown carry by Cason Tidwell. Coleman then advanced the ball to the Dragon 8 with 10 seconds left, where a double pass was foiled as Bible intercepted a toss by Brayden Torres at the goal line to seal the win for the Dragons.

Bangs amassed 327 yards of total offense – 217 rushing and 120 passing – with one fumble, to Coleman’s 220 yards – 114 on the ground and 106 through the air – with a pair of interceptions.

Tidwell produced 154 yards and a touchdown on the ground for the Dragons, while Rivas tacked on 32 yards and a score, and Rex Guerrero finished with 23 yards rushing.

Through the air, Withers connected on 6 of 11 passes for 120 yards with the 38-yard touchdown to Bible, while Jayden Robinson pulled down four receptions for 70 yards and Tidwell caught a 12-yard toss.

For Coleman, Salas finished with 64 yards on the ground and a trip to the end zone, Stewart added 28 yards and six points, and Jayden Smith contributed a 27-yard carry.

Hunter Edington completed 11 of 16 passes for 106 yards with one interception as Smith caught four passes for 55 yards, Stewart grabbed four for 28 yards, and Torres pulled down three receptions for 23 yards.

The Dragons will begin their playoff run again District 6-2A Division I runner-up Tom Bean (8-2) at 7 p.m. Friday at Granbury.