MANSFIELD — A year after making their region tournament debut, the still-youthful Gordon Longhorns are headed to state. And it took an overtime win over two-time defending state champion Graford in the Saturday’s Region III-1A championship game to secure the trip.

The Longhorns, who fell to Graford 61-37 in the region semis last year, rallied from down nine points in the third quarter and eight in the fourth in Saturday’s rematch to force overtime, before pulling away for a 42-34 win over the top-ranked Jackrabbits at Mansfield High School.

The victory improved eighth-ranked Gordon to 21-6 on the year and earned coach Shad Reed’s squad a spot in the state field, along with No. 2 Jayton (36-3), No. 3 Benjamin (23-1) and No. 12 Fayetteville (32-4).