Cedric Ware leads Westbrook past May for school’s first six-man Texas high school football state championship

ARLINGTON, Texas — May and Westbrook traded leads and scores throughout the first half of their six-man Texas high school football state title game bout.

The Tigers and Wildcats scored twice during the final 17 seconds of the second quarter to give Westbrook a narrow 46-44 halftime advantage.

That’s when junior running back/linebacker Cedric Ware took firm control and never relinquished it.

Ware did a little bit of everything offensively and defensively, but made his impact felt most on the ground. The Wildcats’ junior paced his team with four consecutive rushing touchdowns throughout the third quarter.

Ware’s monster second half highlighted a prolific rushing performance that included 304 yards and seven touchdown runs on 25 carries and helped power Westbrook to a 72-66 win over May in the UIL’s Class 1A/Six-Man Division I Football State Championship game Wednesday afternoon at AT&T Stadium.

Westbrook handed the Tigers their first loss of the season, extended a nine-game winning streak and secured the first six-man football state title in school history.

“It was a huge turning point,” Westbrook head coach Homer Matlock said of Ware's third-quarter showing. “It had a bunch of momentum shifts, and we kept preaching to the kids to keep it steady.”

On a day where neither team could maintain its grip on the momentum for long, May and Westbrook exchanged leads 10 times and found themselves locked in five separate ties throughout the game.

The Tigers never led by more than a touchdown and struggled to hold onto even a slight edge after halftime.

May led for just 84 seconds of game time during the 20-minute second half thanks largely to its reliance on big plays to translate into scoring opportunities and Ware.

Six of the Tigers’ nine scoring drives culminated in 20+ yard touchdowns, only one of which occurred after halftime.

Despite being on the wrong end of the time-of-possession battle and unable to generate any takeaways, Westbrook’s defense stepped up during the second half.

After back-to-back-to-back Ware touchdown runs during the late stages of the third quarter that flipped a 60-52 deficit into a 72-60 advantage in 5 minutes and 21 seconds of game time, the Wildcats locked in defensively.

An early fourth-quarter touchdown helped May make it a one-score deficit, and the Tigers were driving again late threatening to take the lead back. But the Wildcats’ defense buckled down while backed up near their own goal line to force a decisive fourth down with 7 seconds left.

The Tigers looked toward the back left corner of the end zone, but they were unable to complete the fourth-down pass that would have tied the game and given May a chance to seal the victory in regulation.

Westbrook’s defense ultimately held May to a 0-for-3 conversion rate on fourth downs.

“Jimmy (Roberts Jr) made a really amazing play to knock that ball down and make that play,” Matlock said.

Ware’s day was merely a microcosm of a relentless rushing attack for the Wildcats, who collectively ran for 11.2 yards per touch and out-rushed the Tigers with fewer carries. 

The junior led the charge with 304 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns and a 9-yard touchdown pass and also racked up a team-high 14 tackles at linebacker to take home both the 1A/Six-Man DI state title game’s Offensive and Defensive MVP awards.

“Cedric, he had an amazing game today," Matlock said. "Our line has started believing in themselves. I can’t give them enough credit.”

“I’m super tired,” Ware said.

Westbrook quarterback Shammah Stark also enjoyed a big game with 175 yards and a pair of passes, while Aiden Sullivan (two catches, 65 yards), Hadley White (two catches, 29 yards) and Colton Waters (one catch, 55 yards) each hauled in a touchdown reception.

May running backs Kaden Halk and Avery Williford combined for eight scores. Halk ran 20 times for 171 yards and three rushing scores in addition to a 48-yard touchdown catch, while Williford racked up 170 yards and a trio of rushing scores as well as an 18-yard touchdown reception.

Tigers’ quarterback Blake Herrell also completed four of nine passes for 146 yards and three touchdowns through the air.

“That’s the hard part,” May head coach Craig Steele said. “These kids worked really hard and made it their mission to get back. They came literally within an inch of doing that, and that’s a hard pill to swallow. I’m super proud of them and their effort.”

The loss dropped May to 14-1 overall and ended the Tigers’ season in the state championship game for the second straight season. May was eliminated from the 1A/Six-Man DI playoffs in the state title game last year by Sterling City 68-22 in a rematch.

The Tigers now own a 27-5 record over the last three seasons, losing four times to eventual six-man state champions.

The victory, meanwhile, vaulted Westbrook to an 11-4 record and extended the team’s nine-game winning streak.

Most importantly, though, the win allows the Wildcats to leave their first title game appearance with a state championship trophy in tow too.

“It’s unbelievable what it does for our community,” Matlock said. “We had a vision, and it's huge for our school.