Matt Schobel has won a lot of football games in his life; as a high school quarterback for Columbus, a tight end at TCU and later in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles.
But none compare to winning the Class 3A Division I State Championship, 48-14, over Malakoff, with his son, Adam, winning Offensive MVP and his nephew, John, taking home Defensive MVP honors.
“It’s easily my favorite victory I’ve ever been a part of at any level,” Schobel said.
Not only because he did it with his family, but because the Columbus family won it for Aleks Medrano, a senior lineman who passed away in early October after a seizure. Initially, Schobel said, the team fought a ‘What’s the point?’ mentality after losing their brother. Then, words from Medrano’s mother became the team’s rallying cry.
“When I went to the hospital to visit with his parents, his mom told me five times, ‘You have to kick ass for Aleks,” Schobel said.
Columbus’s first state championship in school history came over a Malakoff program which carried Texas high school football’s longest winning streak at 31 games - and the Cardinals kicked ass from the opening kick.
Adam, a TCU signee, piloted five first-half touchdown drives. He was nearly perfect, completing 10-of-12 passes in the half for 201 yards and a score as Columbus rolled to a 34-7 lead. That showing earned him MVP honors.
“It was cool, a great honor,” Adam said of the individual award, before quickly flashing the team’s gold medal. “But this was the one I cared about.”
“I thought it should’ve been one of the linemen,” his dad quickly interjected.
Columbus’s offensive line, composed of four sophomores and a freshman center Weston Krpec, kept Schobel relatively clean all night and paved the way for senior running back Grayson Rigdon’s 119 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
Rigdon earned a fourth-consecutive state championship, having won three previously in six-man football with Strawn and Benjamin.
Columbus’s defense was as stifling as the offense was prolific. After surrendering an opening drive touchdown, the coaching staff made adjustments to feature a blitz-heavy gameplan with multiple defensive line stunts. That pressure forced Malakoff senior quarterback into six sacks, three of which came from TCU signee John Schobel.
BOX SCORE
| TM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus | 21 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 48 | |
| Malakoff | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Team | Qtr | Clock | Score | Type | Play | Drive | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COL | 1 | 09:24 | TD | RUSH | G.Rigdon 3 yd rush (PAT KICK by J.Mendoza GOOD) | 5/72/2:36 | 0-7 |
| MAL | 1 | 06:35 | TD | RUSH | J.Hall 4 yd rush (PAT KICK by J.Padron GOOD) | 6/80/2:44 | 7-7 |
| COL | 1 | 02:53 | TD | RUSH | G.Rigdon 2 yd rush (PAT KICK by J.Mendoza GOOD) | 9/68/3:34 | 7-14 |
| COL | 1 | 00:00 | TD | PASS | B.Fisher 32 yd reception thrown by A.Schobel (PAT KICK by J.Mendoza GOOD) | 3/58/0:31 | 7-21 |
| COL | 2 | 06:23 | TD | RUSH | A.Schobel 2 yd rush (PAT KICK by J.Mendoza GOOD) | 7/52/3:30 | 7-28 |
| COL | 2 | 01:18 | TD | RUSH | G.Rigdon 13 yd rush (PAT KICK by J.Mendoza FAILED) | 8/57/2:44 | 7-34 |
| COL | 3 | 04:18 | TD | RUSH | G.Rigdon 2 yd rush (PAT KICK by J.Mendoza GOOD) | 8/50/2:24 | 7-41 |
| COL | 4 | 08:37 | TD | PASS | C.Pitchford 15 yd reception thrown by A.Schobel (PAT KICK by J.Mendoza GOOD) | 10/70/3:56 | 7-48 |
| MAL | 4 | 02:39 | TD | RUSH | J.Tennyson 3 yd rush (PAT KICK by J.Padron GOOD) | 12/75/5:58 | 14-48 |
| STATS | Columbus | Malakoff |
|---|---|---|
| Total Yds | 428 | 239 |
| Pass Yds | 261 | 33 |
| Rush Yds | 167 | 206 |
| Penalties | 4-25 | 7-70 |
| 1st Downs | 22 | 14 |
| 3rd Downs | 4-8 | 3-10 |
| 4th Downs | 3-4 | 1-3 |
| Total Plays | 54 | 50 |
| Avg Yds/Play | 7.9 | 4.8 |
| Avg Yds/Completion | 17.4 | 4.1 |
| Avg Yds/Rush | 5.1 | 5.6 |
| Sack-Adj Rush Yd(Avg) | 187 (6) | 257 (8.3) |
| Red Zone | 6-6 | 2-2 |
| Time of Poss | 21:52 | 26:08 |
| Turnovers (Def Pts Off) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Fumbles-Lost | 0-0 | 2-0 |
| Sacks (Def Yds) | 6 (51) | 2 (20) |
| TFL (Def Yds) | 10 (60) | 5 (26) |
Columbus Passing
| # | PLAYER | C-A | YDS | TD | I | C% | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | SCHOBEL,A | 15-21 | 261 | 2 | 0 | 71 | 207.3 |
