Second Quarter
W — Michael Kiger 13 run (Tyler Driskell kick), 7:31
W — Case Keenum 1 run (Driskell kick), :48
D — Ryan Spence 42 FG, :00

Third Quarter
D — Spence 28 FG, 9:22
D — Jonathan Jones 21 pass from Chandler Dane (Spence kick), 4:01

INDIVIDUAL STATS:

RUSHING — W: Kiger 19-105, 1 TD; Keenum 9-26, 1 TD; Chad Copeland 4-10; Jarrett Scott 1-3. D: Devin Godbolt 9-21; Brandon Cobb 1-20; Brian Christian 1-3; Dane 14-(-3).

PASSING — W: Keenum 7-16, 82 yds; Scott Casselberry 0-1. D: Dane 24-37, 355 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT.

RECEIVING — W: Kiger 3-50; Josh Poorman 1-11; Scott 1-8; Gary Edwards 1-7; Casselberry 1-6. D: Jones 7-112; Christian 6-102; Godbolt 5-48; Cobb 1-27; Garrett Eison 2-27; Cason Caraway 2-19.

STEPHENVILLE — Surprise!

With yet another huge night from Michael Kiger and another top-notch performance from the defensive line and secondary, Wylie High School stunned the state’s second-ranked team Friday night, downing Decatur 14-13 at Stephenville’s Memorial Stadium.

The win advances Wylie to the state semifinals next week against Royse City, a 35-8 winner over Center.

While rumors of Texas Stadium spread throughout the Wylie faithful, coach Hugh Sandifer said the time and
place of next week’s game won’t be decided until some time today.

Kiger finished the night with 105 yards on 19 carries and scored the game’s first touchdown on a 13-yard run with 7:31 left in the first half.

"This was an awesome win," he said. "Going in the underdogs and putting pressure on them felt great."

Wylie did put the pressure on, keeping the Eagles off the board in the first quarter and then going ahead with Kiger’s score in the second period. The Bulldogs then added another score on a 1-yard dive from quarterback Case Keenum to go up 14-0 with 48 seconds left in the half.

Decatur did, then, manage to put together an impressive drive to score on a 42-yard field goal as time expired in the half.
It was the start of what looked like a disastrous momentum shift for Wylie.

Decatur went on to add another field goal and a 21-yard touchdown pass from Chandler Dane to Jonathan Jones. But, rather than going for the two-point conversion to tie the game, the Eagles opted to kick the point after, resulting in a 14-13 Wylie lead.

As it turned out, it was the call that may have decided the game.

While the offense struggled at times in the second half, the Bulldogs still managed to take back control of the game in the fourth quarter on defense. Whether it was a tipped ball, a big sack or a tackle for a loss, the defense stood tall against the previously high-powered Decatur offense.

Keenum, who finished the game 7-of-16 for 82 yards and the one rushing touchdown, said while the offense put up the points it was the defense that won the game.

"I can’t say enough about the defense," he said. "They played great in the second half and really the whole game. They stopped their offense and they gave us good field position.

"This was really a defensive game and those guys came through again."

In the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs succeeded in blocking a field goal, knocking a fumble out of the back of the end zone and forcing Dane into a third-and-14 on his own 15; situations from which he and the Eagles were never able to escape.

In that final and decisive series, Dane’s first pass fell incomplete, and he was sacked for a loss of four. His next pass was tipped incomplete by Brady Bounds and the fourth-down attempt was batted to the turf by Josh Poorman.

"You know there are two go-to guys, No. 3 (Brian Christian) and No. 32 (Devin Godbolt)," Poorman said of the Decatur offense. "I kind of knew he would go to one of them and I saw 32 going up the middle and I just knew I had to go with him."

Bounds was equally humble about his play.

"Really, I wasn’t thinking much at all," he said. "The adrenalin takes over and I was just there to make the play.

"This has got to be the best time of the year: The playoffs. This is awesome. I love it."

While it wasn’t the main focus — Sandifer didn’t mention "revenge" all week — it was certainly an added bonus.

Bounds said it has been a game the team was hoping for since that 44-7 loss on Oct. 1 and Kiger echoed those feelings.

"I was looking online and (Decatur players) were saying that they were looking past us to next week and who they would play in the semis," he said. "So, yeah, it feels good. We just came in and put up a fight. And we won."

And, according to senior tight end Clark Channell, they won for one reason.

"Through two-a-days and every practice, coach Sandifer tells us that heat is a crippling thing," he said. "We kept heat on them the whole game, and it did. It crippled them."