Mineola fans had to check the final scores again Saturday morning, just to be sure. In a perfect storm, the one in four chance Mineola would be bumped from the playoffs came true. 

Commerce defeated the Yellowjackets 49-21 Friday night, while in Pottsboro, the Mt. Vernon Tigers upset the Pottsboro Cardinals. When the music stopped, there was no open chair for Mineola. 

District 5-3A finished:

Winnsboro 6-0

Mt. Vernon  4-2

Pottsboro 4-2

Commerce 3-3

Mineola 3-3

Rains 1-5

Bonham 0-6

For the first 16 minutes of the Commerce game, everything was tracking along in typical Mineola fashion. Mineola had scored twice on drives of 52 and 76 yards. 

The first score came on a slashing, 34-yard, quarterback option by Braydon Alley. Commerce answered with a 64-yard drive. 

On Mineola’s next drive, Alley connected with Colton McMahon on a hitch route. McMahon pivoted to the middle of the field after the catch and split the Tiger secondary for a 52-yard touchdown. 

Commerce added a field goal early in the second quarter. With 8:44 to play in the half, Mineola held a 14-9 lead. 

Then, it all changed. The sequence of those eight minutes before the half was a train wreck. 

An interception by Commerce shifted the momentum. The Tigers found the seam between the short and deep coverage in the Mineola secondary and led 16-14.

Following an exchange of punts, the Jackets had to start at their own one-yard line. A fumble gave Commerce the ball at the four. They scored to make it 23-14. 

Following a Mineola punt, Commerce scored with under a minute to play in the half on a deep crossing route that went for a 53-yard touchdown.

In the span of a few minutes, the game went from a closely-played Mineola lead to Commerce up 16.

The expected resurgence of the Jackets in the second half just was not at hand. Commerce scored on their first three possessions of the second half, repeatedly exposing  Mineola’s defensive weaknesses.

When Alley went out of the game after an impact to his lower back, a lot of fight also went out of the Jackets. 

Mineola rallied to score on a 14-play, 70-yard drive in the final quarter, with McMahon ably taking over as quarterback. With a large lead, Commerce was fine with a long time-consuming drive by either side. 

The Yellowjackets finished the season 4-6 overall, and a few plays shy of playoff qualification.