HOUSTON – Manvel's high-powered offense came up just short against Highland Park as the Mavericks missed a chance to win its first-ever state football title after a 53-49 loss Friday night at AT&T Stadium.
The Mavericks final drive ended at the 1-yard line, with a completion from Kason Martin to Jalen Preston, who caught the pass in traffic at the 2-yard line and couldn't force his way into the endzone.
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The lone loss of the season for Manvel came on a night where they took the lead late in the first quarter on a 69-yard touchdown pass to Preston and would not relinquish their advantage until 34 seconds remained in the game.
Highland Park quarterback John-Stephen Jones found Cade Saustad for a 16-yard touchdown pass, which completed their comeback from 10 points down with less than three minutes remaining.
Jones finished with 564 yards passing and four touchdowns, Martin had 483 yards on just 16 completions and five touchdown passes.
Manvel had five touchdowns in the game of over 62 yards in the game, including a 95-touchdown reception from Preston and a 97-yard kickoff return from Kam Scott.