{"id":429625,"date":"2025-12-06T21:43:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T21:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/429625\/"},"modified":"2025-12-06T21:43:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T21:43:12","slug":"dallas-christians-bid-for-5th-straight-state-title-falls-short-against-lubbock-christian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/429625\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas Christian\u2019s bid for 5th straight state title falls short against Lubbock Christian"},"content":{"rendered":"

Click or tap here to view the full box score. <\/a><\/p>\n

WACO \u2013 Dallas Christian\u2019s quest for a fifth straight TAPPS championship<\/a> came to an end on Saturday afternoon, as penalties and missed opportunities proved to be too much to overcome in a 36-30 loss to Lubbock Christian<\/a> in the TAPPS Division II title game at Waco ISD Stadium.<\/p>\n

Dallas Christian (9-4 overall), playing in its sixth straight TAPPS title game, matched Lubbock Christian for most of the game but could not convert on its final drive to get a go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made a lot of mistakes and just didn\u2019t execute like we\u2019ve done over the season,\u201d said Dallas Christian head coach Mike Wheeler. \u201cOur guys played hard and the chances were there, but we just couldn\u2019t come through at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Dallas Christian trailed 28-17 late in the third quarter before putting up back-to-back touchdown drives in the third and fourth quarters to take a 30-28 lead with 7:54 remaining.<\/p>\n

The first score came with 1:58 left in the third quarter on a 44-yard run by Jaxson Barr, cutting the deficit to 28-24. Barr played well in place of injured starter DJ Stanley, rushing for a team-best 119 yards before leaving the game in the fourth quarter on a penalized late hit.<\/p>\n

Dallas Christian retook the lead on a 5-yard run by Cooper Johnson with 7:54 to play, but a mishandled snap on the PAT try kept the lead to 30-28.<\/p>\n

Lubbock Christian (12-1) responded with a big play to regain the lead, scoring on a 44-yard pass from Jace Jackson to Keaton Lee and adding a two-point conversion for a 36-30 edge with 5:37 left to play.<\/p>\n

Dallas Christian moved near midfield on its final drive, but penalties and a sack forced a fourth and 19 from the Dallas Christian 42. Dallas Christian\u2019s fourth down pass fell incomplete with 2:48 left, with Lubbock Christian then picking up a final first down to run out the clock.<\/p>\n

Both teams traded shots from the opening drive, with the Dallas Christian defense getting the first break on a sack by Johnson on fourth down to stop Lubbock Christian\u2019s first series. But it was Lubbock Christian that scored first on a 3-yard run by Jackson, set up by a 79-yard run by Dai Dai Atkins (game-high 152 yards rushing). Jackson played well in the win, piling up 260 total yards and four combined touchdowns for Lubbock Christian.<\/p>\n

Dallas Christian trailed 7-0 going into the second quarter before tying the contest at 7-7 on a 9-yard pass from Luke Syvrud to Rylan Louis with 11:07 left in the opening half. Barr had the drive\u2019s biggest play, a 42-yard run, to set up the offense with first and goal at the Lubbock Christian 6.<\/p>\n

The deadlock was broken on the next series for Lubbock Christian, a 10-play, 70-yard drive that ended on an 8-yard run by Colt Macina. A two-point conversion run put Lubbock Christian up 15-7 with 6:28 left in the half.<\/p>\n

Dallas Christian had the final say in the half with 10 straight points on its last two drives to take a 17-15 edge to the half.<\/p>\n

A 44-yard catch-and-run by Phoenix Pence from Syvrud (196 yards passing, two scores) with 5:33 left in the second quarter pulled Dallas Christian to within 15-14, while kicker Matthew Neuwirt hit a 42-yard field goal with 1 second left to end the opening half.<\/p>\n

Lubbock Christian added back-to-back scoring drives in the third quarter to reclaim the lead at 28-17, setting the stage for the dramatic final period.<\/p>\n