Tomball Football Races Past Bridgeland In State Quarterfinals

TOMBALL — Just when it seemed Bridgeland had generated a little momentum in cutting Tomball’s lead to 14-7 midway through the third quarter, the Cougars answered. Then they answered three more times.

Tomball scored 27 points over a span of 2:27 of game time late in the third quarter and rolled to a 48-13 victory over Bridgeland in the Class 6A Division II state quarterfinals Saturday afternoon in front of a packed crowd at Tomball ISD Stadium.

The blitz, which featured contributions from all three phases, helped Tomball continue its Cinderella run through the playoffs. The Cougars, who are seeking to return to the state title game for the first time since back-to-back appearances in 1984 and 1985, will face No. 9 Denton Guyer in the state semifinals next week.

After losing three straight and needing a win in the final game of the regular season just to make the playoffs, Tomball has won five in a row, all of them by at least two scores, including a win over fifth-ranked Rockwall Heath. The Cougars now find themselves within one game of stepping on the field at AT&T Stadium in Arlington for a state championship game.

“It’s awesome,” Tomball head coach Kevin Flanigan said. “These guys are just so fun to be around every single day. It’s a fun atmosphere and a great team.”

“We’re honored to be able to play able to play [Guyer]. They’re a storied program, and they’ve done a great job. We’re going to go out there and give it our best shot.”

The Cougars are at this point thanks to an avalanche of fantastic special teams play and killer instinct on offense.

A 3-yard touchdown pass from Bridgeland quarterback Josh Stephens to Jonathan Nelson with 7:09 left in the third quarter brought the Bears within 14-7. Tomball responded with a nearly five-minute drive, which was extended by a first-down run on a fake punt by quarterback Cale Hellums, and increased its lead to 20-7 on a 1-yard run from Christian Womack with 2:46 left in the third.

The third-quarter scoring was far from over. Bridgeland muffed the ensuing kickoff, and Tomball recovered at the Bears’ 26-yard line. Womack took the first carry down to the 1-yard line, and two plays later, Hellums ran it in for a 27-7 lead. A failed reverse on Bridgeland’s first play resulted in another recovered fumble by Tomball, and Hellums hit Derrick Taylor in stride for a 42-yard touchdown pass and a 34-7 lead with 1:13 left in the third.

After a 15-yard penalty on the extra point was assessed on the kickoff, Tomball rolled the dice with an onside kick on the Bridgeland side of the field and recovered on the 34-yard line. Two plays later, Hellums found Jayden Grey down the right sideline for a 31-yard touchdown pass, giving Tomball a 41-7 lead with 19 seconds left in the quarter.

The Bears had only two snaps on offense from the time they scored until the end of the third quarter.

“I’m just sick,” Bridgeland head coach David Raffield said. “I hate the last game of the year because it’s the last time I’ll see all these kids at one time again.

“When things fell apart in the third, they just fell apart.”

Bridgeland was playing without five-star quarterback and Texas A&M commit Conner Weigman, who sat out with an injury. Weigman was close to returning but wasn’t quite ready, according to Raffield.

“He’d have been ready tomorrow, that’s all I can say,” Raffield said. “If this game was tomorrow, he’d have been here. I hate that we didn’t have everybody, but that’s football.”

In Weigman’s stead, Stephens completed 19 of 27 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown. He threw an interception to Tomball’s Holden Field at the start of the fourth quarter, which led to another Hellums touchdown run to make it 48-7 with 7:28 left in the game. Bridgeland’s Mason Culton added a short touchdown run late in the game.

Hellums rushed for 166 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries and added 112 yards and two touchdowns on 8-of-12 passing. Womack added nine carries for 96 yards for the Cougars.

Hellums’ versatility as a passer, runner and punter was on full display, and he helped jumpstart the third-quarter surge with the fake punt.

“We had one last week and another this week,” Flanigan said. “It’s what we do. We’ve done it all year, done it for two years, really. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Hellums helped the Cougars to an early lead with a 49-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-3 on the opening drive, part of a dominant first-half rushing attack. Evan Alaniz added a 1-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter to make it 14-0 at halftime.

Tomball rushed for 179 yards on 21 carries in the first half, with big runs coming from Hellums on the first drive and a 49-yarder from Womack on the Cougars’ second scoring drive.

The Cougars missed an opportunity to break it open late in the half when Hellums missed Taylor for what would have been a long touchdown.

The Bridgeland defense took advantage and stopped Tomball on a couple of scoring chances late in the half.