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Texas QB sets second prestigious state passing record in two weeks during wild 73-72 playoff win
Refugio (Texas) High quarterback Travis Quintanilla is no stranger to big numbers. He plays for a team which routinely scores 70 or more points, he owns the Texas record for career passing touchdowns and he entered his team’s playoff matchup against Rogers High on Friday night on the verge of the state’s career passing yardage mark.
Yet even Quintanilla might not have predicted the numbers he put up with his team's season on the line: 712 yards and six touchdowns in Refugio’s 73-72 overtime victory.
The Victoria Advocate reported that Quintanilla accumulated 409 yards and three of those touchdowns in the first half alone. The six touchdowns increased his Texas career record mark to 174 scoring strikes while his career passing yards stretched to 13,034, exactly 500 more than the previous record holder, SMU and former Lake Travis star Garrett Gilbert.
While Refugio entered the game with Quintanilla’s record as a prime plot line, the contest immediately co-opted the spotlight. Refugio is a perennial state title contender and among the nation’s highest scoring programs, but it got all it could handle from Rogers, which ground out 661 rushing yards and had a chance to win the game in regulation. That chance, however, disappeared when it missed an extra point with 2 seconds remaining in regulation, forcing overtime.
The failed conversion gave Quintanilla and his explosive teammates new life, and they didn’t waste the opportunity. Fittingly, it was the star QB himself who provided the key play to set up the victory, connecting with wide receiver Marquis Brown for a 24-yard gain. That paved the way for an overtime touchdown plunge from one yard out that preceded the game-winning extra point from kicker Adolfo Cordero; Rogers failed to convert on a two-point attempt after scoring a touchdown on its overtime possession.
Quintanilla's performance was far from perfect — the record-setting passer lost two fumbles and threw an interception in the third and fourth quarters to offset his three second-half touchdowns — but he came through when he needed to in overtime.
"I don't know what was going through my head," Quintanilla told the Advocate. "I knew we got a second chance and there's a second chance for something. I'm just glad we got that extra shot.
"I really wanted the win instead of getting the yards. I knew we had to push the win. But thank God."
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