GRAND PRAIRIE - A driving rain was coming down, but Lancaster players stayed on the field to celebrate for several minutes Friday night at the Gopher-Warrior Bowl.
There was a good reason. For just the second time in school history, Lancaster is headed to the fourth round of the football playoffs.
With rain coming down from start to finish, Lancaster mixed an effective running game with a solid performance from senior quarterback Ryan Ross and beat Terrell 40-21 in a Class 5A Division II Region II semifinal at the Gopher-Warrior Bowl.
"I think right now nobody can beat us. We can only beat ourselves," said Ross, who completed 13 of 22 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns. "We adjusted to [the rain], ran the ball more and took what they gave us."
Lancaster (10-3) won its fifth straight game and advanced to the regional final to play the winner of Saturday's matchup between Frisco Lone Star (11-1) and Marshall (11-1). The only other time Lancaster got this far in the playoffs was in 2012, when it lost to Cedar Park in the 4A Division II state championship game.
"Every week we've got a chance to get better. This team has so much more in it. We still haven't reached our potential," said Lancaster coach Chris Gilbert, whose team finished third in District 14-5A. "Hopefully we can represent for our town and our school district. I'm so proud of my guys."
Gilbert beat the school he coached in 2009 and 2010. In the process, he saw his current team end a nine-game winning streak, and the season, for Terrell (11-2).
Lancaster entered the game averaging 35.3 points, and Ross ranked first among area 5A players in touchdown passes (37) and was third in passing yards (2,741) going into Friday. But Lancaster ran the ball 37 times for 155 yards against Terrell, with Spencer Gilbert II rushing for 97 yards and two touchdowns and Rickey Henderson running for 71 yards and a score.
Running back Dawonya Tucker gave Terrell a quick 7-0 lead with a 57-yard touchdown run on the opening possession of the game. It was Tucker's 26th rushing touchdown of the season, and the 2,000-yard rusher finished with 132 yards on 25 carries.
A 33-yard pass from Ross to Mark Mims set up a 27-yard touchdown run by Henderson that got Lancaster within 7-6. Ross then hit Cartrell Thomas with a 45-yard pass to the Terrell 2-yard line, and Gilbert II scored on a 2-yard run two plays later to give Lancaster the lead for good at 14-7 in the second quarter.
With Terrell punting from its 28, the snap went over the punter's head, and he fell on the ball at the 1-yard line. A 1-yard touchdown run by Tyrell Alexander gave Lancaster a 21-7 lead going into halftime.
Terrell kicked off to start the second half and tried an onside kick. Lancaster's Justyn Hughes alertly grabbed the ball out of the air and ran it all the way back to Terrell's 27-yard line. Two plays later, Ross gave Lancaster a 27-7 lead with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Omar Manning.
Twitter: @DMNGregRiddle