Columbus Rushing
| # | PLAYER | ATT | YDS | TD | LNG | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RIGDON,G | 18 | 119 | 4 | 17 | 6.6 |
| 8 | SCHOBEL,A | 11 | 37 | 1 | 20 | 3.4 |
| 25 | SALAZAR,B | 4 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 2.8 |
| 3 RUSHERS | 33 | 167 | 5 | 20 | 5.1 |
Columbus Receiving
| # | PLAYER | NO | YDS | TD | LNG | TGT | YAC | DR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | PITCHFORD,C | 7 | 66 | 1 | 15 | 8 | 20 | 0 |
| 9 | USHER,E | 5 | 106 | 0 | 39 | 7 | 11 | 0 |
| 11 | FISHER,B | 2 | 81 | 1 | 49 | 5 | 16 | 0 |
| 14 | OSBORNE,C | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 RECEIVERS | 15 | 261 | 2 | 49 | 21 | 47 | 0 |
Malakoff Passing
| # | PLAYER | C-A | YDS | TD | I | C% | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | JONES,M | 8-13 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 82.9 |
Malakoff Rushing
| # | PLAYER | ATT | YDS | TD | LNG | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | JONES,M | 17 | 85 | 0 | 45 | 5 |
| 22 | TENNYSON,J | 14 | 55 | 1 | 21 | 3.9 |
| 6 | HALL,J | 4 | 37 | 1 | 16 | 9.3 |
| 24 | STUDLEY,J | 2 | 29 | 0 | 21 | 14.5 |
| 4 RUSHERS | 37 | 206 | 2 | 45 | 5.6 |
Malakoff Receiving
| # | PLAYER | NO | YDS | TD | LNG | TGT | YAC | DR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | POTEETE,P | 3 | 30 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 23 | 0 |
| 24 | STUDLEY,J | 2 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 0 |
| 15 | LOPER,E | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 22 | TENNYSON,J | 1 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | DAVIS,K | 1 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -2 | 1 |
| 5 RECEIVERS | 8 | 33 | 0 | 19 | 12 | 35 | 1 |
Columbus Defense
| # | Player (Starter) | TotTk | Solo | Sack | TFL | Int | BrUp | QBH | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | J.Schobel | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | W.Fitzgerald | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | B.Vinklarek | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | A.Carter | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | E.Capiro | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | E.Usher | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | R.Carruthers | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | C.Osborne | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | B.Hicks | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | B.Tribe | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | J.Schobel | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | C.Neumann | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | T.Wiggs | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | A.Pavlicek | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | A.Glueck | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 65 | 29 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Columbus Fumble Recoveries
| RETURNER | FR | YDS | FF |
|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Malakoff Defense
| # | Player (Starter) | TotTk | Solo | Sack | TFL | Int | BrUp | QBH | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | J.Hall | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | J.Hustead | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | P.Poteete | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | J.Studley | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 68 | D.Norrell | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | E.Loper | 3 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Z.Jones | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | C.Thompson | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | M.Jones | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | M.Elliot | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 | D.Moore | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | D.Johnson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | R.Shorb | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | K.Davis | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 49 | 31 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Malakoff Fumble Recoveries
| RETURNER | FR | YDS | FF |
|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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