Just 30 seconds into the second half of Friday night's Class 4A Region IV Bi-District contest at the Round Rock I.S.D. Athletic Complex, the Austin McCallum Knights were as good as done.

After being run roughshod over in the first half by the Hawks of Pflugerville Hendrickson, the Knights could hear the fat lady warming up as Hendrickson running back Josh Gaines rumbled 86-yards to pay dirt on the first snap of the third quarter for a 21-7 Hendrickson lead.

But Gaines' touchdown did not bury the Knights and instead it gave them a wake up call. After Gaines' score the Knights defense played lights out football while the offense got a clutch effort from quarterback Lucious Henderson as McCallum rallied back to score 28 unanswered points in a come-from-behind 35-21 victory.

McCallum (9-2) advances to the area round in the Class 4A Division II bracket next week where they will face the winner of Saturday's Lake Travis-Alamo Heights game.

"We never lost hope," said Henderson, who finished 10-of-18 for 117 yards passing and 41 yards rushing with three total touchdowns. "At halftime we just told each other to do what we've been doing all year and keep your heart strong and just go for it."

Go for it they did and Henderson had a lot to do with the Knights rally.

Henderson set the Knights up with great field position on their second drive of the second half with a 24-yard punt return to the Hendrickson 34-yard line after the McCallum defense forced a three-and-out. The drive looked like it was going to stall as the Knights faced a fourth-and-nine at the Hendrickson 33-yard line. But on the pivotal fourth down play Henderson hit Andre Banks, who made a terrific leaping catch, on a skinny post for a 28-yard gain to the five-yard line. Two plays later Henderson took a naked bootleg around the left side of the line for a touchdown to cut the Hawks lead to 21-14 with 3:43 left in the third quarter.

Both teams swapped punts on their next possessions, but as Hendrickson was preparing to punt for the third consecutive time in the second half, the Knights special teams swung the momentum in favor of the District 25-4A champions for good. Senior linebacker Patrick Canul blocked Alex Leatherman's punt and Julio Woolf scooped up the loose ball returning it eight yards to the Hendrickson one-yard line. Two plays later McCallum senior running back Jerald Cooper jumped over a pile of blockers at the line of scrimmage and into the end zone for a touchdown to tie the game.

"That was a big one," said McCallum head coach Pat Honeycutt. "Anytime you can get blocked kick it's really something. It really helped our momentum and we feel like that, as much as anything else, helped us win the football game."

Hendrickson (7-4) looked like they would answer the momentum shift on their next drive as Spencer Otto fired a third down pass deep down the field, allowing Terrell Reese to make a spectacular catch in traffic for a 44-yard gain to the McCallum 32-yard line. The drive however did not bear any fruit as four plays later the usually sure-footed Leatherman narrowly missed a 36-yard field goal. Henderson led the Knights down the field on their ensuing drive, which covered 72 yards in eight plays and was capped off by Henderson's 16-yard go-ahead touchdown run on a quarterback draw to give the Knights a 28-21 lead with 3:59 to play in regulation.

"We felt like we had to get something going and that's how we do it," said Honeycutt. "We put it on him and he did a great job.

A botched kickoff return set Hendrickson up at their own seven yard following Henderson's touchdown and the drive ended on fourth-and-10 at the 15-yard line when Kevin Dickey's pass fell to the turf after he was nailed on a blitz. Cooper put the icing on the victory cake for the Knights by covering 19 yards in two plays on the Knights next drive, the latter being a three-yard touchdown run with 1:40 left.

Cooper finished the game with 70-yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns while Banks hauled in four passes for 63-yards.

Hendrickson, making their first playoff apperance in school history, had a tough time getting anything going offensively after Gaines' touchdown run. Following the scoring sprint, the Hawks saw their final seven drives of the night end with three punts, a blocked punt, a turnover on downs, and an interception. Hendrickson netted 128 yards after their last touchdown, with 66 of those coming on two plays.

"We felt like we didn't execute very well in that first half," Honeycutt said. "Hendrickson had a lot to do with that, they have a good football team. We changed our defense up little bit (in the second half) and I think we played with more intensity.

"It really paid off because our defense made several big plays to help us out."

The Hawks were led offensively by the rushing duo of Gaines and senior J.T. Hosey, who combined for 228 yards and two touchdowns as both players helped spearhead the Hendrickson defense. Playing in his final high school game Terrell Reese had four catches for 78 yards and a touchdown grab late in the first half on a fade route where he showed great body control to get a foot down in bounds to help give Hendrickson a 13-7 lead at halftime.