Mansfield 45, Colleyville Heritage 22
MANSFIELD -- Mansfield junior running back Kennedy Brooks had a lot to prove Friday night against Colleyville Heritage.
Brooks rushed for 250 yards and two touchdowns to lead Mansfield to a 45-22 Class 6A Division II bi-district victory at Vernon Newsom Stadium.
"We've been knocked out of the playoffs in the first round the past two years, so that kind of motivated me to get past this," Brooks said.
Mansfield's second-round opponent Friday will be a rematch against Marcus at Birdville ISD Stadium. Marcus routed Keller Fossil Ridge 57-14 Friday.
Marcus defeated Mansfield 27-17 in the season opener. In that game, Kennedy rushed for 25 yards on 20 carries.
It pained Kennedy, who now has 2,552 yards rushing and 30 touchdowns this season, to think about it.
"The first time we played them, it was horrible," he said. "But this time, it's going to be different.
"It was the first game. We were rusty. But now, we're confident."
Quarterback Dameron Smith scored on a 1-yard run on the first play of the second quarter to put Mansfield ahead for good, 14-10.
Colleyville Heritage pulled to 21-19 in the second quarter on Cameron Roane's 72-yard pass-and-run to Ke'Von Ahmed.
In the first half, both teams sprung big plays, avoided turnovers but couldn't stop each other until their final series.
Mansfield's defense stepped up early in the third quarter. On his 15, Roane was caught in the backfield, stripped of the ball and defensive tackle Trent Walker recovered at the Colleyville Heritage 1.
Three plays later, Smith found fullback Kylon Middlebrooks open for an 8-yard touchdown to put Mansfield ahead 35-19.
The teams traded field goals the rest of the quarter. Brooks added his second touchdown on a 6-yard run late in the fourth quarter to close out the scoring.
"To hold that bunch to three points in the second half, that was huge," Mansfield coach Jeff Hulme said. "It gave our offense a little life. The offense said, hey, we can grind it and eat up the clock."
The first half was like a tennis match.
Colleyville scored two plays into the game on Roane's 77-yard scoring pass to Gervon Thothion.
Mansfield answered on Smith's 22-yard pass to Michael Christopher. Colleyville Heritage countered with a 44-yard field goal by Max Allan to go ahead 10-7.
Smith scored on a 1-yard, fourth-down run on the first play of the second quarter to give Mansfield a 14-10 edge. Allan added another field goal, this time from 32 yards, to close the margin to 14-13.
Brooks' 8-yard scoring run capped an 89-yard drive to get Mansfield up 21-13. Fifteen seconds later, Roane hit Ahmed in stride on the long scoring pass.
Like a tennis match, Mansfield held serve. Smith connected with Saiid Adebo for a 56-yard touchdown pass. Ben Workman's extra-point kick put Mansfield ahead 28-19 at halftime.
Roane finished with 273 yards passing and two touchdowns.
Mansfield will need Brooks to repeat his performance in the next round.
"We've got to be able to run the ball," Hulme said. "We didn't run the ball against them last time."
