High School

Rocked by Rockwall, national No. 6 North Crowley drops first regular-season game since 2021 in stunning comeback

Yellowjackets erase 12-point deficit with 11 minutes remaining to stun Texas No. 1, national No. 6 Panthers to snap long winning streak

Levi Payton

For only the third time since 2022, the North Crowley
For only the third time since 2022, the North Crowley / Cody Thorn

Here's something you don't hear every day or week.

Heck. It's something we haven't heard in years.

Despite leading most of the way in Thursday's game against Rockwall, even by as many as 12 points with 11 minutes to go in the game, the Yellowjackets scored three late touchdowns - including the dagger on a 20-yard pass from Brent Rickert to Ryan Wiley with 22 seconds remaining - and stunned the Panthers 37-35 on the road.

It was the Panthers' first loss of any kind in 19 games, first regular-season loss since 2021 and an absolute eye-opener for a Rockwall program that entered the game with plenty of questions at 1-2 overall. By the time the game ended, many of those questions had seemingly been answered.

Drawing first blood late in the first quarter, Rockwall took a 3-0 lead on a field goal, but the advantage quickly evaporated when G’yrell Smith scored his first touchdown on a 6-yard run to give North Crowley a 7-3 lead. The score remained 7-3 until the final minutes of the first half, when Smith scored his second TD on a 9-yard run to make it 14-3. Rockwall answered in the final minute of the half, scoring to cut the deficit to 14-10 going into the break.

The Yellowjackets weren't going anywhere. Midway through the third quarter, Tarell Johnson scored on a 3-yard run to make it 21-10. North Crowley responded late in the third when Smith scored his third rushing touchdown to extend the lead to 21-16.

Rockwall closed the third quarter scoring gap when Rickert scored to trim the deficit to 21-16 with five minutes remaining.

Leading 21-16 entering the fourth quarter, North Crowley extended its lead to 28-16 with under 11 minutes remaining on a 12-yard touchdown from Smith - his fourth TD of the game - but he Yellowjackets answered just two minutes later when Kaydon Castro raced in on a 25-yard touchdown run, trimming the deficit back to 28-23.

After getting the ball back with under four minutes remaining, Rockwall regained the lead on a 6-yard run by Castro, with Rickert running in a 2-point conversion to make it 31-28.

With just about 2 minutes to go in regulation, the Yellowjackets' comeback hopes seemed on life support when Smith scored his fifth rushing touchdown on a 37-yard run to give North Crowley a 35-31 lead.

But Rockwall refused to go quietly. Rickert orchestrated a late-game surge, connecting with Ryan Wiley on a 20-yard touchdown pass with 22 seconds remaining to secure the 37-35 victory. Rickert finished the night completing 23 of 38 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns.

Rockwall’s Castro finished with 71 rushing yards and three touchdowns, helping fuel the comeback. For North Crowley, in addition to Smith’s 191 rushing yards and five touchdowns, Kiante Ingram contributed 124 yards on 20 carries, giving the Panthers a dominant ground game for much of the contest.

North Crowley fell to 3-1 with the loss, while Rockwall improved to 2-2.

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Levi Payton
LEVI PAYTON

Levi’s sports journalism career began in 2005. A Missouri native, he’s won multiple Press Association awards for feature writing and has served as a writer and editor covering high school sports as well as working beats in professional baseball, NCAA football, basketball, baseball and soccer. If you have a good story, he’d love to tell it.

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