ON TO ROUND TWO (NOT a surprise): Carthage de-claws Ford’s Panthers, will meet Glen Rose in area round
LINDALE – It’s been about 20 years since Scott Surratt accepted the position as head football coach and athletic director at Carthage High School.
Has there ever been a better 20-year tenure in Texas high school history? Heck, has there ever been a better 20-year tenure in high school history, period?
All these years and 11 titles later, the Bulldogs are still going strong. And Quinlan Ford was the latest to find that out.
Carthage rolled into Lindale, rolled all over Ford, and rolled out with a 56-15 win, the kind that just might propel the ‘Dawgs to a third straight UIL Class 4A, Division II state championship.
Carthage (9-1) already knows its next destination, and its area, or second, round opponent: that’d be Glen Rose (8-3), who defeated Ponder Thursday night, 21-14.
Our own Joe Hale tells us that Carthage and Glen Rose will meet on Thursday in Forney.
Thursday night in Lindale, Carthage just did what Carthage does. And it’s fun to watch.
Ford’s first possession stalled out at its own 39-yard-line.
Carthage receiver / kick returner / defensive back JD Edwards stood ready to return the punt, but let it bounce, a 41-yard punt that resulted in Carthage starting at its own 20.
Quarterback Jacob Dixon connected with Jace Harris for a 35-yard gain on the ‘Dawgs’ first play from scrimmage, all the way to Ford’s 45.
Edwards got nothing on a misdirection running play just after the big play. Jaden Jeffress made a catch on second down for about 11 yards, and another set of downs.
Harris gained 5 on a first down run, and then Dixon and Harris hooked up again, this time for only about 3.
On third and 5 at Ford’s 29, Harris got the pitch and tried to break to his left. Ford defenders were on him and threw him out of bounds, but not before he gained the yards needed for the first down.
In their efforts to tackle Harris, Ford was penalized for a facemask, giving the Bulldogs a first-and-goal at the Ford 5-yard-line. Carthage scored on the very next play, a fade pass from Dixon to Bryston Price.
Carthage, with 5:38 left in the first quarter, had taken a 7-0 lead. They never looked back.
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Ford began its second possession right where the first one was stalled, at their own 40. They lost 2 yards on a first-down run, and gained nothing on second down.
Carthage was flagged for a penalty on the punt, just a 5-yard running into the kicker. A 46-yard punt left Carthage at its own 16 for its second possession of the game.
Harris reeled off an 18-yard run on first down, for a new first down.
Carthage would score on a 2-yard run by Shawn Bundy, with 29 seconds left in the first quarter. Jesus Lopez hit his second extra point of the game and gave the ‘Dawgs a 14-0 lead.
Ford’s second possession was their best of the night thus far. But the Panthers kept shooting themselves in the foot with penalties – six before the 10-minute mark of the second quarter.
The Panthers’ throw into the end zone was incomplete on third down, and they lined up to kick a field goal, a 50-yarder. David Sanchez hit it, putting Ford on the board with three points (14-3 Carthage).
Carthage started possession number three of the game at its own 40. Dixon and Edwards couldn’t hook up on first down – Edwards running downfield, covered, but Dixon’s pass was off Edwards’ hands.
Carthage No. 3 kept their drive alive with a good run, down to Ford’s 33-yard-line.
Dixon would find a wide-open Jeffress for the 33-yard touchdown pass. Carthage, with Lopez’s extra point, had claimed a 21-3 lead.
Carthage had pinned Ford back to its own 17 after a mistake on the kickoff after the score. But the Bulldogs were flagged for illegal formation, had to re-kick, and the Panthers picked up 13 yards on the re-kick.
Ford’s next possession ended with an interception by Edwards, who brought it all the way back to the Panthers’ 18-yard-line. It was Edwards’ fifth pick of the year.
Dixon’s first down pass inside the 5 was ruled incomplete, to Edwards. And the possession would end that way: Carthage went for a fourth down conversion at the Ford 16, but Dixon’s pass into the end zone wasn’t caught. Ford took over at the 16.
The Bulldogs were called for a facemask, allowing Ford a first down at its own 34 (on a 3-yard run). Ford kept the ball on the ground, steadily moving to midfield.
On third down, though, Carthage’s defensive front threw the Ford runner for a 4-yard loss.
Ford would punt, a 55-yarder that placed the Bulldogs back against their own goal line.
But Dixon and Price connected for a pass to midfield, getting Carthage out of jeopardy immediately.
The drive would end like most Carthage fans would expect: Dixon to Edwards on a long, 44-yard touchdown pass with right at a minute left in the first half.
Ford would get onto the scoreboard again before the half, a 55-yard touchdown pass to No. 7. The extra point was missed, leaving Carthage up 28-9.
Before the half, Dixon would find Harris again, a 45-yard TD pass with five seconds left in the half. Carthage went into the locker room with a 35-9 edge.
Bundy was back in a big way on the very first play from scrimmage of the second half: a 75-yard touchdown run that, combined with Lopez’s sixth extra point of the night gave Carthage a 42-9 advantage with almost all of the third quarter to play.
The Bulldogs would score twice more, the final one a 19-yard pass from Dixon to Edwards at the end of the third.