San Antonio Johnson 29, Cibolo Steele 28

November 28, 2025

Gustafson Stadium, San Antonio

The game of the year in the San Antonio area for 2025 didn’t disappoint as the top two teams in the metro area played an absolute classic in front of a sold-out crowd at Gustafson Stadium. The Jaguars rallied from a 28-10 deficit to stun Steele, 29-28, to keep their undefeated season alive.

The two teams spent the first quarter feeling each other out on a cold and windy day as neither team could get much offense going. Things started to heat up in the second quarter as Johnson jumped out to a 7-0 lead on Elvis Estrada’s 58-yard pass to freshman WR Braelyn Allen with 7:10 left. Estrada extended the play by avoiding a ferocious Steele pass rush and hit Allen in stride to put the Jags up by a score on a 3rd-and-25.

Steele captured momentum in the final minute of the first half when sophomore RB Liam Jones scored on a 46-yard touchdown run to tie things up with 58 seconds left in the half. Johnson elected not to play it safe on the next drive and the Jags aggressive nature bit them when Steele recovered a fumble deep in Johnson territory. Steele capitalized on the mistake when Marshall Kenner scored from three-yards out with 15 seconds left to go up 14-7.

Johnson opened the second half with a methodical march down to the Steele four-yard line, but the Knights defense stood tall in the red zone, forcing Johnson to settle for a 21-yard field goal from Ethan Joshua to make the score 14-10 Steele with 3:10 left in the third quarter.

The Knights quickly answered Johnson’s nearly nine-minute march as RB Jonathan Hatton barrelled in from three yards out to give Steele a two-score lead at 21-10 with 10 seconds left in the third quarter.

It appeared Johnson would have an answer on the next drive as Estrada and Allen connected for a long-touchdown pass, but the score was called back for a hold on the Johnson offensive line and the Jaguars were forced to punt. It looked as though Steele put the game away on the next drive as Marshall Kenner scored on a 40-yard run to put the Knights up 28-10 with just under eight minutes left in the game. An insurmountable deficit in the third round of the playoffs right?

Johnson had some other ideas as the Jaguars went into hurry-up mode on the next series and got some rhythm with Aaron Webb-Crawford hauling in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Estrada and the Steele lead was cut to 28-17. The big part of that drive was Johnson was able to take just 1:04 off the clock, so Steele would get the ball back with 6:40 remaining.

After forcing a Steele punt, Johnson got the ball back and again go on the move marching 74-yards in nine plays with Estrada connected with junior WR Bryson Thompson for a 12-yard score and with 2:43 left, Steele’s lead was cut to 28-23 after the two-point try failed. A key play on the drive was Thompson’s miraculous 4th-and-11 catch from Estrada where off a deflection that should have been picked off, he made a hustle play to get the catch. Thompson finished the afternoon with 17 catches for 155 yards and two scores.

Instead of electing to kick it deep as they had just one timeout, plus the two-minute timeout, Johnson elected to go with the onside kick and it was perfectly executed with the Jags coming up with it and all the momentum was now with the navy and sky blue.

With 1:19 left Johnson would stunningly take the lead as Estrada connected with Thompson once again, as Thompson made a sensational grab in the end zone for an eighteen yard touchdown pass to put the Jags up 29-28.

Things would get crazy after that as on the two point PAT, Steele intercepted it and the Knights LB looked like he may run it back for two to put the Knights back up, but Johnson RB Rayshawn Hurt made the hustle play of the year tracking all the way back to tackle the Steele LB at the 22-yard line to save the day for the Jaguars and preserve the precarious 29-28 lead.

Steele would have a chance to go down and win it as the Knights moved close enough to attempt a 48-yard field goal with six seconds left. A delay of game penalty moved it back for a 53-yard try and on the field goal, Johnson’s Ethan Wheelright broke through to block the kick and send the Jaguars to the regional finals with an incredible 29-28 win.