Canadian's Parris Robinson (9), Saul Reyes (7), Colton Cates, leaning over, and Chance Walker react on the field as Goldthwaite celebrates after beating Canadian, 29-25, to win the Class 1A Division I high school football state championship Saturday night in Lubbock.

LUBBOCK - The Canadian Wildcats did a lot of things necessary to win a third straight state championship Saturday evening at Jones AT&T Stadium.

However, they didn't do them quite as often as the Goldthwaite Eagles.

In a game in which a slow offensive first half gave way to a wild third quarter, the Wildcats often looked like a team poised to three-peat. But Goldthwaite came up with a last-ditch stop of Canadian, ending the dreams of a third straight title with a 29-25 victory in the Class 1A Division I state championship game.

Despite being outplayed for a good chunk of the game, the Wildcats (12-2) still had a genuine shot to win, taking over at their own 2-yard line with under three minutes remaining. Canadian moved 55 yards, but quarterback Brandon Robinson was intercepted by Kiefer Wilson to squelch Canadian's last chance and hopes for a third straight title.

"I thought there were going to be plays made at the end of the game which could take it either way, but there were mistakes made at the beginning of the game, too," Canadian coach Kyle Lynch said. "That's the way it is in a championship football game."

The Wildcats, who appeared stuck in the mud offensively, came to life in the third quarter, which featured two Goldthwaite scoring passes of over 60 yards, a blocked punt by the Wildcats, and two scoring runs by Robinson, including a 46-yarder. At the end of the quarter, Goldthwaite led 27-19.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Robinson connected with Jacob Ramirez on a beautiful 63-yard scoring pass to cut it to 27-25, prompting a two-point conversion attempt by the Wildcats to tie it.

After having missed on a fake attempt after Robinson's second score in the third quarter, Robinson dropped back to pass on the two-pointer and was chased out of the pocket. He threw a floater that Goldthwaite linebacker Hunter Melton picked off at the Goldthwaite 12 and ran all the way to the Canadian end zone, giving the Eagles (15-0) the two points and a 29-25 lead.

"We felt like there were some things we could hurt them with on two-pointers but they didn't work out," Lynch said.

Both teams committed three-and-outs offensively, and Goldthwaire appeared primed to put the game away by driving to Canadian's 17, but Austen Covin picked off Tyler Horton (who threw three touchdowns for Goldthwaite) at the 2 to give Canadian one last chance.

The Wildcats still had plenty of confidence they could win it, especially the experienced Robinson.

"Coach told us at halftime to be ready to run the ball and win it at the line of scrimmage so we did that," said Robinson, who ran for a game-high 110 yards on 15 carries. "For a second late in the game, I was thinking we better slow down or we'd leave too much time on the clock."

On fourth-and-3 from his own 9, Robinson hit Ramirez for a 17-yard strike to gave the Wildcats hope. They still appeared in position to win until Wilson intercepted Robinson with 1:23 left.

With a third-and-3 at the 50-yard line, Goldthwaite's James Harden busted loose for an 8-yard gain that effectively clinched the state title for the Eagles.

Goldthwaite's Luis Arredondo's opening kickoff somehow bounced backward and was downed at the Goldthwaite 37-yard line, giving Canadian prime field position. Five plays later, Bo Albin carried it in from 8 yards out to give the Wildcats a 6-0 lead.

But it was a rough road in the first half for Canadian's offense. The Wildcats gained only 74 yards and had only five first downs in the half.

Goldthwaite's offense was productive in the first half, as the Eagles had 233 yards However, they got on the board via the pass, as five plays after an Albin fumble, Horton hit Jonathon Williams for a 34-yard scoring pass to give Goldthwaite a 7-6 lead in the first quarter.

"I thought we did a good job in the first half of driving the ball and running the clock," Goldthwaite coach Gary Proffit said. "It's kind of like a chess match. I think they (the Wildcats) were looking for the run and we just hit that seam on a pass a couple of times."