Leps Fall to Sealy by 10 in Regular Season Finale

La Grange lost to Sealy 48-38 Friday night. The Leopards lost the turnover battle with three interceptions, and that cost them the game.

“We didn’t get a lot of stops, and then we came out after halftime and turned the ball over two possessions in a row,” said La Grange Head Coach Kyle Cooper. “We’ve got to get people off the field and we can’t turn the ball over.”

A strong north worked against the Leps a few times Friday night. Passing into the wind proved dangerous. La Grange tried two on-side kickoffs in the second half as the score moved in Sealy’s favor. Both times the ball zipped out of bounds without going 10 yards.

The game got off to a blazing fast start. The Leps trailed 21-14 at the end of the first quarter.

Sealy struck first with a quarterback keeper by Kane Killough into the endzone two and a half minutes into the game. They missed the extra point. The Leps responded with a solid drive. La Grange quarterback Clayton Cooper got into the endzone on a keeper. The extra point by Taylor cook was good, and the Leps went up 7-6. It was the only time they would lead the rest of the night.

Sealy took the ball at their own 30 yardline after the kickoff. They scored on the very first play. Tiger running back Alan Williams found a huge hole in the line and ran 70 yards for a touchdown. They went for two on quarterback keeper by Killough and got it. They led 14-7.

The Leps tied it up three plays later on a touchdown pass from Cooper to Dillan Johnson. The extra point was good and the score was 14-14 with 4:26 left in the first quarter. Two plays after the kickoff, Sealy found the endzone again with a 66-yard passing play from Killough to AJ Cepon. The extra point was good and the Tigers led 21-14 with 3:18 left in the first quarter.

The Leps orchestrated another good drive and made it all the way down to Sealy’s 15 yard line as the second quarter began. A holding penalty on first down pushed the Leps back to the 25 yard line. The Tiger defense held as rain started to fall on Leopard Stadium, and La Grange was forced to attempt a field goal on fourth down. The kick by Cook was good, and the Leps cut Sealy’s lead to 21-17.

But then Sealy pulled away with an 11-play drive capped by a touchdown pass from Killough to Caleb Labba. After the extra point the score was 28-17. The Leps responded with a their own scoring drive. Cooper reached the endzone on a keeper with 2:43 left in the half. The extra point was good and the Leps trailed 28-17.

The strong wind blew Cook’s kickoff out of bounds. Sealy wanted a re-kick on the resulting penalty. Sealy’s Noah Washington returned the re-kick midfield, giving the Tigers good field position. Three plays later Washington rushed for a touchdown from the 25. La Grange defender Dillan Johnson blocked the extra point. Chris Supak picked up the blocked ball and tried returning it, but the Tigers stopped him. That brought the score to 34-24.

La Grange had another chance to score just before halftime. They got down to the Sealy 33 utilizing their hurry-up offense and timeouts. Cooper tossed one to the endzone with six seconds left, but Sealy defender Elijah Sanders intercepted it as time expired in the half.

La Grange received the kickoff after halftime but then turned the ball over on an interception four plays later. Sealy converted it into a touchdown drive. Tiger running back Romeo Castillo scored on a 19-yard run. The Tigers went up 41-24 after the extra point.

Then deja vu struck the Leps. Two plays after the kickoff, Cooper tossed another interception fielded by Tiger defensive back Elijah Sanders. Once again, the Tigers converted the interception into a long scoring drive that ate away the clock. Labba ran in the touchdown. After the extra point, the Tigers stretched their lead to 48-24.

The next drive had the Leps pinned down on their own 2 yard line due to a botched return. But they took the ball all the way across the field thanks to some good running from Cooper and Da’von Giscome. Giscome ran in a touchdown from the nine yard line. The Leps attempted a two point conversion but failed. La Grange trailed 48-30.

La Grange attempted an onside kick, but it failed and the Tigers got the ball near midfield. La Grange stopped the Tigers for the first time of the night after Max Dixon intercepted a Tiger pass with about six minutes left in the game. Dixon brought it out to midfield before getting tackled. The Leps showed some heart as they drove the ball down, but time was ticking fast. Dillan Johnson scored on a 22-yard pass with just under two minutes in the game. La Grange converted with a toss from Cooper to Oliver Gunn. The Leps was now down just 10 points: 48-38.

Another onside kick didn’t go as planned. So the Tigers again got the ball around midfield. The Leopard defense held the Tigers to fourth and four with just under a minute left. But Killough got them out of the jam with a first-down pass to Tiger receiver Steven Schwartz. With La Grange now out of timeouts, Sealy knelt the ball and time expired.

“I’m very proud of this bunch. It’s a tough night. Our guys have done a great job flipping our culture and they continue to fight,” Cooper said.

La Grange ended the regular season 6-4 overall and 2-3 in district. That was just enough to make fourth place in district and a berth in the playoffs. The Leps face Waco La Vega (7-3) in the first round this Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Pflugerville’s Pfield Stadium.