'Just hitting our stride': QB Coy Stutts' five total touchdowns bull Thorndale to win

It was only fitting that Thorndale quarterback Coy Stutts made the plays that finished off the Bulldogs’ playoff win Thursday.

He had been brilliant the entire game.

Stutts rushed for 204 yards and three touchdowns and threw for 140 yards and two more scores as Thorndale was clutch down the stretch in all aspects during a 41-30 win over Johnson City LBJ in a Class 2A Division I bi-district contest at Hutto High School.

“I just love having the ball in my hands and love getting the ball to our really good skill players,” Stutts said. “Our offense has been working great this year. We’ve been putting up a lot of points, and we’re really just hitting our stride.”

Stutts’ 4-yard TD run late in the fourth quarter gave the Bulldogs a two-possession lead, and after defensive back Jayden Clawson’s interception, Stutts made several key runs to help Thorndale run out the clock.

“The coaches did a really good job of what schemes they put in this week,” Stutts said. “And our offensive line — they’re hogs up front who get to work.”

Stutts probably didn’t have any trouble sleeping Thursday night as he finished with 28 carries and completed 8 of 12 passes.

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It was a performance his teammates appreciated but didn't find surprising.

“Coy is a stud,” said Bulldogs linebacker Luke Merz, who also had five carries down the stretch that helped Thorndale get a few first downs to end the game. “You could come out here and say you’re surprised — but you’re not. You expect that out of him.”

While Stutts put up most of the numbers, it was a solid effort by the Thorndale offense overall.

The offensive line created holes all night, Noah Crabtree added 38 yards and a touchdown rushing as part of a nearly 300-yard ground attack, and Clawson and Stiles Patin hauled in TD passes.

“The beauty of being able to do both (run and pass), is the beauty of being able to do both,” said Thorndale coach John Kovar, coming up with a Yogi Berra-esque statement. “They shut down one thing, and we’ll go ahead and do the other.”

And the Thorndale defense came through when it needed to, producing turnovers on the Eagles’ final two possessions.

“All week long we studied film, and we had answers for their schemes a lot of the times,” Merz said.

Thorndale (9-2), which finished second in District 13-2A Division I, took the game’s opening kickoff and drove 63 yards, with Crabtree crossing the goal line from 4 yards out.

After the Eagles — who took third in District 14-2A Division I — fumbled a punt attempt, the Bulldogs took over at the Johnson City 21-yard line, and Stutts reached the end zone on a 4-yard run three plays later.

Tylor Lorenz, who paced the Eagles with 137 yards rushing, answered on the next possession with a 6-yard TD jaunt, but Thorndale immediately responded on Stutts’ 15-yard scoring strike to Clawson, pushing its lead to 21-7.

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Johnson City (7-4) got a 1-yard touchdown plunge from McCray Jacobs and a 34-yard field goal by Cedrick Wolniewitz late in the second quarter to pull within 21-17 at halftime.

The Eagles took their only lead of the game when they opened the third quarter with Lorenz’s 5-yard TD run, capping a 66-yard drive.

Stutts noted there was no panic for the Bulldogs at that moment.

“We’ve played close games all year, so that’s prepared us,” he said. “We can handle adversity — and we answered.”

Stutts sprinted 37 yards for a touchdown to put the Bulldogs ahead for good, and his 32-yard scoring pass to Patin pushed Thorndale’s advantage to 35-24.

Josh McKennis hauled in a 28-yard TD toss from Jacobs early in the fourth quarter for the Eagles, but they never threatened again.

Thorndale forced a fumble that led to Stutts’ final score, and Clawson’s pick came off a pass thrown from Eagles territory.

The Bulldogs will face Ganado in the area round.

“It’s huge to win in the playoffs,” Merz said before pausing and soaking in the game’s aftermath. “And not only for us, but look around the stadium — it’s big for the community, too. There’s no one left in Thorndale right now, I can promise you that. This is where it’s at right now as football means everything to the town.”

Jacobs finished with 154 yards passing and McKennis had 91 yards receiving for Johnson City.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Thorndale football defeats Johnson City LBJ in playoff opener