Argyle football narrowly defeats Wichita Falls Memorial, advances to regional round

In a game of grind-it-out type of offense in which neither team led by more than a touchdown and extra point, a big breakout play was needed by someone. Everyone, it seemed, was anticipating it.

Finally, it came late in the third quarter, with the score tied at 14. Argyle quarterback Maguire Gasperson rolled right and hurled to Julian Caldwell down the right sideline.

Caldwell caught it near midfield and raced the remaining distance, breaking an attempted shoestring tackle en route, to complete the 82-yard scoring play for a 21-14 Argyle lead.

Memorial would reply with a scoring drive of its own in the fourth quarter after the ensuing kickoff to tie it again. But Argyle got another touchdown for the win, 28-21, Friday, Nov. 22 at Ram Stadium in a Class 5A, Division Two area round playoff matchup.

As a result, the Eagles, 11-1 and No. 4 in Dave Campbell’s Texas high school football rankings, will face Prosper’s Walnut Grove in a Region I semifinal at a time, date, and place to be determined. Walnut Grove won in apparently no less thrilling fashion, 34-28, over Lubbock’s Cooper the same evening at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene.

Argyle Coach Todd Rodgers said the big pass play was originally intended to be a button hook curl pattern, but the receiver reacted accordingly to his quarterback escaping from the pocket.

“That’s kind of fancy, wasn’t it?” mused Rodgers. “The quarterback flushed. The wide receiver saw it. We were just going to run a stop route. They flushed and scramble rules. He threw a great ball down the field. He caught it and outran them. It’s just improvisation. You see it by the Kansas City Chiefs all the time.”

Coming with 1:20 left in the third quarter, it marked the first time Argyle led.

Memorial responded immediately with a 56-yard kickoff return by Jamari Dean, Memorial’s go-to player who looked like he might be the night’s hero, from his goal line to the Argyle 44-yard line.

From there, the Mavericks (9-3) scored seven plays later with a quick shovel pass from quarterback Joe Castles in the backfield to Eric Powell. The running back scrambled around the left end for the 6-yard touchdown to knot it again, 21-21, with 10:16 left.

Argyle got the final go-ahead touchdown with 6:55 left. Logan Rexroat ran it up the middle from 10 yards out for the game-winner. During the 62-yard drive, Gasperson fell down while back-pedaling to avoid the rush for a 13-yard loss back to the Memorial 38-yard line.

He redeemed himself on the ensuing play with an 18-yard connection to a sliding Will Krzysiak at the 20 leaving fourth-and-two. Rexroat converted with a driving run off-tackle just getting the first down.

Memorial subsequently drove from its 25-yard line to the Argyle 45 in 10 plays. But an incomplete pass on fourth-and-two with 2:01 left preserved the win for Argyle.

Rodgers observed he and his coaches were repeatedly changing their game plan ad hoc as the situation dictated.

“It was a chess game,” Rodgers said. “The whole time, we were changing what we were doing offensively and what we were doing defensively. Memorial was responding. It’s just a matter of getting the right play called and getting the right front called defensively.”

He also noted Memorial’s running backs, with their quick moves, posed a challenge for his big defensive linemen.

“They’re a good football team,” Rodgers added. “They have great running backs. And they’re very hard to tackle. We’ve really got over-sized linebackers. We’re over 240 to 250 pounds. But we tackled.”

The first half ended with Memorial leading 14-7. The touchdowns were all through the air. Dean caught both Maverick passes. He was not open either time, and the throws were perfectly placed lobs by Castles into the end zone.

Memorial scored the first touchdown near the end of the first quarter. On fourth-and-six, Dean caught his first scoring pass in stride over his shoulder near the back left corner of the end zone from Castles from 28 yards out despite tight one-on-one coverage. It climaxed a 62-yard, nine-play drive.

Argyle responded with a 16-play 75-yard scoring drive in the second quarter to tie it at 7. Gasperson rolled left out of the pocket to find Braden Bach near the line of scrimmage. Bach turned upfield and, receiving a block from a teammate, scooted into the end zone from 7 yards out.

Memorial replied in kind driving the same distance in 12 plays with a touchdown pass from the same distance. On third-and-six, Dean, again despite close one-on-one, hauled in Castles’ lob barely in bounds in the left center of the end zone on a fade route for a 14-7 lead.

Gasperson completed 13 of 16 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns. Counterpart Castles was 17-25-0 for 178 yards and all three of his team’s TDs.

Leading receivers were Caldwell for the Eagles with four catches for 115 yards and a TD. Dean of Memorial had five receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns.

Watson Bell was the leading ground gainer for Argyle, even though he was not brought in until the second half. He rushed 13 times for 53 yards.

Rodgers explained the junior was used sparingly because he suffered a sprained foot injury the previous week.

It was Argyle’s 11th straight win. The Eagles only loss was in Week One, August 30, to Lone Star, 24-17.