ARLINGTON, Texas — In the week leading up to his final high school game, reigning 2A Division II State Championship Offensive MVP Casen Carney was battling the demons of doubt.

Carney had compiled over 9,000 yards and 125 touchdowns over his career. But he couldn’t use any of those signature juke moves to evade his thoughts. Coming off what he viewed as the worst game in years in the state semifinal against Gruver, Carney didn’t know if he had what it took to beat Shiner for the second year in a row.

On Thursday afternoon, Carney not only slayed Shiner in a 28-0 win, but also his own fear. The senior ended his illustrious high school career with 162 passing yards and 3 touchdowns, while leading Muenster with 79 yards and a score on the ground.

To the 7,397 fans in attendance, Carney looked like his usual prolific self, the signature hoodie flopping out the back of his jersey as he dove and spun. But there was one moment deep in the second quarter where it felt like his mind was closing in, the pocket collapsing.

With 1:13 left in the third quarter and a comfortable 21-0 lead, Muenster offensive coordinator Josh Wheeler called for a fade ball to wide receiver Garrett Hess. After giving up 147 yards and four touchdowns on the ground to Carney in last year’s title game, Shiner’s defense was overplaying the run. It was like they were a boxer guarding their ribs, only to expose their jaw - and a knockout blow.

But when Carney scanned the defensive formation, he didn’t like what he saw. Shiner had athletes on the perimeter. Carney looked at Wheeler and his father, Muenster head coach Brady Carney.

“I don’t know how I feel about this,” Casen said.

“Don’t worry about it,” Wheeler yelled. “Put it out there where it needs to be.”

Casen lofted the ball high into the air, and Hess came down with his third touchdown catch of the afternoon, tying a Class 2A State Championship record set by Gruver’s Jalin Conyers in 2018.

The pair had practiced for this moment almost their entire lives. Back when Muenster made its first state championship in program history in 2017, Casen and Garrett were part of a water boy crew. They failed miserably in their assigned duties, but they did succeed in sneaking on the field during halftime to toss touchdown passes. 

“I have trust in Garrett,” Casen said. “We’ve been completing touchdown passes since I can remember. So I just throw it up, and he’ll go and catch it.”

Hess finished the afternoon with four catches for 107 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was a two-way standout as well, racking up five tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. For Hess, the performance was a cathartic ending for a trying year. The senior did not practice for the past month, instead playing at half strength in the games. 

“He told me Monday he was feeling better,” Coach Carney said. “I didn’t realize how much better he was feeling until we got out there and started throwing him footballs. To have him back on the field, it was a totally different offense than what we’ve seen the last three weeks, for sure.”

But it was Hess’s defensive contributions that helped Muenster pitch the first shutout in a Class 2A State Championship Game since 2007. Senior defensive tackle Rhett Walterscheid earned Defensive MVP honors with eight tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and a sack. He almost single-handedly blew up Shiner’s one chance to steal momentum after an interception, making two stops in the backfield to put Shiner in a 4th-and-28 scenario.

When the clock hit zero, and Muenster had officially secured the first back-to-back championship run in program history, Casen launched the ball up to the AT&T Stadium roof. He might have thrown it hard enough to shatter the glass ceiling of doubt over his head.

BOX SCORE

Muenster Passing

Muenster Rushing

Muenster Receiving

Muenster Defense

Muenster Fumble Recoveries

Shiner Passing

Shiner Rushing

Shiner Receiving

Shiner Defense