Paetow has had a goal all year to win a district championship.

The Panthers had never accomplished that in their schools history, and wanted to knock that door down in their third varsity season.

They did just that, as Paetow finished of District 10-5A, Division I play with just one loss by beating Angleton 55-13 on Thursday at Legacy Stadium.

“It’s awesome, it was really just really cool,” said Paetow head coach B.J. Gotte. “I couldn’t have imagined, five years ago that in our third year of varsity we would be district champs. It’s a credit to our kids buying into what we do and our administration and community. It’s a team effort of buying into the vision of what we want. To see our kids get to experience that is really cool.”

For the Paetow seniors, it was a special moment, they had been brought into the Paetow system in eighth grade and they always hoped this day would come.

“It feels so good,” said Paetow senior wide receiver Kole Wilson. “We had been working for this all season and really since we were freshman. We’ve just been working for it and it’s paid off for us.”

Paetow didn’t take long to get on the board. Angleton got the ball first but on their first play from scrimmage threw an interception that Tyler Silves returned to the two-yard-line. On the next play, Damyrion Phillips ran in a two-yard score.

Angleton got within a point as on their next possession, Adrian Ewells threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Pickett, but the extra point was missed.

From there on out, it was all Paetow.

CJ Dumas threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Jason Blue and on the next drive, Phillips took a handoff 54-yards for a score. Wilson then ran in a 41-yard run and then took a slant from Dumas 28 yards for a touchdown on the Panthers next drive as Paetow build a 35-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Phillips ran in another touchdown in the second quarter, this one from 57 yards out and the junior finished with 230 yards in the game on just 17 carries.

The Paetow offensive line continued to dominate as it has done all season, and it’s in no small part to the work of James Bailey, who was the only returning starter this year on offensive line.

“I’ve seen incredible growth from all of the guys up front with me,” Bailey said. “I was the only guy returning from last year and there was a couple backups but that was it. Seeing them work hard throughout practice and push themselves to where we are able to do things like this is just a credit to everyone and how hard they worked.”

Gotte knows how important of a presence Bailey has been up front.

“He’s had terrific leadership by example,” Gotte said. “He is the alpha in that group and those guys have rallied around him. He’s guided them and led them and showed them how to do it. He’s a three-year starter for us now and he’s played just about every position on the line, so he can tell everyone what they need to do. The experience he brings is immeasurable and without his leadership those guys wouldn’t be having the success they’ve had. He’s invaluable and has done a fantastic job.”

Phillips scored once more in the third quarter before Scottie Edman added a final rushing touchdown for Paetow in the fourth.

It was quite the response Paetow after losing to Manvel last week, and Gotte was happy with the way they bounced back.

“I was proud of the way they responded,” Gotte said. “We played a physical, emotional game last week and we ended up on the wrong side of it. It takes a toll and then to turn around and come back on a short week was a tough test, but I was proud of the way our kids responded. We went back to work and they didn’t get down on themselves. We refocused and prepared.”

The Panthers will take on either Galveston Ball or Baytown lee in the bi-district round next Thursday at 6 p.m. at Legacy Stadium.

“We’ve been waiting for this, we’ve really been waiting for it. Last season I feel like we really could have made it deep,” Wilson said. “But things happened, and everything happens for a reason, but we’re all excited to get back to the playoffs.”

Paetow 55, Angleton 13

First quarter

Paetow: Damyrion Phillips 2 run (Anthony Fuentes kick) 11:52

Angleton: Adrian Ewells 40 pass to Jordon Pickett, 9:49

Paetow: CJ Dumas 26 pass to Jason Blue (Fuentes kick) 9:49

Paetow: Phillips 54 run (Fuentes kick) 7:42

Paetow: Kole Wilson 41 run (Fuentes kick) 5:31

Paetow: Dumas 28 pass to Wilson (Fuentes kick) 1:25

Second quarter

Paetow: Phillips 57 run (Fuentes kick) 11:18

Angleton: Elijah Simmons 4 run (Jose Fernandez kick) 9:19

Third quarter

Paetow: Phillips 63 run (Fuentes kick) 0:53

Fourth quarter

Paetow: Scottie Edison 12 run, 8:54

Team stats

Individual Statistics

Rushing -- Paetow: Damyrion Phillips, 17-230-4; Kole Wilso, 1-41-1; Scottie Edison, 6-34-1; Jalyn Richardson, 3-11; CJ Dumas, 2-(-11); Angleton: Elijah Simmons, 12-44-1; Deseahn Thomas, 7-34, Jordan Picket, 1-(-1); Adrian Ewells, 18-(-7)

Passing -- Paetow: CJ Dumas, 8-13-78-2-0; Koby Truehill, 0-2-0-0-0; Angleton: Adrian Ewells, 5-14-81-1-1

Receiving – Paetow: Kole Wilson, 5-52-1; Jason Blue, 2-32; Damyrion Phillips, 1-(-6); Angleton: Jordan Pickett, 2-59-1; Kariyen Boniaby Goins, 2-14; Elijah Simmons, 1-8