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Bastrop Tribe Consolidated scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull away from San Antonio FEAST 56-40 in the Texas Association of Independent Athletic Organizations Division I state championship game at Allen Academy in Bryan on Saturday.
The state title was the second consecutive for Tribe Consolidated (11-1), which captured Division II last year.
Tribe played without starting quarterback, linebacker and snapper Grant Golemon, the son of coach Brent Golemon. Grant broke his elbow in the semifinal win over Williamson County.
Consolidated led 21-0 midway through the second quarter on touchdown runs of 21 and 7 seven yards by Travis Guy and a 5-yard score by Esteban Lozano.
FEAST (8-3) was able to notch a touchdown on a 31-yard pass from Isaac Benitez to Cody Beck late in the second quarter before Guy scored his third touchdown on a 33-yard run to put Tribe up 28-7 with 33 seconds remaining in the half.
FEAST rallied in the third quarter after Tribe linebacker Lake Mills went down with leg cramps. Mills led the defense in limiting FEAST speedster Christian McDonald to 18 yards on six carries in the first half.
With Mills on the bench, McDonald scored on runs of 60 and 20 yards in the third quarter. He finished with 169 yards on 18 carries.
Beck, a 6-foot-6, 320-pound senior, caught touchdown passes of 14 and 9 yards in the second half, pulling his squad within two points of Tribe at 42-40 early in the fourth quarter.
But FEAST couldn’t get any closer as Tribe scored on a 38-yard run by Samuel Osborn and a 31-yard scamper by Lozano.
“It’s hard to come back and move ahead,” FEAST coach Robert Benitez said.
Mills returned in the fourth quarter to lead the defense.
“They scored three time when (Mills) was out,” Brent Golemon said. “When he got back in, they never scored again on a run play. He makes that much of a difference.”
Lozano finished with 174 yards on 15 carries, while Osborn had 153 yards on 14 carries.
Tribe receiver Graham Mills scored on a 1-yard blast and caught two passes for 64 yards.
It was an “up-and-down game,” Brent Golemon said. “It’s four quarters of football.”
