ROWLETT — Rowlett scored on touchdown passes of 42 and 57 yards in the first quarter and never trailed again, holding off a furious Crandall rally for a 26-15 win Thursday night.
The Eagles piled up 476 yards of total offense and 349 through the air while limiting Crandall to 227. Four Crandall turnovers proved costly despite three giveaways of their own by Rowlett.
Eagles Strike Early
Quarterback Samuel Loera got Rowlett rolling immediately.
Loera capped the Eagles’ opening drive with a 42-yard touchdown pass to Braxton Moore with 7:30 left in the first quarter. Aaron Moreno’s extra point made it 7-0.
Crandall moved into Rowlett territory on its next possession but lost a fumble near midfield. Loera and Micah Pearson connected for a 57-yard touchdown with 33 seconds remaining in the quarter, stretching the lead to 14-0.
Rowlett carried a 14-0 cushion into halftime after both teams were held scoreless in the second quarter.
Pirates Break Through in Wild Third Quarter
Rowlett’s Moreno kicked a field goal early in the third quarter, extending the lead to 17-0.
Crandall’s defense answered with a safety at the 4:19 mark, cutting the deficit to 17-2 and giving the Pirates the ball following the free kick. Hezekiah Jordan returned the kick 43 yards to the Rowlett 42, setting up Crandall’s best drive of the night.
Darrik Ward capped the possession with a 37-yard touchdown run on second down, pulling Crandall within 17-8. The ensuing conversion attempt turned disastrous when Braxton Moore returned a fumble roughly 80 yards the other way, pushing Rowlett’s lead to 19-8.
Loera then directed another scoring drive, finishing it with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Griffith with 1:24 left in the quarter. Moreno’s extra point made it 26-8.
Pirates Push in the Fourth
Crandall refused to fold.
Quarterback Carlton Lewis drove the Pirates 45 yards in 12 plays, connecting with Jamari West for a 19-yard touchdown with 10:02 remaining. The extra point trimmed Rowlett’s lead to 26-15.
Crandall’s defense gave the offense one more chance when Jayden McCleary returned a fumble 72 yards to the Rowlett 25-yard line. However, the Pirates could not convert the opportunity.
Lewis threw two incomplete passes before Rowlett intercepted him, ending the threat and allowing the Eagles to run out the clock.
Loera Powers Rowlett’s Passing Attack
Loera finished 20 of 30 for 349 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Pearson caught eight passes for 176 yards and a touchdown, while Moore added three receptions for 78 yards and a score.
Griffith contributed five catches for 50 yards and a touchdown of his own. Rowlett also ran for 127 yards, led by Aiden Holland’s 85 yards on 13 carries.
Moore chipped in 43 yards on nine carries as the Eagles finished with 22 first downs and averaged better than 11 yards per pass attempt.
Jordan Leads Crandall’s Passing Game
Lewis completed 17 of 28 passes for 168 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
Jordan was Crandall’s top target. He hauled in nine catches for 110 yards, nearly two thirds of the team’s total through the air.
West’s only catch of the night was the 19-yard touchdown from Lewis. Davyn Davis and Kevin Ramirez combined for three catches and 27 yards, while King Franklin and Kharon Bandy added four catches for 12 yards between them.
Darrik Ward led Crandall on the ground with 50 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Christian Ingram added 23 yards on six attempts as Crandall finished with just 59 yards rushing on 30 carries, just under two yards per attempt.
Turnovers and the Final Numbers
Ball security shaped much of the outcome.
Crandall turned the ball over four times, including two interceptions and two lost fumbles. Rowlett committed three turnovers of its own.
McCleary’s 72-yard fumble return in the fourth quarter gave Crandall a chance to cut the margin to one score, but the Pirates could not convert it into points.
Rowlett finished with a wide statistical edge, outgaining Crandall in total yards, 476 to 227, and holding a 349 to 168 edge through the air. The Eagles also won the rushing battle, 127 to 59, and finished with eight more first downs, 22 to 14.
Penalties were close to even: Crandall was flagged six times for 64 yards, while Rowlett was penalized seven times for 75 yards.
In the end, Rowlett’s ability to strike from distance made the difference. A pair of the Eagles’ three touchdowns covered 42 and 57 yards, respectively, in the first quarter that forced Crandall to play from behind most of the night.
Crandall answered with a much stronger second half, scoring all 15 of its points after the break. But four turnovers and an early deficit proved too costly to overcome.
