FINAL: Waxahachie Erases 10-Point Deficit, Beats Cy Ranch in OT to Win Dramatic UIL 6A Division I Regional Semi

Indians trailed by 10 with 1:25 to go before coming back for a dramatic overtime victory to advance to regional finals next week

Levi Payton | Nov 29, 2025

Waxahachie, guided by junior quarterback Jerry Meyer III, stormed back from a 10-point deficit in the final 2 minutes of regulation to force overtime and came away with a thrilling 38-31 victory against Cypress Ranch in a UIL 6A Division I regional semifinal Saturday to survive and advance to the finals next week. / Robbie Rakestraw

Just like great Texas barbeque, Saturday’s Class 6A Division I regional between Waxahachie and Cypress Ranch serves up plenty for a football fan’s palate.

Football will be served at 2 p.m. Saturday at Waco ISD Stadium in Waco. Be sure to bookmark this page and refresh your browser often once the game begins to get live scoring, highlights and other important notes as they happen on the field in the live updates section at the bottom of the page.

Waxahachie (10-1) enters with a hot hand, having won seven straight since its stinker against DeSoto, a 40-17 loss back on Sept. 26.

If a loss can be a good thing, that setback looked like a full reset for the Indians. They’ve crushed everyone since, winning their last seven by at least 17 points and outscoring those opponents 315-84.

Waxahachie averages 39.91 points per game while holding opponents to 16.18. The Mustangs average 36 points per game and hold opponents to 18.58.

The Indians are led by three-star junior quarterback Johnny Meyer III, a TCU commit who made noise in 2024 after transferring from Lake Mead Academy in Henderson, Nevada. He earned Texas District 11-6A Offensive Newcomer of the Year after throwing for 3,308 yards, 29 touchdowns and 6 interceptions while guiding the Indians to a 9-4 record and a third-round trip in the 6A Division II playoffs.

Waxahachie opened this postseason with a 48-16 win over Waco Midway before beating North Forney 37-20 last week.

Cypress Ranch enters at 10-2 and has been every bit as hot. After a rocky 1-2 start, the Mustangs have reeled off nine wins in a row, including playoff victories over Klein (40-24) and Spring Grand Oaks (27-13).

The Mustangs counter with junior quarterback Braden Baker, who owns offers from Baylor, Houston, Louisiana Tech and UTSA. Baker enters Saturday completing 67.6% of his passes, going 161-for-238 for 2,699 yards, 30 touchdowns and just 1 interception.

Baker will look to solve a Waxahachie defense that has allowed only 178 points this season. Cypress Ranch has allowed 223. The offenses are nearly even, with Waxahachie holding a slight edge in scoring, 439-432.

Live Updates

	1Q	2Q	3Q	4Q	OT1	Final
Cy Ranch	0	7	14	10	0	31
Waxahachie	7	7	7	10	7	38

1st Quarter

Cy Ranch received the opening kickoff and began the game at its own 22.

Key penalties: Waxahachie drew two quick defensive pass interference penalties on Cy Ranch's first drive to keep the Mustangs' drive alive.

Cy Ranch burned its first timeout facing fourth down at the Waxahachie 35 on its first drive.

TURNOVER ON DOWNS! Kaden Tolleson sniffed out a screen pass and made a stop behind the line of scrimmage for Waxahachie to give the ball back to his offense at the Indians' 35.

TOUCHDOWN! Waxahachie moved the ball down the field with ease, capping a 65-yard drive with a 5-yard run by Taylen Strange. Ethan Guillen booted the PAT and the Indians took a 7-0 lead with 4:41 left in the first.

Cy Ranch began its second drive at its own 30 after the kickoff went out of bounds with 4:41 left in the first.

PUNT! Cy Ranch went three-and-out and punted it back to Waxahachie's 26.

Waxahachie ran one play and then burned its first timeout with 2:25 left in the first.

The first quarter ended with Waxahachie driving in Cy Ranch territory at the 35.

End 1: Waxahachie 7, Cypress Ranch 0

2nd Quarter

TURNOVER ON DOWNS! Cy Ranch came up with a huge defensive stop, stalling Waxahachie and taking possession back at the Mustangs' 31 with 10:32 left in the half.

TOUCHDOWN! Waxahachie sold out on a blitz but Manny Leyja beat the corner and caught a 15-yard pass from Brayden Baker to tie it at 7-7 with 6:05 left in the half.

Waxahachie's ensuing possession began at its own 5, but the Indians got a pair of long completions and quickly advanced across midfield.

Waxahachie burned a timeout with 23 seconds left facing third-and-2 at the Cy Ranch 5.

TOUCHDOWN! On a trick play, Waxahachie ran a shift, moving backup quarterback Nolan Barnard from receiver into shotgun and he threw a lob pass to big lineman Reid Mace (6-foot-1, 280 pounds) with 22 seconds left in the half for a 5-yard touchdown. Waxahachie took its second lead of the game, 14-7.

HALFTIME: Waxahachie 14, Cypress Ranch 7

3rd Quarter

Waxahachie began the second half with the ball at its own 32.

