Rattlers last strike takes down Blackcats

Navasota overcame a lot of adversity on their final drive against Bay City to drive 91 yards for the game-winning touchdown. The Rattlers picked up a 26-30 win against the Blackcats Sept. 29, at Rattler Stadium.

The drive began at the Rattler 9-yard line with 5:35 remaining. Jamal Thomas was stopped in the backfield for a loss of four yards. Javyn Jessie connected with Cameron Ross for 13 yards on the next play to set up a thirdand- 1. Thomas picked up the first down picking up a yard.

Two plays later on a second- and-9 play, Jessie completed an 11-yard pass to Da’Quan Pratt to move the ball to the Navasota 31-yard line.

After a Bay City timeout with 3:01 remaining, the Rattlers had an incompletion and a swing pass to Thomas for a loss of three. Jessie rolled to his left on the third-an-13 play from the Rattler 49-yard-line and was met in the backfield. The ball came loose but Jessie recovered it at the 35, setting up a huge fourth-and-17.

Jessie connected with Ross for a 20-yard gain to the Blackcat 45-yard-line. A negative pass play for a 4-yard loss moved the ball back to the 49-yard-line creating a second-and-14. Jessie unleashed a pass deep downfield to Ross who secured it in his right hand and took it down to the 3-yard-line. Jessie faked a handoff up the middle to Thomas who took a massive hit as Jessie went untouched around the right side of the line for the go-ahead score with 53 seconds remaining. Juan Vargas kicked the point-after to give Navasota a four-point lead, 26-30.

“That last drive was crazy,” said Jessie. “We came in on the 9-yard-line. The first play we lost yardage, then came down and threw a corner route. Then we just kept it rolling.”

Jessie described the completion to Ross that set-up the game-winning-touchdown. “I really couldn’t see him, but I knew he was out there somewhere. I just had to get him the ball and I knew we could get in the endzone.”

On the final play Jessie read the defense. “I knew I was going to pull it. I saw the little outside linebacker getting ready to blitz, so I knew it was a touchdown.”

“This is going to be really big for us,” Jessie said about the win. “We came into the game 1-4 with our heads down, but we toughed it out and got the win.” Jessie finished the game 18-of-25 passing for 251 yards, a passing touchdown and two rushing touchdowns.

Navasota’s All-State senior linebacker said it was a “dog fight.” “I feel like it straightened out our mentality,” explained Powell. “All we have to do is keep the ball rolling. I think this game was the one that is going to help us keep that ball rolling. We had to dig deep. We had to trust in our brothers to get our offense on the field as fast as possible.” Powell had 10 tackles, two forced-fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Dacus spoke to his team postgame, “That is the best we’ve done as far as keeping our composure and getting to the next play. I didn’t see anybody on the sideline with their heads dropping, I saw guys making opportunistic plays all night long. That’s what it takes. Sometimes you have to have a game like this that is a heavyweight fight. It just comes down to who is going to make one more play than the other guys. And tonight, I’m proud of you, because it was you.”

Navasota opened the scoring in the second quarter, the same way they ended the game, on the legs of Jessie. After Bay City missed a field goal, Jessie connected with Ross for 12 yards then called his own number for the 12-yard score. Vargas connected on the point-after.

Bay City answered on a 31-yard pass from Alex Estrada to Xylan Williams, but the kick failed leaving the score 6-7.

The Rattlers scored twice in a little over three minutes to end the first half. Their first was a 51-yard run by Thomas. Navasota recovered a Blackcat fumble and added three more points with a 38-yard field goal by Vargas for a 6-17 halftime lead.

Bay City took their first lead on a pair of third-quarter scores, a 5-yard connection from Estrada to Williams and a 17-yard run. Both conversions failed. Blackcats led 18-17 Navasota answered. Jessie connected with Pratt in stride at the 10-yard line, and Pratt carried a Blackcat defender 10 yards across the goal line for a 47-yard touchdown. The conversion pass was dropped leaving the score 18-23, with 10:43 remaining.

Bay City recovered a Rattler fumble at the Navasota 24-yardline then took the lead on a 5-yard pass from Estrada to Andrews with 5:37 remaining.

The Rattlers final drive sealed the win improving Navasota to 2-5 overall and 1-1 in District 12-4A play. Bay City falls to 4-2 overall and 1-1 in district.

“Renewed focus,” what Dacus said his team needs heading into preparation for Needville (6-0, 2-0). “There is an old saying in coaching, you can’t let a loss beat you twice, and you can’t let a win beat you the next week because you’re not ready for the next game.”

The Rattlers travel to Needville Friday, Sept. 6. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.