Controversial call stops Stoever short of dramatic comeback

PFLUGERVILLE — Coming into the high school Class 4A D2 state semifinal game on Friday, Dec. 8 against Bellville at the Pfield in Pflugerville with a 14-0 record, Wimberley and the Texans’ quarterback Cody Stoever had been unstoppable — and Bellville couldn’t stop Stoever either. Stoever carried the ball 43 times for 203 yards and scored all five of the Texans touchdowns, but a controversial call on a two-point conversion play to tie the game stopped Stoever inches from the goal line, ending the Texans’ season with a close score of 33-35 and denying them a chance to play for the State Championship.

Stoever put the Texans within two points of a tie after scoring his final touchdown in the game on a two-yard run with under a minute remaining. On the two-point conversion try, it appeared Stoever laid the ball just inches over the goal line, but the officials ruled otherwise. Bellville sealed the 35-33 victory with seconds remaining on the clock on the ensuing kickoff when Wimberley’s onside kick attempt went out of bounds.  After the game, head coach Doug Warren told his team about the officials ruling, “Hold your head high and be proud. I thought we were in, but sometimes life’s not fair.”

Bellville got a break on the Texans first possession in the game when DJ Sanders caused a fumble, recovered the ball and ran 32 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead with less than a minute run off the clock. Stoever ran 5 yards to tie the game 7-7.

The two teams traded scores in the second quarter with Bellville’s Sam Hranicky scoring on a 1-yard run to briefly take the lead. Stoever and the Texans would fight back to gain five first downs on a 72-yard drive, culminating with Stoever scoring on a 1-yard run with 5:14 in the quarter to tie the game again with Hernandez’s PAT.  Bellville would retake the lead with 1:17 before halftime when DD Murray ended an eight play drive with a 28-yard touchdown run. Wimberley’s next possession would fizzle out when it failed to convert a fourth down and six. Bellville took over, leading 21-14, only to run two plays before the half ended.

Bellville returned the Texans' kickoff to the 25-yard line to begin the second half and ran the ball to the 31-yard line before Corrian Hood scored on a 69-yard touchdown run for a 14 point lead. The Texans' next drive went to the 1-yard line, but a false start penalty moved them back to face a third down and six and Stoever had only his fifth interception of the season when a pass to Nolan Waida was picked off in the end zone by Bellville’s Murray. The Texans’ defense held Bellville to three plays before forcing a punt for the first time in the game.

Wimberley (14-1) mounted a 57-yard drive with Stoever completing passes to Noah Birdsong, Kyler Lai and Owen O’Neal for a first down before runs of 6 yards and 3 yards and finally scoring his third touchdown with 2:47 in the third quarter on a 3-yard run to cut the Bellville lead 28-21 with the successful PAT. Bellville’s next drive would end with 10:13 in the final quarter and Murray scoring on a 1-yard run to pad the lead by 14 points, 35-21. Stoever completed passes to Birdsong, Ty Thames and Lai before a bad snap set Stoever back a few yards, but he would not be discouraged. Stoever hit Waida with a pass for a 20-yard gain and ran for a 10-yard gain before connecting again with Waida to the 2-yard line, where Stoever carried several Bellville defenders into the end zone for the touchdown. The PAT failed when the ball hit the left upright, leaving Wimberley trailing 35-27 with 7:25 in the game.

Wimberley’s defense stiffened with punishing tackles for a loss by seniors Drew Brasher, Lucas Brookshier, Thames and O’Neal, forcing Bellville to punt on fourth down and thirteen. Wimberley’s drive to stay alive started on its own 24 and advanced with runs by Stoever and passes to Birdsong and Kyan McAtee before a sack by Bellville’s Sanders handed the Texans a fourth down and six. Stoever got the first down on a 6-yard run and completed a pass to Parker Doss to the 2-yard line. It took Stoever two tries on 1 yard runs to score his fifth touchdown and get the Texans within two points, 33-35, after which the officials said the conversion failed.

Stoever accounted for 478 yards of the Texans total 489 yards of offense in the game, completing 24 of 31 passes for 275 yards and one interception (only his fifth of the season). Of the 48 total rushing carries in the game, Stoever carried the ball 43 times for 203 yards and five touchdowns. Chase Carson had two carries for 5 yards and O’Neal had three carries for 6 yards.

“It’s not about that for me,” Stoever said about the yardage after the loss. “I just wanted to win the game and to say I was a couple inches short just kills me. Everyone here fought to the bitter end. All I wanted is to bring this town a ring and give these seniors a ring and I’m just sorry I fell short.”

In interviews after the game Warren praised his team, “I can’t say enough about this team, how proud I am of them and what they have accomplished. My heart hurts for them because of the way it ended up.”

When asked about the two-point conversion, he said, “Oh, no doubt, I mean heck we thought we were in. We have an endzone camera 10 feet away and we’ll look at video, but like I told the kids, ‘Life’s not fair sometimes.’ If we were in and didn’t get the call, it’s not fair.”