SAN ANTONIO — Cuero quarterback Jerry Rossett enjoys throwing the football.

But when the Gobblers turned to their running game in the second half of their Class 4A, Division II regional semifinal game, Rossett had no objections.

“I’ve got to listen to what the coaches say because they know best,” Rossett said. “I give it to Tycen Williams and Zyler Jones, and the linemen will do their job.”

Gallery: Cuero vs. Wimberley football

Cuero wore down Wimberley in the second half and grinded out a 36-26 win Friday at the Alamodome.

The Gobblers improved to 12-1 and advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since their 2018 state championship season.

Cuero will play Navarro, a 29-28 overtime winner against Sinton, to decide the regional champion.

“We thought we were getting them tired, especially when we did those tempo runs,” said Cuero coach Jack Alvarez. “That’s when they did not line up as well. The kids executed the plan well.”

The Gobblers ran 43 plays in the second half to 19 for Wimberley (10-3).

Williams carried 20 times in the final two quarters and gained 139 of his 176 yards. He scored one of his two touchdowns on a 1-yard fourth-down run, after scoring the Gobblers’ first touchdown on a 10-yard run in which he broke five tackle attempts.

“We ran the ball and they couldn’t stop us,” Williams said. “I was determined to keep going. We played really hard and never gave up.”

Cuero led 14-13 at half, but began to assert itself in the final two quarters. The Gobblers put together scoring drives 75, 67 and 75 yards in the second half.

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“We knew it was going to be a battle and a physical game,” Alvarez said. “We get to keep playing. That’s the best thing I can say about this group. It’s a great group of kids.”

Cuero didn’t abandon the pass, as Rossett threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns.

“I have a great coach — Coach (Jake) Willingham — he really teaches me everything well,” Rossett said. “I know everything about the offense. I watch film with him every day and he just teaches me. He’s a great coach and I’m blessed to have him.”

Rossett threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Jones in the second quarter, and gave the Gobblers some breathing room when he hooked up with LeBron Johnson for a 31-yard touchdown on third-and-26 with 5:30 left in the fourth quarter.

“We felt like we could do that whenever we needed to do it,” Alvarez said. “We really were trying to take some time off the clock. We found a way to win in the end and that’s all that really matters.”

Wimberley scored on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Cash McCollum to Ryan Shaw on its opening drive, and added field goals of 33 and 44 yards by Jack Bruner in the first half.

The Texans had touchdown passes of 50 yards from Tyler Ross to Nathan Simpson, and 17 yards from Juan Olmedo, both of which came on busted coverages in the second half.

But the Cuero defense limited Wimberley to 99 yards and two first downs rushing for the game.

“It was a lot like we expected,” said Cuero linebacker Sean Burks, who had a 5-yard touchdown run on his only carry. “We knew they were going to run it with 5 (Moses Wray), we knew they were going to throw the screens and the bubbles, and we were ready.

“We were just reading their stuff,” he continued. “You can’t guess what you’re doing. You’ve got to follow your reads and know what you’re doing and trust in your teammates to get it done.”

Cuero defeated Wimberley 21-3 earlier in the season and knew it would be a challenge to beat the Texans twice. But the Gobblers found a way to make it happen.

“It was slow in the first game and we knew we had to get that done if we wanted to win this game,” Rossett said. “It all started coming together and it’s hard to stop us when everything starts coming together.”

Mike Forman is the sports editor of the Victoria Advocate. Contact him at 361-580-6588 or by email at mforman@vicad.com. Follow him on Twitter at @mikeforman21

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Mike Forman is the sports editor of the Victoria Advocate. He has worked at the Advocate since 1982. He has a bachelor's degree from SMU and a master's degree from UCLA.