MIDLOTHIAN — Three times Saturday, Cedar Hill gambled and went for it on fourth down while trying to protect a seven-point lead against Waco Midway in the third quarter.
Three times — including twice in Cedar Hill territory — quarterback Damion Hobbs made the gamble pay off by running for a first down.
The fourth-down conversions extended a drive that was capped by Hobbs’ 28-yard touchdown pass to Quincy Adeboyejo. Those were just a few of the many highlights for Hobbs, who threw for 187 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 77 yards and two scores in a 49-34 Cedar Hill win in the Class 5A Division II Region I final.
“I want the ball in my hands in crucial situations,” said Hobbs, an Arkansas State pledge who was 17-of-19 passing. “I thank coach for trusting in me, that I can get those first downs. The line blocked tremendously and did their job every time we went for it on fourth down.”
Cedar Hill (10-4), which finished second in District 7-5A but has won nine of its last 10 games, advanced to play Austin Westlake (10-4) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Waco ISD Stadium. Cedar Hill will be playing in a state semifinal for the first time since 2006, when it went 16-0 and won the 5A Division II state championship.
Cedar Hill faced fourth-and-inches on its 35-yard line early in the third quarter after Midway (13-1) had scored to pull within 35-28. Cedar Hill coach Joey McGuire said he didn’t consider punting, even though a stop would have provided great field position for a Midway offense that was averaging 41 points per game.
“It would have been a huge momentum swing, but we just didn’t want to give them the ball back,” McGuire said.
Hobbs, listed at 6-3 and 215 pounds on the roster, barely picked up the first down on a quarterback keeper. He then converted a fourth-and-1 from the Cedar Hill 45 and a fourth-and-inches from the Midway 39 with runs of 7 and 8 yards up the middle. Adeboyejo, who has committed to Texas A&M, finished the drive with his second touchdown catch to give Cedar Hill a 42-28 lead.
Running back B.J. Kelly scored his fourth touchdown on a 2-yard run with 9:15 left in the game to get Midway within 42-34. But Larry Hill, who stepped in when standout running back Jared Rayford tore his ACL early in the season, put the game away by scoring on a 45-yard run with 1:37 remaining on a third-and-1 play.
Hill, who ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns, hurt his left knee when he made a cutback on the run. As the game ended, he was getting attended to by trainers. But he said, “I think it’s just a little tweak.”
Cedar Hill also got big plays from its defense. Jonathan Buffin returned a fumble 84 yards for a touchdown, his second defensive touchdown in two weeks. And Cedar Hill forced a punt with 5:59 left in the game after Midway had the ball, trailing by only eight.
