The Tigers fell short of a district win in their second district game of the season, leaving homecoming with a hard fought loss against the McKinney North Bulldogs at 62-41. 

The Bulldogs started fast and strong, with two touchdown receptions from quarterback Dillon Markiewicz to tight end Brandon Frazier. The Tigers also notched 7 points with a deep 54-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brayson McHenry to wide receiver Kobe Webster. The quarter ended with a 14-7 lead for the Bulldogs. 

While the first quarter was close, the second quarter was not so kind to Texas High. After successful drives on both sides, the Bulldogs took it away with 27 unanswered points, aided by a failed punt attempt and a muffed kickoff by the Tigers, ending 48-14 with McKinney North in a distant lead. 

The Tigers made adjustments during halftime that helped overcome their 34 point deficit, allowing them to score 27 points in the second half. 

“[The feeling at halftime was] that we needed to get our crap together. We wanted to come back and didn’t want to get destroyed,” wide receiver Conner Allen said. “We wanted to prove a point that we can still play, even if we are down.”

With the task of catching up before them, the Tigers banded together and continued to fight.

“We got down in a situation most teams would quit, but we responded. We hit back. So for the most part I can say we had a few leaders, including myself, step up to get them going,” defensive end Clayton Smith said. “We overcame adversity, that was the best thing. We shouldn’t have to be down 48-14 for us to wake up. We’ve got to learn to come out and punch.” 

The third quarter began with short, unsuccessful drives by McKinney North, ending with a fumbled punt snap by punter Ryan Shamburger, recovered by the Tigers in Bulldog territory. McKinney North showed a stout goal line defense until the Tigers’ 4th down resulted in a pass for a touchdown from McHenry to Webster. 

The Tigers remained strong in their game of catch up, scoring another three touchdowns, and continued to stand against the Bulldogs’ offense until they neared the end of the quarter. However, the Bulldogs quickly came back with a touchdown of their own to close out the third quarter, leaving it 55-34 with McKinney North in the lead. 

The fourth quarter was low scoring, with a touchdown from each team. Ultimately, however, the game was out of reach for the Tigers. The game ended 62-41 with a victory for McKinney North, spoiling the Tigers’ homecoming.

“I think we just came out and we didn’t want to quit. I think we made a statement that we were willing to continue to play and keep fighting hard and keep playing hard, and we showed some resilience,” head coach Gerry Stanford said.