But at the same time that senior tandem was delivering a one-two punch to Conroe's solar plexus, the TWHS defense knocked the wind of the Tigers' running attack. Maxie Major and Antonio Kelly had bolted for a combined 183 yards during the first half.
Although Conroe trailed only 13-6 by halftime, Major and Kelly were limited to just 11 yards on 20 carries during the final 24 minutes.
Not only did The Woodlands celebrate its 10th consecutive victory over the Tigers, it assured itself of yet another postseason appearance. Tied atop the league standings with unbeaten and fourth-ranked Lufkin, the Highlanders (6-2, 5-0) will meet the Panthers for the second straight year with the district championship in the balance.
This time, however, the Highlanders must venture in deep East Texas next Friday night and face the Panthers on their home turf.
"The main thing is that we have a shot (at the district title)," said TWHS head coach Mark Schmid. "We're excited about playing Lufkin."
The Highlanders couldn't afford to look ahead as the Tigers (3-5, 0-5) refused to give an inch Saturday night.
After Derek Depasquale kicked the first of his three field goals - from 22 yards - that gave The Woodlands a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter, Conroe grabbed its only lead, thanks to Major and a special teams mistake by the Highlanders.
The Highlanders had tackled the Tigers at their own three-yard-line on the ensuing kickoff. But TWHS was flagged for offsides, and a re-kick put Conroe in play at its 35.
Taking advantage of a blitz by the Highlander defense, Major (18 for 100) popped through a huge gap off left tackle and raced 65 yards for a 6-3 lead with 3:46 remaining in the opening quarter.
Major's backfield mate, Antonio Kelly (14 for 101), also benefited from TWHS' overly aggressive defense. Kyle Drabek's 47-yard punt put the Tigers at their one, but Kelly popped through the heart of the Highlanders' unit for 63 yards to the TWHS 36.
With a first down at the TWHS 11, it appeared Conroe was about to take command. But then there was an illegal procedure penalty, followed by a holding call. The drive ended at the Highlander 24 when Chet Reed's pass to Major in the end zone was broken up by Zach Carpenter.
And just like that, the Highlanders embarked on a 12-play drive, culminated by quarterback Brett Parsons' 5-yard scoring toss to wide receiver Matt Bova with 4:34 left in the second quarter. Depasquale added a 32-yard boot 30 seconds before intermission for a 13-6 Highlander lead.
"That was a big swing for us," said Schmid, referring to the defensive stand in the second quarter. "The touchdown gave us a tremendous boost of confidence."
Meanwhile, Smalls (12 carries for 132 yards) and Burns (16 for 128) picked up the pace left when Montague went to the sideline favoring his left ankle. The New Orleans transfer had compiled almost 500 yards on the ground in the Highlanders' past two games.
"He (Montague) said he felt like he was at 90 percent, but we could tell he was favoring the ankle," Schmid said. "We wanted him ready for next week (against Lufkin)."
While the Tigers' running game was slowed to a crawl in the second half, Burns and Smalls averaged nearly 10 yards a trip in the second half.
On his touchdown run, Smalls broke three tackles while racing in front of the Woodlands' bench en route to the end zone with 6:46 remaining the game.
The Highlander defense was little time establishing its second-half dominance. Pressured by a blitzing Taylor Skaufel, Conroe's Reed was intercepted by cornerback Chris Lake at the TWHS 46.
The interception led to Depasquale's 25-yard field goal at 5:52 of the third quarter.
Eight of Conroe's 11 rushing attempts in the second half were for losses.
"We slowed things down in the second half. We weren't as aggressive; we let the tackles read more and react," Schmid said.
The Tigers never got past the Highlanders' 35-yard line in the second half.