tick… tick… tick… B O O M | Carthage blows up on Bullard, scores 55 first-half points, wins going away

BULLARD – When Elvis Presley would leave a concert arena, a gentleman would come on the public address system and announce, as the crowd was trying to do the same, that “Elvis has left the building.”

On Thursday night, at Bullard’s Panther Stadium, defending state champion Carthage played the role of Elvis. They came, they performed all the hits, and then they left the building.

Just. Like. That (snaps fingers).

Carthage quarterback Jett Surratt and receiver Junior Henderson connected for three touchdowns, not just in the first half, but in the first QUARTER, and running back K.J. Edwards also scored three touchdowns, as the Bulldogs had a little less conversation and a LOT more action: a 62-7 final in a District 8-4A, Division II game against Bullard that honestly felt a lot more like a workout than a district game.

Surratt didn’t play in the second half, but didn’t miss a single pass in the win.

Carthage, now 8-0 overall and 3-0 in district play, has two regular season games left: at home against Rusk, the final regular season home game, next Friday (Halloween), Oct. 31, and then on the road at Brownsboro on Friday, Nov. 7.

In a quote from “The Twilight Zone: The Movie,” speaking of Halloween, wanna hear something REALLY scary? The combined record of Rusk and Brownsboro: 2-12.

Back to Carthage-Bullard.

Bullard had the strategy of Carthage having the ball first in the contest, and trying – I guess – to slow that offense and set the tone for the game.

Well, the Panthers didn’t slow the offense, but that did set the tone for the game.

Right off the jump, on the very first play from scrimmage from the Bulldogs’ own 35-yard-line, Surratt hit J.D. Edwards for a 21-yard gain to midfield. Then, he hit Edwards again, to the Bullard 29-yard-line. Officials tacked on 15 yards for a personal foul / facemask call on Bullard, and on the very next play, Surratt connected with Henderson for what would be the Bulldogs’ first touchdown of the night, a 14-yarder. With less than a minute off the first-quarter clock, Carthage was up, 7-0.

Carthage’s defense did allow the Panthers a first down, but deep in their own territory, on Bullard’s first possession of the game, but forced a punt.

Taking over at their own 45, the ‘Dawgs again wasted no time, K.J. Edwards, behind the offensive line of Cooper Walters, Vernon Pittman, Jeremiah Jones, Tyler Ortigo, and Carson Carter, went to work – quickly. K.J., the Texas A&M verbal commit, picked up 11 on first down, and then after a quick pass from Surratt to Henderson, Edwards gained 20 more – he makes it look so effortless, even though we know it’s not.

Then, on a first-and-10 from the Bullard 19, Surratt struck, like lightning: a 19-yard pass to Henderson, another touchdown throw. Christian Monreal hit another extra point and with 6:14 left in the opening quarter, the Bulldogs had doubled their lead to 14-0.

A second defensive stop put the ball right back in the hands of K.J. Edwards, and seriously less than two minutes later on the game clock, Edwards was standing in the end zone, a 58-yard run. Edwards got a couple of blocks for an opening at the line and BAM, hit the hole and no one, no one period, was catching him. Monreal’s extra point and a sip of soft drink later, and it was 21-0 Carthage, at the 4:32 mark of the first quarter.

Wait – on the first down play of the next Bullard possession (!!!), Carthage defensive back Tylin Williams – playing with a cast on his hand – picked off Bullard quarterback Micah Skaggs, giving the ball right back to the ‘Dawgs at the Bullard 29.

They’d score in three plays. Surratt hit KJ Edwards for an 11-yard gain, JD Edwards for a 15-yard gain, and then KJ would score on a 3-yard TD run, his second of the contest, to put Carthage in front, 27-0. Monreal’s extra point missed wide, but the Bulldogs were up comfortably, 27-0, with 3:31 left in the first quarter – just a minute and one second after they had scored the last touchdown.

Carthage would get 28 more points in the half. Zay Owens, who had two sacks, had a fumble recovery that gave the ‘Dawgs the ball once again with a minute left in the first quarter, and result in the third touchdown pass from Surratt to Henderson in that quarter, this one from 10 yards out.

When Bullard got the ball back, yet ANOTHER turnover, this time another interception of Skaggs, by Carthage’s Jace Harris. It would put Carthage in business at their own 45. Two plays later: Surratt to JD Edwards for a 38-yard gain, to Bullard’s 5-yard-line. Benny Smith would do the honors from there, a 5-yard touchdown and a 41-0 lead for the ‘Dawgs.

Carthage’s defense kept doing its job, forcing turnovers or punts, and gave the ball back to the ‘Dawgs again midway through the first quarter. KJ Edwards ripped off a 20-yard run to the Bullard 39, then scored two plays later, his third and final touchdown of the night, a 35-yard run with 6:33 left in the half and a 47-0 Carthage advantage.

The final score of the half: a 4-yard touchdown pass – Surratt’s fourth of the night – this one to Cade Ross. It was set up by a 31-yard completion from Surratt to J.D. Edwards.

The 55-0 Carthage halftime lead would be it for the Bulldogs’ starters, for the most part, and left Surratt with this stat line: 14-of-14, by my quick count, for 236 yards and four touchdowns, three to Junior Henderson and one to Cade Ross.

The last score of the game for Carthage was an interception for a touchdown, a pick-six, by Gael Olivera. Teammate Seth Wedgeworth was trying to wrestle Skaggs to the ground at the deep in Bullard territory, and Skaggs, to his credit, wouldn’t go down, but also wouldn’t throw the ball away, and should have. When he finally did, it was Olivera instead of a Bullard receiver that caught it, and he lumbered into the end zone for the Carthage defensive touchdown.

Bullard’s only score of the game came on a 1-yard touchdown run, officially, by Luke Stegall with two minutes left in the game.

Henderson had four catches for 46 yards, and the three scores.

J.D. Edwards had five catches for 124 yards.

Smith scored the 5-yard touchdown and Edwards had three. Edwards had 153 eye-popping rushing yards and the three scores on just six carries – 25 ½ yards a carry.