DUNCANVILLE — The way Duncanville and Mesquite Horn were trampling over the Panther Stadium turf Friday night, it didn’t appear a defensive stand was going to happen.
But it did.
Duncanville’s defense stopped Mesquite Horn, No. 12 in the SportsDayHS area rankings, with 1:55 remaining and escaped with a 36-33 victory. On fourth down, Mesquite Horn quarterback Destri White and wide receiver Brian O’Bannon couldn’t connect on a sideline pass, and Duncanville (1-2) had its first victory of the season.
Duncanville quarterback Aaron Piper accounted for 211 yards, including 124 rushing. He led a 56-yard drive early in the fourth quarter and finished it off with a two-point conversion run for the final score.
White contributed to the quarterback duel. He passed for 213 yards and three touchdowns, but his fourth-quarter fumble into the end zone resulted in a touchback with 6:02 left.
Horn (2-1), which came into the game averaging 40 points, would not threaten again.The two teams combined for 853 yards and didn’t have much trouble moving the ball.
Mesquite Horn looked to have established offensive dominance in the second quarter, taking a 21-7 lead on White’s 15-yard scoring pass to Jadden Nelson.Piper responded two plays later, cutting inside the Mesquite defensive interior and sprinting 70 yards for a touchdown with 7:07 before halftime.
Piper led another drive just before halftime. Derrell Haynes scored on a 22-yard reverse, and Piper ran in the two-point conversion to tie the score.
Duncanville’s William Jackson scored on a 30-yard run early in the third quarter, but White came back and led scoring drives to give Horn a 33-28 edge near the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth, Jaquan Cole found an opening and raced 20 yards to cap a 56-yard drive. Piper ran up the middle on the conversion run for the final score.
