ARLINGTON, Texas — Under the brightest lights at AT&T Stadium, the Muenster Hornets came up clutch, securing a state championship win over the Shiner Comanches, 36-29, off a last-minute drive.
The win was hard-fought and earned via a game of back-and-forth football.
The Hornets struck first with junior quarterback Casen Carnet running in a two-yard touchdown two minutes into the game. Shiner responded with their own scoring drive, getting to the end zone off a 29-yard pass from Carson Schuette to Jarvis Williams.
In the second, Carney got another rushing TD just seconds into the quarter. But again, the Comanches were able to fire back, tying things up with a 74-yard run to the end zone by Quincy Jones. Carney pulled off the hat trick with his third rushing touchdown just four minutes out from halftime, but again, Shiner pulled off a long run, this time a 44-yard rush from Clayton Fric, to get things tied up going into the break.
Muenster's Nolan Peel got the first score of the second half, running in a two-yard TD for the Hornets, putting them up 28-21. But Shiner was able to make things interesting. With less than a minute left in the third, Carson Schuette ran in a touchdown for the Comanches and followed it up by rushing in the two-point conversion, putting them up 29-28 on Muenster.
The fourth quarter was marked by strong defense by both teams, but with three minutes to go, Muenster punt returner Maverick Bayer came up big, putting the ball on Shiner's 20-yard line.
From there, Muenster battled before Casen Carney made it into the end zone for the fourth time on the night. After a successful two-point conversion with less than a minute left, Muenster was up 36-29.
The Comanches tried to respond, but an interception by Ethan Hinton for the Hornets sealed the win.
Muenster earned their first 2A-D2 state championship in seven years. Their last win came in 2017 when they beat Tenaha to win it all.
To look at scores from all 12 high school football state championship games in Texas click here.
