North Crowley dumps Westlake 50-21 to claim 6A Division I football title

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Westlake ran into a buzzsaw called North Crowley in the UIL 6A Division I football championship Saturday at AT&T Stadium.

The Panthers racked up 640 yards of offense, 341 on the ground, to steamroll the Chaparrals 50-21 for the program's second state title.

Cornelius Warren III had a monster game running the ball for the Panthers. He racked up 217 yards on 23 carries, a 9.4 yards per carry average, with one of North Crowley's three rushing scores. Warren's touchdown was explosive, a 75-yard dash to give the Panthers a 43-14 lead with 5:33 left in the third quarter.

North Crowley quarterback Chris Jimerson was equally impressive, throwing for four touchdowns with 299 yards on 14 of 23 passing. Three of Jimerson's scores went to Quentin Gibson who ended with 181 yards on seven catches. Jimerson connected with Gibson for a 75-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the game and again for 44 yards in the second quarter. The third score came in garbage time, a 20-yard pass with 1:35 left in the game to account for the final score. Jimerson also scored on a 44-yard run in the second quarter, ending the game with 63 rushing yards on seven attempts.

The Panthers averaged nearly 10 yards per play, 21.4 yards per pass completion, and converted 12 of 15 third downs. North Crowley didn't play the cleanest game, committing 11 penalties for 108 yards. Four of the penalties were for 15 yards including an unsportsmanlike conduct flag with 0:03 left.

Westlake tied the game with a 2-yard run by Grady Bartlett with 9:52 left in the first quarter, but then North Crowley went berzerk. The Panthers scored four touchdowns to take a commanding 35-7 lead before the Chaps could score again.

Westlake quarterback Rees Wise scored twice on the ground, rushing for 103 yards on 17 carries. He threw for 155 yards on 10 of 23 passing. Bartlett gained 70 yards on 10 carries. Westlake had 342 yards of total offense and averaged 6.1 yards per play.

The Chaps ended their season 14-2, losing to Humble Atascocita and North Crowley. The Panthers were a perfect 16-0, notching wins over 2023 6A-DII champion DeSoto during non-district play and 2023 6A-DI champs Duncanville in the state semifinals.