TOUCHDOWN! The Indians wasted no time going for it all, as Jerry Meyer III threw a laser to Texas Longhorns commit Kohen Brown on a busted play for 58 yards just two plays into the second half to give Waxahachie a 21-7 lead.

Cy Ranch began its first drive of the second half at its own 14.

TURNOVER ON DOWNS! Cypress Ranch drove the ball from their own 14 to the Waxahachie 17, but a pass from Baker was just behind Manny Leyja at the goal line on fourth down and Leyja couldn't quite pull it in. Waxahachie got the ball back at its own 17.

SACK! Senior linebacker Tyler Smith came up with a key third-down sack of Jerry Meyer III to force Waxahachie to punt deep in its own territory for the first time in the game.

Following the punt, Cy Ranch took over at its own 49.

TOUCHDOWN! On the Mustangs' first play from scrimmage after the punt, Peyton Thomas took a handoff, bounced to the right and sprinted 51 yards to pay dirt with 3:37 left to go in the third. The PAT trimmed Waxahachie's lead to 21-14.

Following the touchdown, Waxahachie began its drive at its own 35.

PUNT! Cy Ranch's defense came out hot to begin the second half and forced a three-and-out, forcing Waxahachie to punt for the second drive in a row. The Mustangs got the ball back at their own 18.

TOUCHDOWN! Following a 5-yard loss on a run, and on the last play of the third quarter, Peyton Thomas took a handoff on second-and-15, broke free and raced up the middle for a 74-yard touchdown run. His second huge run of the third quarter and a PAT by Nathaniel Carrier tied the game 21-21 and built on a huge momentum shift in Cy Ranch's favor. Thomas had 62 rushing yards in the first half.

END 3: Cy Ranch 21, Waxahachie 21

4th Quarter

Waxahachie began the fourth quarter on its own 22.

FAKE PUNT! INTERCEPTION! Cy Ranch forced Waxahachie to line up to punt for the third time in a row, but the Indians attempted a fake. Cy Ranch was ready for it and sophomore defensive back Dorian Rogers picked off the pass at his own 47 and returned it to the Indians' 42. A late hit out of bounds moved the ball further down to the Indians' 27, where the Mustangs began possession with the game tied at 21.

TOUCHDOWN! Senior receiver Konner Dandridge hauled in a 15-yard touchdown pass from Braden Baker with 7:42 left in regulation. Carrier added the PAT and Cy Ranch took a 28-21 lead after trailing 21-7 early in the third quarter.

Following the touchdown, Waxahachie began its next possession with 7:37 left at its own 41.

SACK! Jerry Meyer III was sacked by Cy Ranch four-star defensive tackle Amari Vickerson for a 6-yard loss.

INTERCEPTION! Cy Ranch senior linebacker Calvin Thomas high-pointed a pass from Jerry Meyer III and picked it off at the Indians' 45 and returned it to the 39.

BIG PENALTY! Waxahachie came up with a big defensive stop and forced a punt, but the Indians were flagged for roughing the punter, giving the Mustangs a new set of downs at the Indians' 20. A huge play with under 4 minutes remaining.

FIELD GOAL! With 3:12 to go, Mustangs kicker Nathaniel Carrier booted a 33-yard field goal to extend Cypress Ranch's lead to 31-21. The roughing call proved costly for Waxahachie.

Waxahachie's next possession began at its own 25.

At the 2-minute timeout (with 1:57 to go), Waxahachie faced second down at the Cy Ranch 13, trailing 31-21.

FIELD GOAL! With 1:24 left in the game, Waxahachie's Ethan Guillen booted a 26-yard field goal to make it 31-24. Waxahachie maintained all three timeouts with an onside kick coming.

RECOVERED ONSIDE KICK! Waxahachie's Jayquan Snell recovered the onside kick. He returned it for a touchdown but that's not allowed in high school football. Regardless, the Indians still got the ball at the Cy Ranch 44 with all three timeouts.

With 21 seconds remaining, Waxahachie had the ball at Cy Ranch's 13.

TOUCHDOWN! With 10 seconds remaining and facing fourth-and-5, Jerry Meyer III lobbed a pass to sophomore running back Taylen Strange in the middle of the field and he fought through a tackle for a touchdown. Guillen made the PAT to tie it at 31-31. What. A. Game.

Cy Ranch kneeled it to send the game to overtime.

End of regulation: Cypress Ranch 31, Waxahachie 31

Overtime 1

Waxahachie started overtime with the first possession.

TOUCHDOWN! Waxahachie scored on a 1-yard tush push with backup quarterback Nolan Barnard on the Indians' first possession of the overtime. BIG PENALTY! The PAT by Ethan Guillen was no good, but Cy Ranch was flagged for running into the kicker. Guillen made the second attempt to give the Indians a 38-31 lead.

SACK! On third-and-7, a group of Waxahachie defenders sacked Braden Baker to set up fourth-and-long.

On fourth down, Baker's pass was incomplete and Waxahachie pulled off a 10-point comeback in the ginal 1;24 to win in overtime in an instant Texas high school football classic.

FINAL: Waxahachie 38, Cypress Ranch 31

Waxahachie advances to face the winner between Duncanville and Klein Collins in the 6A Division I regional finals.