Jourdanton QB Colton Hurt rushed in for the game winning touchdown during the final 15-2A contest at Indian Stadium last Friday night. Jourdanton is district champion in 15-2A, for the first time since the 1996 season. EXPRESS PHOTO BY JOE DAVID CORDOVA With a district title and a playoff spot on the line, the Indians seemed all but finished when it came to viewing the scoreboard at Indian Stadium. The Cole Cougars had stormed out to a 27-7 lead at the half. Big Red didn’t allow a 20-point deficit to hold them back as they stormed back to claim not only a playoff spot, but the 2011-2012 District 15-2A (Div.I) Title.

“We made all kinds of dumb penalties and mistakes in the first half. Everything from running into the kicker, to holding, to two turnovers, things just didn’t go our way. The thing that saved us was our kids didn’t panic at the half,” stated Jourdanton Head Coach Wayne Johnson.

Have you ever heard of an 8-2 ball team that didn’t make the playoffs? The Jourdanton Indians finished just a point away from being that ball team, but heart and desire lifted them forward to their second straight playoff appearance and their first district title since 1996.

Jourdanton Indian Brent Tymrak kicks the game winning point through the up rights during their home game against Cole. Tymrak has been their go to man for PAT’s all season long. The Jourdanton Indians were able to strike first, thanks to a nice drive down field. Big Red capped the drive off, thanks to a 39-yard Aaron Lopez touchdown run. The Brent Tymrak PAT was good, as the Tribe led 7-0 with 7: 03 to go in the quarter.

Following the Indian touchdown, this is when things went south for a quarter and a half. The Cole Cougars sported a talented offense, which was no secret to anyone. Johnson had stated coming in, that the Cougars sported the fasted RB in the district and that they did.

Jourdanton’s Brandon Pacheco looks on as Chase Harrison runs the ball past a Cole defender during the 15-2A match-up. The Indians will have a bye during the first week of the playoffs. That quick RB went to work in the first, as Tyreese Davis scored first on an 11-yard run with 5:12 to go in the first. The PAT by Colin Campbell was good, as they had tied things up.

Cole went on to score three more touchdowns in the second quarter, courtesy of a 57-yard passing play, a 10-yard touchdown run and a 13-yard pass play. This gave the Cougars a 27-7 lead at the half. Two of these touchdowns were courtesy of great field position thanks to Jourdanton turnovers.

“A lot of people asked me what I told them at the half. I didn’t go in and get into a shouting match, or rip them, I just told them the truth. I told them we were not executing, that we didn’t need any more dumb penalties and sold them on the fact we were in this same exact position last season. We were down 27-7 to LaPryor on the road and we came back to win 28-27. Once I said that, everyone was on board,” stated Coach Johnson.

On board, they were, as Jourdanton stepped up their offensive and defensive play on the football field.

The Indians were able to strike first, in the 3rd quarter thanks to a 3-yard Kye Burris touchdown run. The Tymrak PAT was good, as the Indians had cut the lead down to 28-14 with 7:33 to go in the third quarter.

Jourdanton was able to add a second third quarter touchdown just about five minutes later, thanks to hard running by Isaac Oropeza. It was great to see other backs step up, after watching the leading rusher-Aaron Lopez, go down with a game ending injury early in the third quarter. Oropeza was able to score on a 1-yard run. The Tymrak PAT was good, as the Indians had closed the gap to 27-21 with 1: 01 to go in the third quarter.

Big Red continued to play tough defense in the fourth quarter, eventually getting the ball back for the winning drive.

Jourdanton capped off their winning drive, with a hard run by QB Colton Hurt, who broke loose for a 19-yard touchdown run. Brent Tymrak showed no fear as he has all season, as he put the PAT through the up rights, to give Jourdanton a 28-27 lead with 4:30 to go in the contest. Just like that, the Tribe was back.

Jourdanton was able to hold off Cole for the remainder of the 4:30 as they captured the District Championship and a playoff spot for the second straight season.

The Cole Cougars finished the game with 286 total offensive yards, 165 of which came on the ground and 121 of which came through the air. The Tribe accounted for 341 offensive yards, 299 of which came on the ground and 42 came through the air.

Coach Wayne Johnson Speaks on the victory- “I think we might have been pressing too much in the first half. Our seniors stepped up and played a great game for us. It was just a great win for our team and our community,” stated Coach Johnson.

Johnson added that although they finished 9-1 on the season, the last two weeks have not been your perfect storm nights.

“Over the past two weeks, we have played about two good quarters and four pretty shaky quarters. I think we have learned a lot over the last two weeks. At the start of district play, I thought our district was going to be easier than last season. Now that it is over, I can tell you our district was a lot tougher,” Coach Johnson added.

Coach Wayne Johnson was asked about what winning a district title means to him.

“This is something that has been a goal since I arrived. It took six years for it to come around, but the kids and the community are enjoying it a lot. Our coaching staff is really excited, it feels great when you put in so much time to get such a reward. I have looked back over the record books over the past 50+ years and only a handful of teams have gone 9-1,” stated Coach Johnson.

Playoff Outlook- The Jourdanton Indians won the District Co-Championship along with George West according to “terms”, but in reality the Tribe is District Champs due to defeating them head-to-head. George West will go into the playoffs as the second place team as Cole goes into the playoffs in 3rd place.

The Tribe will have a bye week, as they will await the winner of a Bi-District contest between the Blanco Panthers (5-5) and the Edna Cowboys (7-3), which will take place Saturday at 6: 00 p.m. at LaVernia. The winner will face Jourdanton next Thursday-Saturday in the Area Playoffs.

“This week, we are going to try and heal up some bumps and bruises. We will not do any full contact stuff. We are going to condition, weight lifting and work on special teams and study hall. The practices will not be as tough, but next week we will step it up.

Next week, we will have a complete playoff outlook as the Jourdanton Indians are playoff bound for the second straight season.

Sub-Varsity- The JV Indians were able to defeat Cole 20-6 to finish their season with an impressive 10-0 record. This season, the JV gave up just 18 total points on the season which is very impressive. Three different teams were able to score a touchdown a piece. This is another indication to how the Tribe’s program is on its way up under Coach Wayne Johnson.

The 7th Grade Indians were defeated by George West 28-0 to end their season as the 8th Grade defeated George West 14-12 to finish as the “mythical” district champs.