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| WACO - DeSoto had a Legend at quarterback, but running back SaRod Baker was the one who put up legendary numbers here Friday
Baker rushed for more than 200 yards at the half and finished the night with 365 yards and five touchdowns on 22 carries, leading the DeSoto Eagles to a 60-28 win over the Longview Lobos in a Class 6A Division II Area Playoff contest at Waco ISD Stadium. The game was a rematch of a second-round 2024 game that saw Longview roll to a 50-14 win over the Eagles. The Lobos end the season with a 7-5 record. DeSoto moves on with a 9-3 record and will take on either College Park or Cy Lakes next week. Longview simply had no answer for DeSoto's run game on Friday. The Eagles rolled up 533 yards on 40 carries, with Ja'Quaylon Silas adding nine carries for 134 yards and a pair of scores. QB Legend Howell completed 13 of 16 passes for 133 yards and a TD, and Ethan Feaster contributed to a 666-yard offensive outburst with nine catches for 110 yards. The Lobos finished with 162 rushing yards, and QB Johnny Hamilton completed 9 of 18 passes for 159 yards. Hamilton also rushed for 66 yards on 17 carries, scoring twice, and Jaden Hurndon had 79 yards on five catches. The Eagles struck first, taking the opening drive of the game and moving 67 yards in seven plays, capping things off with a 15-yard run by Howell and taking a 7-0 lead with 9:29 left in the opening quarter. Longview got one first down on its initial drive, but was forced to punt and this time the Eagles marched 81 yards in 11 plays. Silas did the scoring honors this time, scoring on a 5-yard run. The try for two failed, but the Lobos trailed 13-0. A 47-yard pass from Hamilton to Sean Davis on Longview's next drive moved the Lobos quickly into scoring position, and four plays later Kaidon Graves snuck out of the backfield and found himself wide open on the left side. Hamilton hit him in stride, and Graves raced to the end zone to get the Lobos on the board on the first play of the second quarter. The PAT by Felipe Ayala made it 13-7, but DeSoto drove 64 yards in seven plays to add to the lead on a 4-yard run by Baker with 9:28 left in the half to push the Eagle lead to 20-7. The Lobos went 64 yards in seven plays to stay in the game. The big play was a 40-yard pass from Hamilton to Hurndon. Jacaidon Davis went 9 yards on a sweep, and after a 13-yard run by Graves moved the ball to the Eagle 1-yard line, Hamilton crashed in from there to make it a 20-14 contest. Baker took over from there, scoring on runs of 59 and 60 yards to send DeSoto in with a comfortable 33-14 halftime lead. Baker had 15 carries for 205 yards and three TDs at the break, and the second half wasn't much better for the Lobos. On the first play of the second half, Baker rambled 67 yards to push the lead to 40-14. A 3-yard TD pass from Howell to Feaster with 1:00 left in the third made it 47-14, but the Lobos got back on the board when Jayden Washington recovered a fumbled punt in the end zone to make it 47-21. Silas put things away with a 79-yard TD run early in the fourth, and Baker finished off his big night with a 45-yard TD sprint at the 8:54 mark. Longview drove 66 yards in six plays for the final score of the night, a 1-yard run by Hamilton with 5:24 remaining. |