Arlington Bowie football’s historic season ends in area round with loss to Hebron

The hottest team in Arlington was cooled down Friday night.

The Arlington Bowie Volunteers entered a Class 6A Division II high school football area game on an eight-game winning streak but couldn’t keep up with Hebron.

Bowie led early, but the Hawks scored five consecutive times and rolled to a 51-35 win at Mustang-Panther Stadium.

The Volunteers lost for the first time since Sept. 13—which dropped them to 0-3—and finished with an 8-4 mark. Once down by 30 in this game, the Vols rallied in the second half despite being short-handed.

“It just talks about the resiliency of the program,” Bowie coach Joseph Sam said. “We came out flat in the first half and you can’t do that against a good football team. I’m thankful for the opportunity to play in the second round.

“I thought we had a lot more football left in us, but you know, sometimes the Lord says otherwise. It sucks, but you gotta accept it. I told the kids I wouldn’t trade them for the world. I think if we play 10 more times, we probably win eight or nine times.”

This marked the third year in a row Bowie had more wins than the year before. Last week’s playoff win against Dallas Jesuit was the first postseason win since 2020.

The Volunteers were looking to reach the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Hebron (8-4) won its fourth straight game and advanced to the regional round for only the fourth time in school history. The Hawks will play Southlake Carroll next week. The Dragons beat Wolfforth Frenship, 49-42 in Abilene on Friday.

Bowie fell behind 3-0 on the first drive of the game but answered quickly.

Senior quarterback Larry Nichols completed 4 of 4 passes on the drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown to Dilon Tallie.

The drive included a 17-yard pass to Tallie and first-down runs by Nichols for 12 yards and Darrion Bowers for 13 yards. A facemask call on Hebron on a 3-yard run from Bowers moved the ball to the 5-yard line.

The touchdown gave Bowie its first and only lead, 7-3.

The next time the Volunteers scored they faced a 30-point deficit in the third quarter. They were also without three starters, which included Nichols and defensive lineman Okello Okello, who were injured between the first and second quarters.

Quarterback Patrick Crayton Jr. threw a touchdown pass and ran for another for Hebron to regain the lead. Then, Hebron defensive tackle Daylon Owens scored on a scoop-and-score, which made it 23-7 at the break.

Defensive back Jesse Tarver added a 75-yard interception return for the Hawks for the first score of the third quarter. Antonio Dennis scored on a 3-yard to make it 37-7.

Bowers ran for a 56-yard score to get the Vols back on the board with 6:26 left in the third.

Bowie scored three times in the fourth with backup quarterback Jayden Bibbs to keep it interesting.

“They are a great team,” said Hebron coach John Towels III. “We knew they could score. It’s one of those things they got a great running back, and we shut down the run. But then they get behind,d and they have a great passing game and a great receiver.

“They were able to take advantage of that. We got some work to do tomorrow because we know Southlake will throw the ball around.”

Bibbs threw touchdowns of 47 and 22 yards to junior Keidric Osunde-Brown with 5:10 and 1:25 left, respectively.

Bibbs also had a 27-yard strike to Antonio Birdow with 4:31 left.

Crayton, the son of a former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver by the same name, threw another touchdown in the fourth for the Hawks.

The end of the contest featured a 16-minute delay when every light in the stadium — except the jumbotron — went out. That happened with 21 seconds left in the contest after Hebron had to punt, and Bowie was set to take over.

“I can’t fault the kids, they were fighting their tails off,” Sam said. “I told them it’s just not about fighting, you got to mentally come and be ready to do your job every single play. The team that usually makes more mental mistakes is the one that usually loses. We made more mental mistakes than they did tonight and it got us.”