Argyle broke the game open at Eagle Stadium with three unanswered touchdowns to lead 42-20 with 11:55 left before Heritage recovered two onside kicks during a garbage-time rally attempt that came up seven points short.
Even if the final result was a bit closer than Argyle may have liked, it was still some payback for last year’s playoff loss. Argyle fell 38-34 to the Panthers in the third round of last year’s playoffs as Heritage scored the eventual game-winning touchdown with 41 seconds left in the contest.
“Those kids have been stewing with that for almost 12 months,” Argyle coach Todd Rodgers said. “Our standard around here is to do what we do and do it the very best. You throw in a little emotion with that, it’s very good.”
Argyle’s passing game got rolling early and flourished throughout the night.
Junior quarterback Maguire Gasperson went 21 of 31 for 387 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He added three rushing scores as well to spearhead the Eagles’ offensive effort as they racked up 572 total yards on the night.
Gasperson and senior wide receiver Will Krzysiak, a Harvard commit, connected eight times for 155 yards and one score to lead the way. Sophomore wide receiver Julian Caldwell contributed two catches for 83 yards, and senior wide receiver Grant Romero chipped in six grabs for 66 yards.
Junior tight end Braden Bach added three catches for 20 yards and one TD.
“It feels better, a little bit of revenge,” Gasperson said. “People were getting open, they were making plays, and I put it in the right spot, I guess. The protection was perfect, shout out to the offensive line, and the running backs stepped up, tight ends stepped up to block. It was good.”
Argyle started fast with an opening-drive score as junior running back Watson Bell ran for a 14-yard touchdown to make it 7-0 with 9:10 left in the first quarter.
Heritage drove methodically down the field to answer, but Argyle junior defensive back Maliek Bracy intercepted a pass attempt in the end zone to end the threat. It was Bracy’s third interception of the year after picking off a pair of passes two weeks ago against Mansfield Timberview, including a game-sealing pick-six.
Argyle's Maliek Bracy celebrates by flexing after making a stop against Colleyville Heritage.
The Eagles made the most of Bracy’s takeaway with a quick scoring drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown run from Gasperson to make it 14-0 with 2:57 left in the opening period.
Argyle extended its edge to 21-0 with 10:41 left in the second period on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Gasperson to Bach.
Heritage responded with back-to-back scores on a 17-yard touchdown run by senior Bryce Abram and a 14-yard touchdown pass from junior Bodey Weaver to senior Nicholas Wankombe, though a missed point-after try on the second score kept it 21-13.
In between the two scores, Argyle had a would-be touchdown pass negated by a holding penalty that led to a punt and helped the Panthers pull within their 8-point halftime deficit.
Heritage cut it to 21-20 on the first play from scrimmage in the second half as sophomore Jerrod Wiley broke away for a 75-yard touchdown run. The Eagles answered 26 seconds later, when Krzysiak ran through a tackle on his way to a 70-yard receiving touchdown that made it 28-20 with 11:23 left in the third quarter.
Gasperson scored twice more on the ground with runs of 1 yard and 3 yards, putting Argyle up 42-20 with 11:55 left in the fourth quarter.
“They came back during the first half and put some real points on the board and challenged us,” Rodgers said. “We were able to go in at halftime and make some adjustments, came back out for the second half and really executed our passing game at a very high level.
“Then defensively when we subbed, some of those younger kids had a hard time hanging on and they got the game back in the balance.”
Heritage had a late surge in it as Weaver ran for a 15-yard touchdown to make it 42-26 with 3:10 to play after a missed 2-point try.
The first of two onside kick recoveries followed, setting up a 3-yard touchdown pass from Weaver to junior Dax Hebeisen with 1:41 to go. One more onside kick recovery later, Heritage tacked on a 24-yard field goal that made it 42-35 with 43 seconds to play.
Argyle recovered the ensuing onside kick and kneeled out the remaining clock.
The Eagles now look to build on the win as they move forward in District 3-5A DII play starting next Friday, Oct. 4, with their road game against Everman (1-4, 1-2).
Argyle has already defeated two of its biggest challengers for the district title between Timberview and Heritage, though it could certainly still be tested in pursuit of the program’s 15th district championship in the last 16 years.
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