FRIENDSWOOD — Friendswood was a pre-season pick to finish sixth in the district standings which would mean they would miss the 2022 playoffs.

Magnolia was a pre-season fifth place pick to finish just ahead of Friendswood, but they, too, would be staying home for the post-season.

With the top four teams in the district ranked among the top 10 teams in the Houston area, Friendswood head coach knows his team must concentrate on one game at a time to climb the playoff ladder.

But Koopmann also faced another challenge before facing Magnolia and that was having to find a replacement for his two top quarterbacks who were both injured. That meant that junior varsity sophomore quarterback Mikey Butler had to step up to the varsity in place of Brook Foster and Matthew Dupuis.

Butler accepted the challenge and came up with a big performance like a veteran.

Of course, he got a lot of help on offense and the Friendswood defense also made big plays to help the Mustangs get the 41-37 district win to keep the playoff hopes alive with a 2-2 league mark and 3-3 overall.

Friendswood led 14-13 after the opening quarter as running back Walker Winters scored the game's first touchdown on a 5-yard run for a 7-0 lead following the PAT by Reagan Rudolph with 7:08 left in the first period.

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SCORING MACHINE - Friendswood sophomore running back Walker Winters (22) scored four touchdowns against Magnolia on runs of 5, 4, and 43 yards while also returning a kickoff for 85 yards and a touchdown to lead the Mustangs to a 41-37 district win.

Winters had nine carries for 62 yards. Friendswood will travel to Fulshear to face the Chargers on Saturday, October 8 at 11:00 a.m. (Photo by Kelechi Amogu)

After Magnolia tied up the game on a 1-yard scoring run while missing the PAT, the Mustangs immediately reclaimed the lead as Winters took the ensuing kickoff 85-yards for a sensational touchdown to give Friendswood a 14-6 lead with 4:34 remaining in the opening quarter.

Magnolia closed the gap with another 1-yard scoring plunge making the score 14-13 following the PAT.

Friendswood continued the back-and-forth contest with a score in the second quarter. With 10:13 left, Jackson Rhodes scored on a 19-yard run. Rudolph tacked on the PAT for a 21-13 advantage.

But Magnolia scored on a 27-yard run and got a 35-yard field goal to close out the first half for a 23-21 lead at intermission.

Magnolia continued the momentum in the first half and scored in the third quarter on a 13-yard pass to make the score 30-21.

The Mustangs got another touchdown from Winters on a 4-yard run to cut the lead to 30-28 with 4:42 left in the third quarter.

Friendswood scored again with 11:29 remaining in the final period as Winters got loose for his fourth score of the game on a 43-yard run. The two-point conversion was no good and Friendswood had a slim 34-30 lead.

The Bulldogs added another score with 6:41 left in the contest for a 37-34 lead on a 4-yard scoring run.

With 3:43 left in the game and ball on the Friendswood five-yard line, Butler stepped up like a veteran, converting a third-and-2 with a 4-yard keeper, then finding Hunter Smyrl with a 15-yard completion that moved the ball out to the 32 with 1:40 remaining.

The Mustangs then went for the big play and found it when Butler connected with Aiden Stokes on a 68-yard touchdown strike.

The extra point gave Friendswood a four-point lead with 1:30 left on the clock.

Magnolia got the ball back with 1;30 left in the game, but the defense came up with a big third down sack and a pass incompletion to get the 41-37 win.

Butler finished his first varsity game hitting 12-of-25 passing for 152 yards and one score.

Rhodes had 19 carries for 98 yards and one score while Winters had nine totes for 62 yards and four TDs.

Stokes had one catch for 68 yards and a touchdown while Crowson had two catches for 34 yards and Koopmann had three grabs for 22 yards.

Friendswood will travel to Fulshear to face the Chargers on Saturday, October 8 at 11:00 a.m.