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Zach Davis ran it in from 25 yards out on a quarterback scramble on the first play of Tyler Legacy’s overtime possession, and August Williford, who made a 25-yard field goal as time expired in regulation to force overtime, connected on the extra point to give the Red Raiders a 31-30 win over Rockwall-Heath in the District 10-6A opener on Friday night on Earl Campbell Field at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium.

“When I scrambled out, I thought I was maybe going to get a yard or two,” Davis said. “Then I saw nobody right there, then I just took off. I thought of hurdling the defender, but then I didn’t want to so I just decided to truck him.

“We’ve got a lot of momentum going into our second district game. We’ve got a winning streak going, and we just need to carry this momentum through district.”

In a game Legacy led 14-10 at halftime, Rockwall-Heath scored the only points of the third quarter — an 8-yard run by Landen Dutka with 1:27 on the clock — to lead 17-14 entering the fourth quarter.

A 53-yard connection from Davis to Za’Bryan Hood put the Red Raiders up 21-17 with 9:00 to play. Rockwall-Heath responded with a 59-yard pass from Prosper Neal to Christian Contreras to lead 24-21 with 7:47 to play.

Legacy came back with what appeared to be the go-ahead touchdown with 5:57 remaining on a 56-yard pass from Davis to Hood, but it was called back. The Red Raiders were eventually stopped on fourth down at the Rockwall-Heath 31 with 4:27 to play.

The Hawks marched down the field but had a fourth down with 55 seconds left at the Legacy 11, and Brayden Winters’ 30-yard field goal was no good, giving the Red Raiders the ball at their own 20 with 51 seconds remaining and no timeouts.

Davis completed five consecutive passes, including a 28-yarder to Hood down to the Rockwall-Heath 8-yard line with seven seconds left. A hurry-up pass to JP Rainer in the end zone was incomplete and left two seconds on the clock, setting up Williford’s 25-yard field goal to tie.

“I was trying to be as clear as possible,” Williford said. “Deep down, I knew that was it. That was the game right there if I miss.”

In overtime, the Hawks ran six plays and scored on a 7-yard pass from Dutka to Shawn Gary. The Hawks went for two, and Isaac Zmerzlikar’s run was stuffed by the Red Raiders, making the score 30-24.

Legacy needed just one play as Davis was looking down the field for a receiver before taking off running and plowing over a defender into the end zone. Williford then made the winning kick to give the Red Raiders (2-3, 1-0) their second consecutive victory.

“I just think our kids believing,” Tyler Legacy head football coach Beau Trahan said. “We talked about it since Jan. 1. You’ve got to believe and understand that we can play with the best in our district. We’ve just got to go prove it each and every week.

“I’m just so happy for our kids. The coaches had a great gameplan. We started out offensively just not clicking on all cylinders, and our defense bailed us out all night long. What a great win for our kids, our community and our program. “That’s a good, well-coached football team. Hats off to Coach (Rodney) Webb. They had a great gameplan, but the Red Raiders got it done tonight.”

It was all about punts early in the game as there were five punts in the first six minutes of the contest. The Hawks then got on the board with a 36-yard pass from Dutka to Gary on third and 13 with 3:06 left in the opening quarter. The Red Raiders answered with nine seconds left on the clock as Takaiden Brown scored on an end around for a 2-yard touchdown run to tie the score at 7.

After a Rockwall-Heath punt early in the second quarter, Jaylon Rochell intercepted a pass to set the Hawks up at the Legacy 23. The Hawks had to settle for a 33-ard field goal by Winters to go up 10-7. Legacy grabbed the lead with 49 seconds left in the half on a 20-yard touchdown run by Jace Love.

Davis was 22 of 42 for 295 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and he had 18 yards on the ground on three carries. Hood made 11 receptions for 209 yards and a touchdown.

Ashton Bradford ran for 82 yards on 29 carries after being held to minus-4 yards on 14 carries in the first half for the Hawks (2-3, 0-1). 

Nathaniel Kirksey, Ethan Brown, Austin Humber, Kebraylon Jackson, Jacob Harris, Cash Davis, Ramone Gabriel, Simeon Garner and Jaishawn Lee were among the defensive standouts for the Red Raiders.

Tyler Legacy will be on the road next week to take on North Forney (3-2, 1-0) at the new Better Life Stadium.    

NOTES: Former Tyler Legacy boys basketball coach Kevin Walker was in the press box on Friday night doing color commentary for the Rockwall-Heath broadcast … Also in the press box on Friday night was former Texas A&M football standout and former high school and college football coach Warren Trahan, who was 200-136-4 at Cy-Fair, Bay City and Dickinson. He is the father of Tyler Legacy head football coach Beau Trahan and defensive coordinator Brody Trahan.

