Monitor Photo/Bodey Cooper
Brock Eagles Reid Watkins breaks through for a nine-yard touchdown in the second quarter as Brock defeats the Malakoff Tigers 21-10 in the State semifinals Dec. 8 at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco.

FRISCO–The Malakoff Tigers’ run to a State championship will have to wait another year as they fell to the Brock Eagles in the State semifinals at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco Dec. 8.
Despite a late surge from the Tigers, the Eagles’ defense proved their worth as they topped Malakoff 21-10.
After winning the opening coin toss, the Tigers deferred and were able to stop the Eagles on their first drive of the game.
Malakoff started on their own 33-yard line in their opening offensive drive. The Tigers worked their way down the field and capped off their drive with a 32-yard field goal courtesy of Juan Gonzalez to give Malakoff a 3-0 lead with 5:52 left. 
The Eagles ended the first quarter with a short one-yard touchdown run to give them their first lead of the night, 7-3. 
On another Brock drive early in the second quarter, Malakoff believed they had an early interception, but the play was ruled incomplete. On the very next play though, the Tigers made up for it with an interception by Chauncey Hogg to give the Tigers possession on their own 32-yard line with 8:54 remaining in the second quarter.
The Eagles’ defense didn’t let the Tigers stay too high for long as they intercepted a Mike Jones’ pass with 7:55 remaining on the Brock 42-yard line. 
Brock made Malakoff pay as they capped off a 5:11 drive with a seven-yard touchdown run by Reid Watkins to give the Eagles a 14-3 lead with 2:44 remaining in the first half. 
Malakoff made a drive late down to the Brock eight-yard line as they attempted a field goal. Brock would block the field goal attempt from the Tigers as the entered halftime trailing 14-3. 
After deferring in the first half, the Tigers began with possession to begin the third quarter. 
Malakoff would go for it on 4th-and-2 but were stopped on their own 44-yard line to give the Eagles the ball after the Tigers turned it over on downs. 
The Eagles would capitalize on that stop as they drove the ball in from the five-yard line to extend their lead to 21-3 with six minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Tigers’ offense finally showed some life as Hogg brought the Malakoff crowd to their feet with a 93-yard punt return for a touchdown with 8:57 remaining in the fourth quarter with the Tigers now trailing 21-10.
Malakoff’s defense got a stop on the next Brock drive as they didn’t allow them past their own 29-yard line. 
Two late penalties, a pass interference call and a roughing-the-passer penalty against the Eagles, extended the Tigers’ drive into Brock territory.
The Eagles ultimately sealed the victory with an interception on a their own 19-yard line in the final five minutes of the game as they defeated the Tigers to head to the State championship.
Brock moves to 11-4 overall this season and will face the Franklin Lions (15-0) at 7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 15 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington for the 3A, Division I State championship. 
Malakoff wraps up the season at 13-2 overall. The Tigers also finish as District, Bi-district, Area, Regional semifinal and Regional final champions, as well as State semifinalists.