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Guyer defense forces 3 2nd-half turnovers, sets stage for rally over Georgetown in 4A-I state final

ARLINGTON — Guyer senior defensive end Connor Allen was part the fray of players on the field at Cowboys Stadium, soaking in their victory over Georgetown in the Class 4A Division I state championship.

Allen had his helmet in one hand, while his other hand cradled the game’s defensive Most Valuable Player trophy.

The wooden plaque represented Allen’s play as much as it did the play of Guyer’s defense in the second half. The Wildcats forced three turnovers in the second half and came up with big plays in Guyer’s comeback victory.

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“That was the whole ballgame,” Walsh said. “In the first half, our turnovers are what got [momentum] swinging their way — the wrong way. The turnovers were huge.”

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With Guyer trailing by 16 in the third quarter, its defense came up with critical stops to keep Georgetown from inflicting further damage.

After cutting the deficit to 10, Guyer stuffed Georgetown on fourth-and-1 at the Guyer 31 to give the Wildcats the ball.

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The, following another Guyer touchdown, Eagles senior Matt Sanchez muffed a kickoff, trapping Georgetown inside its 10-yard line.

On third-and-6, Georgetown senior quarterback Jake Hubenak scrambled in the backfield and Allen leveled him. Hubenak fumbled the ball and Guyer linebacker Demontrie Taylor recovered it at the Georgetown 5-yard line, setting Guyer up for the go-ahead touchdown.

“It’s just what we needed,” Allen said of the fumble. “It felt great. We needed the ball back and we needed to score.”

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Allen came up with another huge play on another fourth-and-1 play later in the fourth quarter. Allen stonewalled junior running back Tyler Moody for another key stop.

“We tried running the football on third-and-short and fourth-and-short again,” Georgetown coach Jason Dean said. “A couple of different times we got stuffed. They just wore us out up front.”

Georgetown completed only three of nine third downs in the second half after converting on seven of 10 third-down chances in the first half.

The Wildcats also came up with two interceptions — one each from junior defensive back Will Sanders and senior linebacker Terence Belton — in the fourth quarter ensure Guyer’s first state championship.

“I’ve never felt anything like that in my life,” Allen said.

“It’s so much work and effort that we’ve all put into this. We wanted it so much. We earned it.”