It was a nail-biter until the end in Wylie East’s bi-district playoff matchup with the Rockwall-Heath Hawks. 

Neither team was able to gain much momentum offensively, but an experienced Heath team prevailed, giving the Raiders a first-round exit by a final score of 23-16. 

Wylie East had the ball inside the Hawks’ 10-yard line with a chance to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, but fumbled, allowing the Hawks to run out the clock and secure the victory.

Heath zeroed in on the Raiders’ two-headed monster of Tristan Lee and Terrell Washington Jr., holding them to just a combined 70 rushing yards. Washington Jr. only caught three passes for 38 yards and no scores. 

Like the Raiders have done all year, the Hawks relied on a heavy ground attack with their duo of Malachi Tuesno and Brittan Snider. While neither reached the endzone, they averaged over five yards per carry and did a great job keeping Heath ahead of the sticks. 

Rockwall-Heath will have a date next week with the DeSoto Eagles, who took care of business in their bi-district game versus Weiss. 

The Raiders finish their historic season with a record of 9-2 and a district championship. It’s the best season record-wise for the program since its last playoff appearance in 2016.

By Seth Dowdle – For the full story, see next week’s issue or subscribe online.