College Station, in its second year of being eligible for the playoffs and coming off two history-making postseason victories, finished at 10-3.

Surging Angleton improved to 8-5 and earned a berth in the state quarterfinal round, where the Wildcats will play next week against the winner of Saturday’s game between A&M Consolidated and Fort Bend Ridge Point.

The Cougars won a share of the District 18-5A championship and rolled to easy playoff wins over Hutto and Houston North Forest, but College Station never led Angleton. The Cougars twice scored to pull even, but each time the Wildcats responded with touchdowns.

“I don’t think we put our best foot forward tonight, which is a shame,” College Station coach Steve Huff said. “We had too many turnovers and missed opportunities, and they eat that clock up. That’s a good football team.”

Sophomore running back Billy Foster put teeth into the Angleton rushing attack. Foster punished the Cougars for 203 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries, helping the Wildcats roll up 342 yards on the ground.

The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder flashed the speed that allowed him to run for 312 yards the previous week against Port Neches-Groves, hurting College Station with a pair of long touchdown runs. The Cougars had made it 14-14 late in the first half, but on the next play Foster sprinted 75 yards to score, finding a gap in the defense on what appeared to be a standard counter play over left tackle.

College Station was still within 24-14 midway through the third quarter, but Angleton got the ball near midfield and Foster produced another one-play drive, going 51 yards to score on a similar play call.

Ravaged by injuries and suspensions while starting 0-2, Angleton has hit its stride during the second half of the season. The Wildcats extended their playoff run despite going into the third round with the worst record among the state’s 5A Division II playoff teams.

“Our kids keep playing with a chip on their shoulder,” Angleton coach Ryan Roark said. “They’re playing like [doubters believe] we’re not supposed to be here and we’re going to prove everybody wrong. That’s kind of mentality I get all week from these guys. We’ve got to prove that we’re for real.”

Angleton’s defensive prowess probably was somewhat surprising. College Station came into the game as 18-5A’s top offensive team, averaging 48 points per game.

The Cougars managed only 271 yards against Angleton, and College Station did not manage a first down in the third quarter. By the time the Cougars notched their initial first down of the second half, Angleton had scored 17 consecutive points to stretch a seven-point halftime lead to 38-14.

“I just don’t think they were used to having somebody come up and stuff the run like we did,” Roark said. “We made them earn everything they got.”

College Station edged within 38-22 with 9:18 remaining when backup quarterback Marquez Perez ran for a 31-yard touchdown and threw to Charlie Glover for the two-point conversion. However, Angleton chewed up more than 5 minutes on its ensuing possession, and the Cougars’ hopes for a miracle comeback died on the Wildcats’ second interception of the game.

The Cougars paid for going three-and-out on their first two possessions of the second half.

“We could not get much going really at any time,” Huff said. “We go three-and-out and you can’t start the half like that. That’s why you defer [after winning the pregame coin toss], to [be in position to] go out and tie the game, and we just didn’t get it done.”

The Cougars forced one of two Angleton punts on the game’s first possession, but couldn’t get their offense going. the Wildcats then used more than half of the first quarter on a 12-play, 56-yard drive that ended on a 3-yard run by Foster.

College Station answered with a touchdown as junior quarterback Reece Easterling converted on a fourth-and-1 keeper and later threw a 10-yard scoring pass to Perez.

After the Wildcats regained the lead, College Station put together an impressive 92-yard drive in 10 plays. Easterling hooked up with Glover on a 20-yard touchdown pass, but seconds later Foster took off on his 75-yard gallop and the Wildcats were on their way.