Video/Recap: Shiner Bounces Back Against Refugio; Advances To State Semifinal

The high school varsity football programs at Shiner and Refugio know each other well because they've met four times in the postseason and four times as district opponents since the 2014 season. That includes one of the most memorable finishes of the 2019 season, which resulted in a 45-43 Refugio win in the UIL 2A Division I Region IV semifinal, and the teams' latest duel on Friday December 4, 2020 in the UIL 2A Division I Region IV final at San Antonio's Alamodome. Shiner had gone 1-6 against Refugio from 2014 to 2019, but got some revenge in a 24-13 win against the Bobcats to advance to play either Beckville or Timpson in next week's 2020 UIL 2A Division I state semifinal matchup.

"Refugio, they're awesome," said Shiner's Tyler Palmer. "Every year, they're so good. We're not satisfied. We got bigger goals in mind."

The opening quarter was back-and-forth. Shiner struck first on Zane Rhodes' touchdown run with 4:31 left in the period. Almost a minute later at the 3:37 mark of the frame, Refugio responded with Jordan Kelley's long touchdown scamper to tie the score at seven.

Neither team scored on the following two offensive possessions, but Shiner made some noise when it forced a big Refugio fumble at the 9:59 mark of the second quarter after the Bobcats' offense reached the red zone. The Comanches also wrapped up the first half by taking advantage of a very short Refugio punt that gave them the ball in the red zone at the 19-yard line. Tyler Palmer then punched in the go-ahead score with 27 seconds left before halftime to make it a 14-7 game.

After a real time 56-minute first half and the ensuing halftime break, Shiner and Refugio returned to the field at the Alamodome. Shiner continued its upward trend in the second half by making more plays than its opponent. That included a Refugio turnover on downs forced by the Shiner defense at the 9:12 mark of the third quarter.

Then, things started to heat up in the fourth frame. The late surge was launched by a Doug Brooks touchdown that gave Shiner its largest lead of the game at 21-7 at the 9:14 mark and continued with a score by Refugio's Zavien Wills that made it 21-13 contest with 6:46 left. And Connor Winkenwerder's field goal put the game out of reach with 32 seconds left.

"The last touchdown was great, but you gotta give all the credit to the O-Line," said Brooks.

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