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TYLER LEGACY 31, ROCKWALL-HEATH 30, OT

Rockwall-Heath   7  3   7  7   6— 30

Legacy       7   7   0   10   7 — 31

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

RH — Shawn Gary 36 pass from Landen Dutka (Brayden Winters kick), 3:06  

TL — Takaiden Brown 2 run (August Williford kick), :09

Second Quarter

RH — Winters 33 FG, 8:42

TL — Jace Love 20 run (Williford kick), :49

Third Quarter

RH — Dutka 8 run (Winters kick), 1:27

Fourth Quarter

TL — Za’Bryan Hood 53 pass from Zach Davis (Williford kick), 9:00

RH  — Christian Contreras 59 pass from Prosper Neal (Winters kick), 7:47

TL — Williford 25 FG, :00

Overtime

RH — Gary 7 pass from Dutka (Run failed)

TL — Davis 25 run (Wiliford kick)

TEAM STATISTICS

                        RH          TL

First downs   13           22

Rushing     48-147   24-93

Passing         147         295

Total             294         388

C-A-I         10-15-0    22-42-1

Punts         7-38.3        7-41.1

Fumbles   1-0               0-0

Penalties 9-99              8-68

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Rockwall-Heath: Ashton Bradford 29-82, Landen Dutka 8-35, Prosper Neal 8-32, Shawn Gary 2-14, Jaylen Simpson 1-(-6). Tyler Legacy: Corey Ransom 13-44, Jace Love 5-31, Zach Davis 3-18, Takaiden Brown 1-2, Rodney Burnley 1-(-1), Von Lane 1-(-1).

PASSING — Rockwall-Heath: Prosper Neal 2-5-0 77; Landen Dutka 8-10-0 70. Tyler Legacy: Zach Davis 22-42-1 295.

RECEIVING — Rockwall-Heath: Jackson Traa 3-32, Christian Contreras 2-72, Shawn Gary 2-43, Logan Hughes 1-3, Ashton Bradford 2-(-3). Tyler Legacy: Za’Bryan Hood 11-209, DaCarryon Hollie 4-16, Bryson Sanders 3-28, JP Rainer 2-27, Takaiden Brown 1-8, Corey Ransom 1-7.

TYLER LEGACY 31, ROCKWALL-HEATH 30, OT

Rockwall-Heath   7  3   7  7   6— 30

Legacy       7   7   0   10   7 — 31

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

RH — Shawn Gary 36 pass from Landen Dutka (Brayden Winters kick), 3:06  

TL — Takaiden Brown 2 run (August Williford kick), :09

Second Quarter

RH — Winters 33 FG, 8:42

TL — Jace Love 20 run (Williford kick), :49

Third Quarter

RH — Dutka 8 run (Winters kick), 1:27

Fourth Quarter

TL — Za’Bryan Hood 53 pass from Zach Davis (Williford kick), 9:00

RH  — Christian Contreras 59 pass from Prosper Neal (Winters kick), 7:47

TL — Williford 25 FG, :00

Overtime

RH — Gary 7 pass from Dutka (Run failed)

TL — Davis 25 run (Wiliford kick)

TEAM STATISTICS

                        RH          TL

First downs   13           22

Rushing     48-147   24-93

Passing         147         295

Total             294         388

C-A-I         10-15-0    22-42-1

Punts         7-38.3        7-41.1

Fumbles   1-0               0-0

Penalties 9-99              8-68

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Rockwall-Heath: Ashton Bradford 29-82, Landen Dutka 8-35, Prosper Neal 8-32, Shawn Gary 2-14, Jaylen Simpson 1-(-6). Tyler Legacy: Corey Ransom 13-44, Jace Love 5-31, Zach Davis 3-18, Takaiden Brown 1-2, Rodney Burnley 1-(-1), Von Lane 1-(-1).

PASSING — Rockwall-Heath: Prosper Neal 2-5-0 77; Landen Dutka 8-10-0 70. Tyler Legacy: Zach Davis 22-42-1 295.

RECEIVING — Rockwall-Heath: Jackson Traa 3-32, Christian Contreras 2-72, Shawn Gary 2-43, Logan Hughes 1-3, Ashton Bradford 2-(-3). Tyler Legacy: Za’Bryan Hood 11-209, DaCarryon Hollie 4-16, Bryson Sanders 3-28, JP Rainer 2-27, Takaiden Brown 1-8, Corey Ransom 1-7.