GORDON – The Class A Division I No. 3 May Tigers were unable to derail the top-ranked Gordon Longhorns in their bid for a third consecutive state championship, falling Friday night in the Region IV championship game by a 71-22 count.
May (11-2), which was also ousted from the playoffs by Gordon in the first round a year ago, scored more points against the Longhorns (12-0) than any other foe this season – including an 11-man school – and pushed the contest into the fourth quarter before the 45-point mercy rule was reached.
The Tigers finished with 271 yards of total offense, including 239 rushing, but committed four turnovers, while Gordon amassed 334 yards – 212 on the ground and 122 through the air – with a pair of turnovers.
Lane Goodson carried the ball 34 times for 144 yards and one touchdown for May, while Jackson Lusk added 86 yards on the ground, Maddix Raffel chipped in 6 yards and JD Harrell contributed 3 yards.
Through the air, Cayson Dail connected on 3 of 7 tosses for 32 yards with a pair of touchdowns – 16 yards to Lusk and 3 yards to Kaden Watkins. Raffel also pulled down a 13-yard reception.
Gordon was sparked by Ry Reed’s 119 rushing yards and four touchdowns, and 93 yards on the ground and three trips to the end zone by Stryker Reed.
Noah Kostiha completed 4 of 5 passes for 94 yards with touchdowns of 42 yards to Stryker Reed and 26 yards to Brayden Walters. Ry Reed added a 28-yard reception and Evan Jackson pulled down an 11-yard grab.
Gordon opened the scoring with a 48-yard sprint to the end zone by Ry Reed just 13 seconds into the contest, but missed the extra point. May fired back with a seven-play, 60-yard drive that ended with a 16-yard scoring toss from Dahl to Lusk, and Mikey Scheriger’s two-point kick pushed the Tigers in front, 8-6, with 6:08 left in the opening period.
The Longhorns’ second play of the contest resulted in their second touchdown as a 42-yard pass from Kostiha to Stryker Reed gave Gordon the lead for good, 14-8, as May was ahead for a total of 16 seconds.
The first of May’s four turnovers followed on the ensuing possession and Gordon then scored its third touchdown in as many plays, a 26-yard toss from Kostiha to Walters, to stretch the advantage to 20-8 with 3:50 left in the opening period.
Gordon tacked on two more touchdowns in the second quarter – a 13-yard gallop by Ry Reed and a 35-yard fumble return by Rowe Williams – to establish a 34-8 cushion before Goodson’s 1-touchdown run with 61 seconds left before intermission trimmed the deficit to 34-14.
The third quarter featured three more Gordon touchdowns – runs of 20 and 29 yards by Ry Reed and a 22-yard scamper by Stryker Reed – as the lead grew to 57-14 at the 1:16 mark.
Then, on the first snap of the fourth quarter, Dahl connected with Watkins from 3 yards out to cap a five-play, 48-yard drive, and Scheriger’s kick at the 9:56 mark made the score 57-22.
Gordon reached the end zone twice more in the next 1:38 as Stryker Reed scored on runs of 16 and 9 yards to end the contest with 8:18 left in the fourth period.
The Longhorns will advance to face Region III champion Union Hill (11-2), an 82-32 winner over Aquilla (12-1) Friday, in the state semifinal round next weekend.
