Fort Worth Wyatt can’t keep pace with Grapevine’s running game in district showdown

All the Grapevine football team needed to do was to take care of business on Thursday night against Fort Worth Wyatt for a shot at a district title.

The Mustangs scored on five of their six first-half possessions to open a big lead then coasted to a 49-21 win over the Chaparrals in a key District 4-5A Division 2 football game at Scarborough-Handley Field.

With the win for Grapevine (7-1 overall, 5-0 district), No. 5 in the state in Class 5A D2 and No. 5 in the Star-Telegram Class 5A area-rankings, the Mustangs will prepare to host Fort Worth Arlington Heights next week at Mustang-Panther Stadium for all the marbles.

Wyatt (6-2, 3-2) is still very much in the playoff hunt. The Chaparrals have already defeated Fort Worth North Side and still have Colleyville Heritage on the schedule, but look to be in good shape for a playoff berth.

Running back Parker Polk was the workhorse for the Mustangs picking up much of his 109 total yards with runs up the middle. His work allowed backfield mates Rondale Carridine and C.J. Holmes to get loose on long touchdown runs..

Holmes got the scoring started with a 27-yard TD run up the middle after catching the Chaps off guard after Polk carried four of the first five plays for Grapevine. Carridine followed that with touchdown runs of 32 and 22 yards, both on option plays.

“Our offensive line dominated and when people like Rondale get on the edge no one is going to catch him,” said Polk, who carried 22 times on the night. “He’s insanely fast. The line just kept hitting it and I hit it up front and that sparked those plays outside to Rondale.”

Carridine’s second score was quite an adventure.

Wyatt defensive lineman Franklin Holloway got to Grapevine quarterback Evan Baum quickly causing the pitch to be fumbled. But Carridine dribbled the ball a couple of times before picking it up and darting down the sideline for the score that put the Mustangs up 21-0 with 7:23 left in the second quarter.

“In hindsight I probably should have just jumped on that ball,“ said Carridine, who led all rushers with 125 yards on just five carries. “But in my mind I was just thinking pick up the ball and make a play and that’s what I did.”

Polk, who picked up 79 yards on 15 carries in the first half, scored the next three times on runs of 5, 1, and 11 yards. The latter gave Grapevine a 42-7 lead with 9:15 left in the third quarter.

Carridine’s 41-yard TD run with 10:40 left in the game gave Grapevine a 49-13 lead.

“It’s amazing having Parker,” said Carridine, who led the Mustangs rushing attack that amassed 359 yards on 42 totes. “He’s our spark plug. Our plan is to run it up the middle and then execute our option offense, so it’s great having him there.”

Grapevine’s only possession that the Mustangs didn’t score on in the first half was an interception by Wyatt safety Malik Franklin that was returned three yards to midfield. The Chaps were able to move the ball down to the Mustangs’ 16 yard line, but the drive stalled there where Wyatt lost the ball on downs.

Chaparrals’ quarterback Kaid Barrett got Wyatt moving late in the first half. Running back Quest Madkins started the drive with a 31-yard run to the Grapevine 44. Three plays later Barrett hit Jorvorskie Lane, Jr. with a slant across the middle that Lane turned into a 46-yard touchdown, cutting the lead to 28-7 with 2:51 left before the intermission.

Lane’s father played running back at Texas A&M and in the NFL with Miami and Tampa Bay.

Madkins led Wyatt with 90 rushing yards on 18 carries and Lane caught four passes for 67 yards.

Barrett threw for 149 yards completing 14 of 32 passes and rushed for 38 more on nine carries for the Chaparrals. Barrett scored twice in the second half on runs of 18 and 2 yards.

Holmes carried twice for 47 yards and Reid Watkins was nine for 55 yards rushing for the Mustangs.

“We did what we needed to do, especially in the first half,” said Grapevine coach Mike Alexander, whose team had 239 rushing yards in the first half. “We were very efficient and didn’t get behind the chains like we did last week against Southwest. It was good offensively to see us stay on track.

“Defensively we tackled well. It wasn’t anything real flashy, but we took care of business and set ourselves up to get to play for a gold football next week.”