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Allen won’t be denied by Gordon, Euless Trinity this time as Eagles rout Trojans

Friday marked 11 months since Allen was knocked out of the playoffs by Euless Trinity, but even during Thanksgiving week, Allen only had one thing on its mind.

It was Saturday’s rematch with the Trojans.

If there was an indication how bad that loss was for the Eagles last season, they showed it right away.

Allen, under the direction of former college coach Chad Morris, scored 38 points in the first half on its way to a 59-21 shellacking over Trinity during a Class 6A Division 1 regional game on its home turf.

Allen (11-2), which was ranked No. 17 in the final Class 6A state rankings, advances to the state quarterfinals to face No. 3 Southlake Carroll (13-0). Carroll defeated Lewisville, 52-0 on Saturday.

Allen Eagles enter the field for the start of a high school Class 6A Division 1 Regional playoff game at Eagle Stadium in Allen, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. Allen led 38-7 at the half. (Special to the Star-Telegram Bob Booth)
Allen Eagles enter the field for the start of a high school Class 6A Division 1 Regional playoff game at Eagle Stadium in Allen, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. Allen led 38-7 at the half. (Special to the Star-Telegram Bob Booth)

Allen and Carroll will kickoff at 2 p.m. next Saturday at UNT’s Apogee Stadium.

Trinity, No. 14, finishes the year with an 11-2 record.

It took just 64 seconds for Allen to take a 7-0 lead. The Eagles got near midfield in three plays and were gifted with a Trinity personal foul, the first of seven flags called on the Trojans in the first half.

Trinity was flagged 12 times overall for 115 yards.

Two plays later and quarterback Mike Hawkins hit an open Jordyn Tyson on a 36-yard touchdown pass.

The Allen D then showed up holding Trinity on fourth-and-4 on its first drive and then back-to-back incomplete passes on its second drive to get the ball back on downs.

Allen took a 14-0 lead on its third drive with a 56-yard touchdown run from Jaylen Jenkins with 4:22 on the clock. Jenkins finished with 110 yards rushing on 11 carries with two touchdowns.

Trinity finally put a drive together on the ensuing possession. Ollie Gordon, who rushed for over 450 yards in last year’s match with Allen, gained 36 yards to the Allen 39 and three plays later quarterback Cade Barthelemess ran a perfect play-action to throw a 19-yard score to tight end Junior Tuipulotu with 3:05 left in the first. Barthelemess and Tuipulotu connected for a second time to end the third quarter.

Allen responded just a minute later on a 35-yard run from Hawkins to up the Allen lead to 21-7.

Allen scored again on a 4-yard run from Hawkins to make it 28-7 with 7:33 left in the second. On the next play from scrimmage by Trinity, Allen defensive back Sign Shuva picked off a pass and returned it just outside the red zone. It was one of three interceptions and four takeaways by the Eagles defense.

The Eagles extended it to 35-7 three plays later on Jenkins’ 3-yard run midway through the period.

Trinity continued to struggle on offense and even got to the Allen 39 on the next drive, but penalties pushed the Trojans back to a first-and-25, which then resulted in no points.

Allen defensive back Caden Dunlap (13) grabs Trinity quarterback Ollie Gordon (2) during a high school Class 6A Division 1 Regional playoff game at Eagle Stadium in Allen, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. Allen led 38-7 at the half. (Special to the Star-Telegram Bob Booth)
Allen defensive back Caden Dunlap (13) grabs Trinity quarterback Ollie Gordon (2) during a high school Class 6A Division 1 Regional playoff game at Eagle Stadium in Allen, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. Allen led 38-7 at the half. (Special to the Star-Telegram Bob Booth)
Allen wide receiver Jordyn Tyson (4) grabs a touchdown pass in front of Trinity defensive back Alton Davis (14) during a high school Class 6A Division 1 Regional playoff game at Eagle Stadium in Allen, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. Allen led 38-7 at the half. (Special to the Star-Telegram Bob Booth)
Allen wide receiver Jordyn Tyson (4) grabs a touchdown pass in front of Trinity defensive back Alton Davis (14) during a high school Class 6A Division 1 Regional playoff game at Eagle Stadium in Allen, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. Allen led 38-7 at the half. (Special to the Star-Telegram Bob Booth)

Allen took a 38-7 lead into intermission after a 37-yard field goal by Caden Williams.

Trinity’s final score came on a 32-yard run by Gary Maddox in the fourth quarter while Allen scored three more touchdowns in the second half. Backup running back Devyn Turner scored on two runs (4, 2 yards) and backup quarterback Lathan Van Ausdall threw a 4-yard pass to Brennan Harvey.

The Eagles gained 437 yards with 262 on the ground.

Hawkins threw for 171 and rushed for another 71, and accounted for three touchdowns. Turner rushed for 55 yards on 10 carries and Tyson caught five passes for 126 yards.

Trinity, which gave up the second-most points in a playoff game in program history, gained 378 yards with 238 on the ground. Gordon, a 4-star Oklahoma State commit, rushed 27 times for 139 yards and made a 51-yard reception in his final high school game.

The Trojans gave up 61 to DeSoto in a playoff game in 2013. They gave up 59 to Carroll in last year’s quarterfinals. Allen reaches the quarterfinals for the first time since 2018 and eighth time in the past 10 seasons.