SANTA FE — The Pearland Dawson Eagles survived a first-half pounding from the Santa Fe Indians on Friday and will head into the playoffs off a big District 24-4A victory.
Quarterback Darian Lazard threw for 241 yards and one touchdown and ran for 43 more yards and two more scores to lead the Eagles to a 28-14 win.
“It’s a big win for us against a very good football team,” Dawson head coach Eric Wells said. “It’s always great to get a win like this heading into the playoffs. The kids responded and played a great game.”
Dawson (4-2 district, 8-2 overall) struggled in the first half against Santa Fe (3-4, 6-4), but shut the Indians down in the final two quarters.
Indian senior running back Joseph Walton ran for 129 yards on 16 carries in the first half with a touchdown to help Santa Fe build a 14-7 lead. But Dawson held Walton in check during the final two quarters, limiting the district’s leading rusher to 50 yards.
Santa Fe had only 105 yards rushing in the second half and didn’t score.
Dawson tied the game at 14 with 3:33 to play in the second quarter on a 5-yard run by Xavier Brown. The Indians had a long return on the ensuing kickoff, but coughed the ball up at midfield where the Eagles took over.
Lazard capped the nine-play, 51-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run with only 25 seconds before halftime for a 21-14 lead.
“That was a big play,” Wells said. “It gave us some momentum right before the half. And scoring first and taking a two-possession lead gave us some room.”
After a scoreless third quarter, Lazard extended the lead with 11:49 to play on a 9-yard run.
Santa Fe had their chances late, but holding calls on a pair of long runs negated scoring chances.
Marcus Vaughn led Dawson receivers with six catches for 99 yards, and teammate Randall Weeks had three receptions for 32 yards with a 10-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.
The Eagles will open the Class 4A Division I playoffs next week.