AUSTIN – A defensive hold on a late two-point conversion attempt allowed the Hays Rebels to escape House Park Thursday with a wild 48-47 road win over Austin High.
With the win, Hays improves to 6-0 for the first time since the 2006 campaign.
“This is the third one of these we’ve had this year, that seems to be that same type of game,” said Hays head coach Les Goad. “We just feel blessed with the gifts God gave us to be able to come out on top on those kind of games. We are also very proud of the perseverance that our kids have, they just keep fighting and have a lot of heart.”
–Devin Hines, Hays running back
Hays (6-0, 3-0 in 25-6A play) held a 48-41 lead late in the fourth quarter after Xavier Green bulldozed his way in for a six-yard touchdown run.
Austin, however, countered and responded with a 94-yard, 55 second scoring drive to pull within a point at 48-47.
But Hays’ key stop came on the ensuing two-point conversion attempt. A Maroon pass went wide left, which sealed another late game win for the Rebels.
“We were basically man (to-man coverage on) everything, stay on your guy,” senior free safety Jaidon Bialaszewski said. “We knew it was going to be a pass, but we didn’t know what they were going to do, so we just stuck to our man with everything we had.”
Although the defense struggled for most of the night giving up more than 580 yards of offense to the Maroons, Goad credited the group for never giving up and playing to the final snap.
“I like the fight, I like the perseverance and I like the way they just keep coming back,” Goad said of the defense. “That’s the main thing I like. We need to establish the open field tackles, there were a lot of missed open field tackles. We need to keep the receivers in front of us and break on the ball.”
On offense Hays was able to keep pace with the high octane Maroon passing attack, as the Rebels scored seven rushing touchdowns in the game. Green finished the game with 17 carries for 134 yards and two touchdowns, while senior running back Devin Hines carried the rock 11 times for 84 yards and four touchdowns.
“I was going one hundred percent, full speed, in the gut,” Hines said. “I don’t care who was in front of me I was going to score for my team. I’ll do whatever it takes to win.”
Hays vies for its seventh straight win Friday when they host the rival Lehman Lobos at Shelton Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
