Texas high school Frisco Wakeland pulled off a victory over Frisco Lone Star in stunning fashion on Thursday night. A 99-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Austin Wilson sealed a 65-59 overtime victory in incredible fashion. The high-scoring game was settled by an extremely dramatic turn of events at the goal line as Frisco Lone Star was driving to potentially win the game for themselves.
On a third down play from Frisco Wakeland's nine-yard line, Lone Star quarterback Karece Hoyt went up the middle on a quarterback keeper and then kept his feet driving to try and push his way towards the goal line. But in the process, Hoyt fumbled at the one-yard line and the ball was recovered by Wakeland defensive end Austin Wilson, who ran it back 99 yards for the winning touchdown and give Lone Star its first loss of the season.
You won’t see a more crazy finish to a football game…
— Pat Doney (@PatDoneyNBC5) October 25, 2024
Frisco Wakeland with a 99-yard fumble return in overtime to win…#txhsfb pic.twitter.com/AvAvT5FFdq
The victory came after Wakeland had blown a 56-42 lead with 8:52 to play in regulation only for Lone Star to take a 59-56 lead with 40 seconds left, forcing Wakeland to have to scramble to put together a field goal drive to force overtime. Wakeland's efforts to win the game on offense had been frustrated when they were stopped at the one-yard line on fourth and goal, but Lone Star -- despite only needing a field goal to win -- would inexplicably run one more play on the fateful third and 6 that decided the game.
"The mantra around here is just to believe, and that was really the message all week, especially playing a team that is as good as Lone Star and in a rivalry game like that," Wakeland coach Chandler Isom said in a report by the Dallas Morning News. "We were telling our kids all week, 'You've got to believe, you've got to believe, and it's not over until it's over.' That was proof last night."
The decisive defensive play by Wilson came despite what had been a shootout between the two offenses, who had combined for 1,133 total yards, including 775 through the air. For Lone Star, ranked No. 2 in the state, it was the program's first district loss since losing 38-10 to Wakeland in 2022.
