Hawley Dominates Refugio to Claim 2A-Div I State Title

Refugio needed to get their offense going if they wanted to kill the momentum Hawley built. They began their second possession at the Bobcats’ 25-yard line. QB Kelan Brown found WR Chai Whitmire over the middle for an 18-yard gain. The Bobcats then ground out two more first downs on the ground before Hawley forced a 4th down and short at the Bearcats’ 37-yard line. Refugio went for it on 4th down, and Hawley’s defense stonewalled them at the line. The Bearcats took over on downs.

QB Rodney Hooper found WR Diontay Raymon down the sideline on a beautiful fade route. Raymon climbed an invisible ladder to make an outstanding catch for a gain of 24 yards to Refugio’s 40-yard line. Refugio forced Hawley into 4th down from there, but a pass interference on 4th down kept the drive alive. However, two plays later, Refugio’s Jesse Manson recovered a fumble that the Bearcats coughed up. Refugio took over at their own 21-yard line as the 1st quarter expired.

2nd Quarter

The Bobcats made the 30-yard line before failing to convert on 3rd down. Faced with another 4th down and short, Head Coach Jason Herring gambled and went for it again. The snap went awry and got away from Kelan Brown. Hawley took over at Refugio’s 21-yard line and scored two plays later from a 14-yard run from Cumpton. After a successful two-point conversion, Hawley led with 10:28 remaining in the 2nd quarter, 14-0.

Refugio’s woes continued on their ensuing possession. After the Bobcats committed intentional grounding, they found themselves backed up behind the sticks for the fourth time. Refugio then ran a trick play, a double reverse flea flicker pass, that Hawley’s Christian Myer subsequently picked off at the Bearcats’ 31-yard line.

Hooper found WR Kason O’Shields for 20 yards to get into the Bobcats’ territory. Ramon followed up the pass with a 19-yard end-around run to move the ball inside the 25-yard line. Three plays later, Cumpton scored his third touchdown on a 14-yard scamper. A failed 2-point conversion left the score at 20-0 with 7:11 remaining in the 2nd quarter.

Refugio faced the real possibility of the championship game getting out of hand before halftime. They began their next attempt at the end zone at their own 30-yard line. Back-to-back hard runs by RB Eziyah Bland pushed the football into Hawley’s end of the field. Bland burst through the defense again two plays later for 21 yards down to the Bearcats’ 18-yard line. Bland looked to score on another carry but had the ball stripped away instead. Everything continued to go wrong for the Bobcats as Hawley took over at their 9-yard line.

Hawley blew the game wide open with 2:30 remaining in the half. After the Bearcats ground out two tough first downs on the ground, Hooper found Ramon near the sideline. Ramon made one man miss, broke one tackle, and then showed his deadly speed as he outran everyone 74 yards to the house. After a successful 2-point conversion, the Bearcats lead 28-0.

Refugio’s Ernest Campbell made a highlight-reel catch with just over two minutes to go. Brown heaved a deep pass down the sideline that Campbell had to stretch out for and kept his foot in bounds before falling out. The 28-yard gain set up Sophmore RB Jordan King’s 28-yard run to get the ball to Hawley’s 3-yard line. In the next play, Kalen Brown scored. Refugio finally got on the board with two minutes remaining in the 2nd quarter but trailed 28-7.

The Bearcats took advantage when Refugio’s secondary broke down just before halftime. The Bobcats sold out to stop the run and left O’Shields wide open behind the defense. He waited for the ball to get to him and then jogged into the end zone. The 66-yard touchdown pushed the contest back to a four-score game with 1:12 remaining in the 2nd quarter.

Refugio had one final opportunity to score before the half and took full advantage. The Bobcats ran their two-minute offense to perfection as they covered 59 yards in just 47 seconds. Kelan Brown set up a screen to Jordan King, who weaved through the defense 35 yards down the field for another Refugio touchdown. Both teams returned to the locker rooms with Hawley up big, 34-13.

3rd Quarter

Hawley received the second-half kickoff and officially went into clock management mode. They kept the ball almost entirely on the ground as they scraped together multiple first downs. Ramon made two excellent catches on 3rd down to get the Bearcats to the goal line. Hawley jumped two plays in a row before the snap to back the Bearcats up to the 11-yard line, but Ramon made a catch in traffic for the 11-yard touchdown. The 14-play, 73-yard drive took 8:14 of the 3rd quarter, and the Bearcats extended their lead to 40-13.

Hawley’s Hez Parker picked off Kelan Brown at midfield and returned the interception 50 yards for a pick-six. The contest became ugly with 3:28 remaining in the 3rd quarter, 48-13.

Refugio scored once more before the 3rd quarter expired. Chai Whitmire returned the kickoff 70 yards to Hawley’s 15-yard line. A personal foul moved the ball back to the 30, but Refugio still got into the end zone. It took the Bobcats four plays to go 15 yards capped off with a 10-yard touchdown run by Bland. At the end of the 3rd quarter, Hawley led 48-21.

4th Quarter

The Bearcats officially looked to run the time out as they ran the play clock down every play on their ensuing drive. Despite running the ball for 90 percent of the snaps, the Bobcats could not stop the Bearcats. Hawley went on a 10-play, 49-yard drive that took 6:10 off the clock. Cumpton’s 10-yard touchdown, his fourth, put this game to bed, 54-21.

Refugio scored one more touchdown before the end, but Hawley just ran out the game clock. The Bearcats won 54-28.

 The undefeated Hawley Bearcats (16-0) complete the perfect season and are your 2022 UIL Texas High School Football 2A-Div I Champions.