SAN ANTONIO – Just competing in a classic championship contest couldn’t ease the pain of a heart-wrenching loss for Westlake.

Because just competing isn’t winning, first-year Westlake coach Darren Allman said after Trinity emerged with a 41-38 overtime win in the Class 5A Division I title that left approximately 17,000 fans at the Alamodome as witnesses to an unforgettable game.

“I know how much it hurts these kids, but I can’t tell you how proud I am of them in this game and for the whole season,” Allman said. “This is a bitter taste to swallow because you never want to accept defeat, and it won’t go away soon. But we’ll be back here, there’s no doubt in my mind.”

Westlake (13-3) accepted defeat reluctantly, tying the game on a 25-yard pass from Tanner Price to Miles Berger with 17 seconds left in regulation and taking a 38-35 lead in overtime after Cody Rademacher booted a 31-yard field goal.

As they did all game, however, Trinity (14-2) had an answer while winning a third state title in the past five years. Trinity quarterback Willie Hubbard completed a jump-ball pass to Brandon Carter for an 18-yard touchdown on the Trojans’ only possession of overtime to lift his team to the win and end a roller-coaster ride for both teams. Carter leaped high above the shorter Sean Potter, who almost pulled in the interception.

The fact that Carter seemed to bobble the catch while slipping a cleat onto the paint of the end zone only emphasized how tight the game developed.

“It’s special to be a part of a game like this between two great teams, but it hurts,” Chap senior linebacker Bryce Hager said, searching for words to express the bittersweet experience. “We were so close.”

Close only begins the description of a taut title tilt that seemed to belong to Westlake until late in the third quarter. The Chaps, who led 20-14 at halftime, built that advantage to 14 points with a 2-yard run by Van Gramann that capped the opening drive of the third quarter.

Trinity kept plugging away with a relentless ground game that produced 331 yards and tied the game at 28-28 with 6:23 left in the game. After Donte Charleston snagged the second interception of the game by Price, the Trojans marched 45 yards and took a 35-28 lead with 1 minute, 58 seconds left in the game.

On the Westlake sideline, Price and the offensive players strapped on their helmets and prepared to go back to work.

“My senior year and an interception? I wasn’t going to end like that,” Price said. “I was devastated [by that interception], but I wasn’t going to lose my focus.”

The Chaps took over possession at their own 35-yard line, and Price promptly moved Westlake 27 yards with three completions. After a loss and a Trinity sack, Price then found Lewis Guilbeau for a 25-yard gain on third-and-21 with 48 seconds left. Two plays later, he rolled left and fired a dart to Berger, who cut across the front of the end zone for the score.

“They [the Chaps] have responded all year, and this was no different,” Allman said. “That’s what I’m most proud of; they fought back and never lost confidence in each other.”

Price ended the game with 214 yards and two touchdowns on 21-of-33 passing and led Westlake with 97 yards rushing on 20 carries. Collin Shaw paced Westlake’s receivers with 88 yards on eight catches, and Van Gramann added 54 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.

Terrance Tusan led Trinity with 104 yards rushing and three touchdowns while earning offensive Most Valuable Player honors.

Hubbard tossed an interception that was returned 25 yards for a touchdown by Westlake safety James Robison in the first quarter, but he finished the game with 83 yards passing and 67 yards rushing. More importantly, he led an offense that didn’t turn the ball over after Robison’s score.

“It could have gone either way,” Allman said. “And it went their way tonight.”