Lindale Eagles fans watch Friday’s December 18,2020Class 4A DI State Championship game against Argyle in AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

ARLINGTON — Lindale was unable to pull off a second-half comeback for the second straight week on Friday night.

A week after rallying from a 28-7 deficit to take a 31-28 win over Austin LBJ in the state semifinals, the Eagles fell behind 28-0 at halftime against top-ranked Argyle in the Class 4A Division I championship at AT&T Stadium.

Argyle (16-0), which hasn’t had a game decided by fewer than 14 points all season, was too much to overcome. Argyle captured its second state title in program history — first since 2013 — with a 49-21 victory.

While Argyle was making its sixth trip to the final game of the season — fifth since 2011 — Lindale was in its inaugural state championship appearance.

Lindale ended the season with a (13-3) mark in a season Chris Cochran described as special.

“We wanted it to end a little bit differently, but I’m telling you I’m so proud of what these young men have done,” Cochran said. “They have brought electricity to our town and school. It’s been an unbelievable ride, one we’re always going to be unbelievably proud of.”

Lindale did find the end zone twice in the second half, but each time, Argyle had the answer.

The Smith County Eagles received the opening kickoff of the second half and marched down the field on the way to a 6-yard touchdown run by Sam Peterson.

Argyle fired right back with a 2-yard touchdown pass from CJ Rogers to TCU signee Jasper Lott.

Lindale cut the score to 35-14 with 2:47 left in the third quarter with a 38-yard pass from Peterson. Rogers then tossed a 43-yard touchdown pass to Ward McCollum just more than a minute later.

Argyle added another touchdown catch from Lott in the fourth quarter with 4:55 to play to make the score 49-14.

Jordan Jenkins made his first trip to the end zone with 1:57 to play with a 25-yard run. Jenkins finished with 112 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. Jenkins ended the season with 3,053 rushing yards, and he had 5,979 rushing yards for his career with 104 total touchdowns.

“We have done a great job stopping the run all year,” Argyle head coach Todd Rodgers said. “We didn’t have to change or defense or coverages. They have a very deceptive offense, and we were able to make good reads. You’re never going to stop a great running back like that. We just had to slow him down a bunch and kind of take him out of the game, per se. We were able to do that. But toward the end, he was able to get loose and looked quite dynamic.”

Despite the loss, senior Jaymond Jackson was able to appreciate what he and his teammates accomplished in 2020.

“This ride has been very fun,” Jackson said. “We were already a family, but we became more of a family the longer the season went on. We formed a good brotherhood. And no matter what, we didn’t quit, and we played all four quarters. It was not how we wanted it to end, but we played all four quarters.”

Argyle jumped out to a 7-0 lead just more than two minutes into the contest on a 1-yard run by Tito Byce. Byce had three touchdown runs in the first quarter and added one more in the second quarter. He finished with 155 yards on 29 carries to earn Offensive MVP honors.

One of the turning points was in the first quarter. Argyle led 7-0 and fumbled, and the ball was recovered by Lindale’s Colton Widemon. Following a Lindale punt, Argyle marched down the field and scored on a 4-yard run by Byce with 2:12 to play. On the ensuing kickoff, the Eagles lost the ball, and Argyle’s Dax Horaney recovered at the 2-yard line. Byce scored on the next play with 2:03 on the clock to make the score 21-0.

Argyle, which never trailed the entire season, led 28-0 at halftime.

“Hats off to Argyle,” Cochran said. “That’s a very good football team, a well-coached team. There’s a reason they won 16 games and never trailed all year long.”

Argyle’s 571 total yards is fourth all time in Class 4A championship game history.

Rogers threw for 357 yards and three touchdowns. Cole Kirkpatrick made eight grabs for 118 yards, and Lott had six receptions for 73 yards and the two scores.

Zach Stewart, who attended Lindale ISD until the third grade, was named the Defensive MVP after recording 9 tackles.

“When I saw the Lindale-LBJ score, I was excited,” Stewart said. “It was something I looked forward to all week. It was great to see them and talk to them again. It was a lot of fun.”

Walker’s mom, Liz Stewart, was the chief financial officer at Lindale and holds the same position at Argyle. Stewart’s grandmother, Jane Silvey, is the director of curriculum at Lindale.

The announced attendance for the game was 10,681.

“You saw those stands, we had the community behind us,” Cochran said. “It was incredible opportunity. We are thankful God put us here to have the opportunity to bring Lindale here as a program.”

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Argyle vs. Lindale

Lindale 0 0 14 7 — 21

Gilmer 21 7 14 7 — 49

First Quarter

AHS — Tito Byce 1 run (Caden Dodson kick), 9:51

AHS — Byce 4 run (Dodson kick), 2:12

AHS — Byce 2 run (Dodson kick), 2:03

Second Quarter

AHS — Byce 2 run (Dodson kick), 3:17

Third Quarter

LHS — Sam Peterson 6 run (Landon Love kick), 8:50

AHS — Jasper Lott 2 pass from CJ Rogers (Dodson kick), 5:36

LHS — Jacob Seekford 38 pass from Peterson (Love kick), 2:47

AHS — Ward McCollum 43 pass from Rogers (Dodson kick), 1:30

Fourth Quarter

AHS — Lott 4 pass from Rogers (Dodson kick), 4:55

LHS — Jordan Jenkins 25 run (Love kick), 1:57

LHS AHS

First Downs 19 27

Rushes-Yards 36-128 49-214

Passing Yards 159 357

Comp.-Att-Int. 17-28-0 23-30-0

Punts-Ave 6-39.7 2-41.5

Fumbles-Lost 3-1 2-2

Penalties-Yards 6-63 8-79

Individual Statistics

RUSHING — Lindale, Jordan Jenkins 26-112, Sam Peterson 10-16. Argyle, Tito Byce 29-152, Braden Baker 9-60, Payton Shoemake 2-6, CJ Rogers 7-5, Team 2-(-9).

PASSING — Lindale, Sam Peterson 17-28-0, 159 yards. Argyle, CJ Rogers 23-30-0, 357 yards.

RECEIVING — Lindale, Jacob Seekford 7-81, Evan Alford 3-37, Daniel Franke 3-25, Case Brooks 2-11, Cody Swaim 1-6, Jordan Jenkins 1-(-1). Argyle, Cole Kirkpatrick 8-118, Jasper Lott 6-73, Ward McCollum 4-79, Cash Walker 2-47, Hayden Stewart 1-19, Braden Baker 1-16, Sutton Lee 1-5.

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