Woodville Eagles soar to 3A-2 state title game after comeback win over Tidehaven

WOODVILLE, Texas (KTRE) - The Woodville Eagles are heading to their first 3A Division II state championship in school history after a come-from-behind win over Tidehaven 28-21 in the semi-final round last Thursday.

It was the first time that the Eagles were trailing at halftime in the playoffs this year, taking a 14-7 deficet into half, before coming right back with a 21-point second half to punch their ticket to Arlington.

“I got with my D-B’s and I let them know..,” Senior defensive back Caleb Johnson said. “...I was like ‘Hey, we got to get prepared for this, we got to lock in,’, and we stepped out there and we lit a fire under all of them,”.

Big plays from senior leaders like two-way Tayvion Hunter helped spring the Eagles in the second half.

But big plays from Hunter were not a new sight for anyone watching Woodville play this year, with the senior finding the endzone seven times in the last two games, including a defensive score in their win over Tidehaven.

“He’s just a playmaker,” Head Coach Ty Robinson said. “He makes plays on offense, he makes plays on defense, he’s even made some plays in the kicking game.”

“He’s been a very intergral part of this program for the last four years,”.

And more big plays from guys like Hunter will need to happen for the Eagles to take down the back-to-back defending state title winners in 3A-2, the Gunter Tigers, alongside the tough play that they’ve shown all throughout the year.

“We’re going to play 48 minutes of physical football,”. Robinson said. “We can’t try to change anything. We’ve gotta ride the horse that sprung us here.”

Just, a full game of toughness,” Senior Linebacker Jaythan Traylor said. “We gotta come physical, ready to play. We gotta click together on all cylinders and just fly to the ball as needed,”.

“War,” Johnson said. “We’re gonna walk on that field and we’re gonna fight like everyone else. They want it, we want it, let’s see who wants it a little bit more,”.

“That’s what the matter is, what it comes down to at the end of the day,”.

The Eagles head to Arlington thursday for a chance at their first state title in school history against Gunter. Kick is scheduled for 3 p.m,.