Wimberley held off a furious Sinton comeback late in the fourth quarter to seal the Texans third straight trip to the state-semifinals in a 36-33 win over the Pirates.
The Texans improved their record to 12-2 overall and qualified for their 10th state semifinals and their sixth appearance in the fifth round of the playoffs in the past eight years.
Wimberley struck first in their game against Sinton, capitalizing on a long pass from quarterback Cody Stoever to wide receiver Jace Morales that put the Texans inside the Pirate 10-yard line.
Stoever later scored on a nine-yard rushing touchdown, putting the Texans up 7-0 following an extra point kick from kicker Bo Holman.
Sinton responded with a touchdown drive of their own, scoring on fourth down on a 28yard pass. However, the Texans blocked the extra point kick to maintain their lead at 7-6.
Wimberley was unable to convert on their next drive and were forced to punt, giving Sinton a chance to take the lead.
The Pirate drive went into the second quarter as Sinton moved the ball to inside the 10yard line.
Despite the Code Red Defense forcing the sack, the Pirates scored again on a 16-yard touchdown pass. Sinton attempted the twopoint conversion, but the Code Red Defense stuffed the quarterback at the goal line, making the score 12-7.
On their next offensive drive, the Texans answered back. Driving down to the Sinton 41-yard line, Stoever hit wide receiver Nolan Waida who made the diving catch for the touchdown pass. Following Holman’s kick, Wimberley was back in front 14-12.
Sinton looked to answer back only for the Code Red Defense to make their first stop of the game and force the punt.
The Texans drove into Sinton territory following a big run from Stoever, who made a massive stiff arm play to extend the run.
Stoever later scored from the two-yard line, diving into the endzone for the touchdown. Stoever then hit full-back Ty Thames on the twopoint conversion, extending the lead for the Texans at 22-12.
The Code Red Defense forced another stop, allowing the Texans to get the ball back with under two-minutes left before halftime.
Wimberley drove down to the 13-yard line with seconds left before halftime. On the rollout, Stoever looked for an open receiver before tucking the ball and bulldozed his way towards the corner pylon diving once more to score the touchdown.
With an Holman extra point kick, Wimberley entered halftime with a 29-12 lead.
In the third quarter, the Code Red Defense once again came up with the stop and forced another Pirate punt. The Texans took advantage, driving down to inside the 20-yard line following another big pass from Stoever to Morales.
However the Pirate defense came up with the sack on fourth down.
Going into the fourth quarter, Sinton looked to make their comeback.
Driving down to the one-yard line, the Pirates punched it in for the score. Following the extra point kick, Sinton made it a 29-19 game.
However, the Texans answered back.
With the ball on their own six-yard line, Stoever hit Waida for a 94yard touchdown pass and pushed their lead to 36-19.
The Pirates refused to give up, driving on their next offensive possession to the oneyard line and scored the touchdown. Sinton was unable to score on the two-point conversion, making the score 36-25.
Sinton recovered the onside kick and took over at the Wimberley 40-yard line. With less than two minutes remaining in the game, Sinton scored once again and converted the two-point conversion, cutting Wimberley’s lead down to 3633.
The Pirates again recovered the onside kick, allowing Sinton to either tie or win the game.
But the Code Red Defense saved the day for the Texans, sacking the quarterback on third down and forcing the incomplete pass to seal the win.
Stoever led the team in both passing and rushing. Stoever passed for 275 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 146 yards on 25 carries and three touchdowns.
Waida was the leading receiver for the Texans with three catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns followed by Morales with four catches for 84 yards.
Wimberley will play the Waco La Vega Pirates in the state semifinals. La Vega enters the game with a 11-3 record after capturing the 4A D2 Region III title, beating Sealy 4830. This will be the first ever meeting between the two teams.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Georgetown ISD Stadium.
