Yes, it was a bit too close, but the 19-3A champion La Vega Pirates already had a playoff spot sewn up before kicking off its regular-season finale at China Spring Nov. 4 and held off the Cougars, 28-24.

As before, the Modocs made a few mistakes and let the opponent stay close but had just enough offensive firepower and tough defense to chalk up the win. After a bad snap on a punt, CS started its first series at the LV 13 and scored five plays later for a quick 7-0 lead and kept the visitors out of the end zone on their second possession before adding a field goal at the end of the first quarter.

LV answered early in the second quarter when it drove to the Cougar 27, and Randy Gober went all the way for a score, followed by Brian Gonzalez's kick; after the Pirates held on defense, he gave the Pirates a 14-10 halftime lead later on with a three-yard rushing touchdown.

In the second half, China Spring looked ready for a big upset with two TDs in the third quarter, but the Modoc machine slowly cranked back into gear with a long drive capped by Javon Arnett's four-yard score and another Gonzalez conversion. LV took the lead for good by forcing a fumble in Cougar territory and letting Arnett take it in from the 35-yard line four plays later, but it wasn't over yet.

Like earlier home games vs. Lorena and Robinson, CS made it more than interesting by mounting a final drive inside LV territory with a first down at the 18, but three incomplete passes and a sack on the final play sealed the deal and a 5-0 district mark for the Modocs.

Arnett finished with 136 yards on 17 carries, while quarterback Marcus Evans had 100 on 12 and Gober 81 on 19. Evans also completed all three passes for 60 yards, while the offense added out 309 rushing yards for a total of 369 to the Cougars' 201.

LV opened the playoffs with a bi-district matchup Nov. 11 vs. 7-3 Palestine in Ennis and opened up a 21-0 lead by halftime behind a 30-yard fourth-down scoring pass from Evans to Mitchell and another fourth-down completion to Xavier McGowan before a TD strike to Trey Ridge from 17 yards out, and a long drive ending in a Javon Arnett jaunt into the end zone from seven yards out.

Palestine didn't go down easily, scoring twice in the third quarter to cut the deficity to 21-14 before Arnett took over again, accounting for most of the Pirates' yardage on their next drive early in the fourth quarter and hitting paydirt again, along with one score from Gober, followed by Gonzalez's fifth extra-point kick. Those offset a final TD from the Wildcats for the final 35-20 margin.

Stat leaders against Palestine were Arnett's 132 yards on 18 carries, Evans's 78 yards on four of six passes as the team rolled up 359 total yards to 238 for the Wildcats.

The 11-0 Modocs faced off against fellow unbeaten Tyler Chapel Hill in Huntsville Nov. 18 for the second round of the playoffs and went down to the wire before dropping a thriller, 27-20, after a point-blank opportunity slipped away with less than two minutes left in the last stanza. Gober was stopped on fourth down inside the one-yard line, and most throught the game was headed for overtime, but the Bulldogs had other ideas.

Hoping to get the ball back for one more scoring chance, LV called timeouts after two CH short gains, but a Bulldog back broke through the stacked Pirate D for a 93-yard TD run and send the Tyler squad into the third round of the playoffs at Waco's Floyd Casey Stadium vs. once-beaten Navasota Nov. 25.

After the Bulldogs scored first in the initial quarter, Arnett tied things up on a seven-yard run in the second quarter before the Modocs took their only lead on a two-yard Evans pass to Gerald Horne III on fourth down. Chapel Hill came right back for the tying score with barely a minute before halftime.

The Bulldogs took the lead midway through the third quarter but missed the conversion and lost a fumble to Trey Ridge on their own eight-yard line on the next drive; LV wasted little time capitalizing as Gibson rolled into the end zone on the next play, but the Pirate kick failed too, leaving the score knotted at 20 for the final drama.

According to the "Waco Tribune-Herald," Arnett ranks third locally in kickoff returns with 302 yards on 14 returns and eighteenth in rushing with 801 yards, behind Gober (seventh with 1134 yards) and ahead of Evans, who has 767 yards on 132 carries. Evans has completed 55 of 87 passes for 786 yards and six TDs with three interceptions, and Mitchell has hauled in 14 passes for 318 yards and four scores, while Tyler Baker has caught 12 for 224 yards and one TD.

On defense, Brandon Cheezum is third with six interceptions for 132 return yards and two touchdowns, while Deaudric Corrie has three for 60 yards, and Jimmie Gamble is fourth in tackles with 123 with four fumble recoveries. Michael Drummond has 92, Jay Dixon (with two sacks and a fumble recovery) and Ridge 73 (two recoveries), and Davion Talbert 66 with three recoveries.