HS football playoffs: Cypress Christian rally falls short

Jonathan Mason of Cypress Christian

Down 29-3 in the fourth quarter, Cypress Christian staged a late rally but fell short, losing 29-23 to Dallas Lutheran in the second round of the TAPPS playoffs.

The Warriors fell behind early, trailing 16-3 at halftime due to the production of Dallas Lutheran running back Grant Klembara (17 carries, 138 yards). He scored on a 24-yard touchdown run and on a 31-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Ben Hartley, alternately running and receiving both two point conversions for the Lions (9-3).

Austin Barton added a second quarter field goal for Cypress Christian (8-4).

Hartley ran for two more scores in the third quarter before the Warriors started their comeback.

Senior quarterback Jonathan Mason (16 of 33, 181 yards, 2 TDS/1 INT) hit Ben Mitchell with a 16-yard touchdown pass with 11:09 remaining in the game to cut the lead to 29-10. Mason hit Andrew Galloway with a 19-yard scoring strike to make it 29-16 (a two-point conversion failed), then Mason ripped off a 43-yard touchdown run to make it 29-23 with 2:33 remaining.

Mason ran 13 times for 109 yards and Jason Groll 20 times for 73 yards to lead Cypress Christian.