WACO Liberty Hill smelled an upset until Navasota's record-smashing offense seized the night.

Behind quarterback Shelton Eppler, the Rattlers overcame an early 14-0 deficit to defeat the Panthers 49-26 in a Class 4A Division I state semifinal Friday at McLane Stadium.

Navasota (15-0) will play the winner of the semifinal between Argyle and Graham in the state championship at 4 p.m. Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Liberty Hill (12-3) might have come up short of its goal, but the Panthers had the state's top-ranked team on the ropes for a half. Navasota outscored the Panthers 28-0 in the second half.

"We just couldn't make first downs (in the second half)," Liberty Hill coach Jerry Vance said. "We thought if we could get first downs and keep the clock moving, that gave us our best opportunity."

Eppler, entering the game with 61 touchdown passes, threw scoring passes of 83, 65, 74, 50, 5 and 17 yards. He finished with 456 yards and capped the scoring with a 10-yard run in the fourth quarter

Baylor-bound receiver Tren'Davian Dickson set a national record when he caught his 35th touchdown of the season, a 65-yard play in the third quarter.

"You could see the fight in our team's eyes," Navasota coach Lee Fedora said. "They knew this would be a smash-mouth football game but they made the necessary adjustments at halftime for us to win."

Fedora reminded his players in a post-game huddle that "our job isn't done yet." He told the players he was part of an A&M Consolidated football team that went 14-0 in 1989 before losing in the state championship game.

"To this day, that sticks in my side," Fedora said.

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After early stumble, Navasota crushes Liberty Hill to make 4A state title game