By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
Posing for selfies and signing autographs is nothing new for Evangel’s extraordinary senior quarterback Peyton “Pop” Houston, but Friday night shortly after the Eagles’ 42-35 win at Haughton was a little different.
Kids, little and bigger, made up most of the admirers, along with a couple of grown-ups — nearly all of them wearing Haughton gear.
Houston wasn’t the only reason their Buccaneers weren’t District 1-5A champions, but he was absolutely the biggest one. Yet, it was tough to tell who was more delighted, those asking for a moment with the star of the night, or the young man himself.
“Yeah, that’s pretty cool,” said the LSU commit, with a broad smile. “It’s a blessing to be in this position.”
Especially since two weeks ago, he was in no position to play, wearing a sling and recovering from a badly sprained throwing shoulder, sitting out the Eagles’ still-surprising 28-24 loss to a winless Byrd team. Last week he made a surprise return to lead Evangel over Airline 52-42, into position to defend their 2025 district title if his team could do what nobody else had this fall, win between the pines on Dak Prescott Field at Harold E. Harlan Stadium.
They did, thanks to his six touchdown passes, the 365 yards gained as he completed 30 of 39 passes, and a not-against-doctors’-orders but avoid-if-possible five-yard run and stretch in the third quarter for a vital fourth-down conversion at Haughton’s 6.
“My dad (Evangel offensive coordinator Shaun Houston) told me coming out of halftime, I had to be special. (On the fourth-down run, a scramble) “They did a great job of covering our (pass) play, and it just me and one guy, and I thought, ‘I can’t get stopped here. I’ve gotta get downhill.’”
He got just far enough to keep the drive alive. That opened the door for another fourth-down miracle, a scrambling, sidearm rocket that evaded Bucs defenders and found teammate Tikelon High in the back of the end zone for a 6-yard score.
“They did a great job of covering it,” said Houston, “(so he and the receivers defaulted to) “the scramble rule, and Ti did a great job of getting open. All I had to do was put it in his hands.”
More than stemming a two-TD sandwich of impressive scoring drives around halftime by Haughton that put the Bucs ahead 28-14, Evangel’s response set the tone for the kind of finish a championship game deserves.
Beginning there, Evangel scored on four straight possessions. Haughton was only able to answer once, on a 9-yard Taylor Weathersby toss to tight end CT Woodard to lift the Bucs back on top 35-28 15 seconds before the fourth quarter began.
The Eagles needed only 45 seconds to reply, getting a 12-yard Cardelrio Coleman catch and run (but missing the tying extra point kick). They got the difference-maker on their next series, needing just four plays to cover 66 yards, the last seven on a swing pass to Derrick Berry, who went in untouched. Houston surprised when he ran an option and sliced in for the two-point conversion with 9:08 left that capped the scoring.
Not without a dramatic conclusion. Haughton took the kickoff and converted two fourth downs, one on a fake punt for 17 yards from its own 21, while marching 12 plays down to Evangel’s 26 and a fourth-and-1 with just under three minutes to go.
Number 13 was unlucky for the Bucs.
Workhorse tailback Brandon Craig – playing despite shoulder and groin injuries, and getting 96 yards and two TDs on 23 carries — lined up in Haughton’s Poker formation, their version of the wildcat, which had been productive several times earlier. But Evangel’s leading tackler, senior linebacker Bennett Speer, shot through a gap and smacked into Craig way back at the 33.
“They came in that formation the whole night,” he said. “We all knew it was coming. I saw a gap, and I just hit it. I just trusted myself. It felt great. That was a great team we just beat.”
Evangel ran out the clock and soon after ran to the south end zone for a jubilant celebration. Haughton trudged to the other end, disappointed but not despondent.
“Our team played awesome,” said Bucs’ coach Matthew Sewell. “Ran the ball great, threw the ball great, had a bunch of guys catching the football, and we made some plays on defense too.
“It’s OK to be disappointed. It hurts. You don’t get chances to play in, and coach in, games like this very often. There’s nothing to be upset about, because we played our tail off tonight against a great football team.”
Evangel (6-4, 5-1 in 1-5A) and Haughton (8-2, 4-2) both drew home playoff games this Friday.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com