FRISCO — Pilot Point finally made Gunter pay for its lack of execution on Friday night.

It took most of the game to do it, though, as the Bearcats need late touchdown runs by Jarman Johnson and Seth Tilley to secure a 28-14 win in a Class 2A Division I Region II area-round game.

The Bearcats (12-0) will face Godley next Saturday in the Region II final, set for 2:30 p.m. in Saginaw.

After Pilot Point and Gunter combined to score touchdowns on the game’s first three drives, resulting in a 14-7 Pilot Point lead, the scoring came to an abrupt halt until Johnson’s 33-yard touchdown run with 5:07 left in the game.

“I think both teams just did a great job defensively tonight when it really counted,” Pilot Point head coach Blake Feldt said. “Gunter always plays us tough.”

Johnson’s touchdown run came after the Tigers (11-1) failed to covert a fourth-and-2 at the Bearcat 34 with 6:26 left in the fourth quarter.

That failed conversion was the last in a string of mistakes by the Tigers. They were 3-for-6 on fourth down, put the ball on the ground three times — but recovered all three — threw an interception and muffed a punt.

The Bearcats took that final miscue and quickly turned it into a two-score cushion. Johnson, who was bottled up most of the night, cleared 100 yards rushing with the touchdown run.

He may have set the stage for that breakthrough on the drive before with a 37-yard run, his longest of the night.

“That [37-yard run] was a pretty big one,” Feldt said. “Our big guys can really wear on you in the fourth quarter.”

But the game wasn’t over. Gunter played most of the game with backup quarterback Richard Young and finally got its passing game untracked. The Tigers lived off the run most of the game, and that was effective until they got close to the end zone. But in need of two scores, the Tigers moved the ball quickly, thanks in part to back-to-back Pilot Point pass interference penalties, which moved the Tigers to the Bearcat 16.

One play later, Young hit Chad Tucker for a 16-yard touchdown pass with 3:42 left, cutting the lead in half.

Pilot Point recovered the onside kick, thanks to a heads-up play by Justin Chambers. The Bearcats then found the end zone again, with Tilley scoring from 15 yards out with 1:06 left.

Both sides moved the ball methodically. Tilley ran for 164 yards, while Johnson gained 115 yards and scored twice.

For Gunter, Nicky Mixon rushed for 86 yards and Tucker 108.

The Bearcats scored on their first two possessions of the game, using a steady diet of running plays to methodically drive the length of the field. From the start, Tilley moved the ball effectively, as the senior quarterback rushed for 76 first-half yards. His crafty running helped set up both scores.

The Bearcats took a 7-0 lead with 7:54 left in the first quarter on a 9-yard reverse by backup quarterback J.P. Price. It was Price’s seventh carry of the season and his first touchdown.

Gunter answered by driving the length of the field on its first drive, fueled by Mixon and Tucker. They combined for 115 first-half rushing yards, including Mixon’s key fourth-down conversion, a 2-yard run on fourth-and-1 at the Bearcat 4. Two plays later, Tucker dove in from 2 yards out to tie the game at 7.

The Bearcats took advantage of great field position, courtesy of an ineffective pooch kick, and took the lead. As Gunter’s defense focused its energy on limiting Johnson, Tilley took full advantage. Along with his rushing, he completed an 18-yard pass to Price on fourth-and-15 to the Gunter 4. On the next play, Johnson scored on a counter play to give the Bearcats the lead.

The game was played in a steady drizzle for most of the first half, which prompted three fumbles, though none of them were lost. Both teams had gaffes on special teams. Pilot Point ferreted out a fake punt by Gunter, and on the next drive the Bearcats failed to handle the snap on a 40-yard field goal attempt by Ruben Martinez.

Pilot Point 21, Gunter 14

Pilot Point         7          7          0          14        —        28

Gunter  7          0          0          7          —        14

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

PP — J.P. Price 9 run (Ruben Martinez kick), 7:54

G — Chad Tucker 2 run (Dalton Lee kick), 3:05

Second Quarter

PP — Jarman Johnson 4 run (Martinez kick), 9:55

Fourth Quarter

PP — Johnson 33 run (Martinez kick), 5:07

G — Chad Tucker 16 pass from Richard Young (Lee kick), 3:42

PP — Seth Tilley 15 run (Martinez kick), 1:06

            TEAM Statistics

            PP        G

First downs      18        17

Rushing            41-289 43-189

Passing yards    69        87       

Passing 8-15-1 5-17-1

Punts-avg.        4-35.3  2-47

Penalties           9-68     2-20

Fumbles-lost     2-0       3-0

INDIVIDUAL Statistics

RUSHING — PP: Jarman Johnson 16-115, Seth Tilley 22-164, J.P. Price 1-9, Jeremy Jackson 1-3, Justin Chambers 1-(-2). G: Nicky Mixon 16-86, Chad Tucker 25-108, Richard Young 1-0, Price Ferrell 1-(-5).

PASSING — PP: Tilley 8-15-1-69. G: Colton Hinson 0-1-0-0, Richard Young 5-15-1-87, Tucker 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING — PP: Johnson 2-4, Colin Noe 3-34, Tyler McNairy 1-18, Price 1-7, Austin Balderas 1-6. G: A.J. Phillips 3-51, Leo Castorena 1-7, Chad Tucker 1-16, Dalton Lee 1-13.