Staff report
LITTLE ELM — The Callisburg Wildcats scored a touchdown with 40 seconds remaining to pull out a 24-21 win over the Melissa Cardinals Saturday night in a Class 2A Division II area playoff in Little Elm.
Melissa (9-3) had scored a touchdown on a 19-yard pass from Wes McQueen to Brandon Hunter with 2:32 remaining to take a 21-17 lead, but the Wildcats went on an eight play, 74-yard drive that ended with a 7-yard TD run by quarterback Bobby Dorman in the final minute.
The winning touchdown drive featured three big passes including two to Cole Wescoat and a 29-yard completion to Kevin Bartley on third-and-13.
Callisburg (10-2) got on the scoreboard first in the game as Dorman scored on a 4-yard run to make it 7-0 with 3:22 remaining in the opening quarter. The drive included a 13-yard run by Langston Jones and runs of 17 and 18 yards by Dorman.
Melissa came right back and tied the game on a 2-yard run by Nick Palmer with 35 seconds left in the first quarter. The drive included a 34-yard completion from McQueen to Brodie Russell.
The Cardinals went up 14-7 in the second quarter on a 1-yard plunge by Palmer on fourth-and-goal, but the Wildcats managed to score more points before halftime.
The Cats used up the final 5:34 of the half, moving the ball from their own 24 to the Melissa 13 before settling for a 30-yard field goal by Dorman with 1 seconds remaining to go into halftime down 14-10.
After a scoreless third quarter, Callisburg regained the lead midway through the fourth quarter. Dorman intercepted a McQueen pass to set up the Wildcats at their own 49-yard line. Dorman then hit Bartley on a 20-yard completion and Jones had runs of 14 and 10 yards to move the ball to the 1-yard line. From there, Dorman kept over the left side to put the Wildcats ahead 17-14.
The Cardinals had another answer. McQueen hit Nathan Warren for a 62-yard completion to set up the 19-yard TD strike to Hunter that made it 21-17 with 2:32 remaining, which proved to be plenty of time for Dorman to lead his team down the field for the winning score.
Callisburg finished with 203 yards rushing and 117 passing. Dorman rushed 27 times for 135 yards, while Jones had 13 carries for 68 yards. Through the air, Dorman was 11 of 19 for 117 yards. Bartley caught nine passes for 95 yards.
Callisburg will now take on Caddo Mills (10-2) in the regional semifinals Friday at 7:30 p.m., at C.H. Collins Athletic Complex in Denton
