KILGORE, PG PLAY A THRILLER | Bulldogs honor 2004 title team, then come back to beat Hawks in double OT

That double-overtime finish – especially with the guests that were on hand Friday night at Kilgore’s R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium – it was just meant to be.

Twenty years ago, those Kilgore High School Bulldogs went to double overtime in the UIL Class 4A, Division II state title game, and beat Dallas Lincoln, 33-27, to claim a 16-0 season and that very large state championship trophy.

Fast-forward to 20 years later, and double OT was needed again here Friday night.

Kilgore’s Kayson Brooks threw for three touchdowns and Rayshaun Williams ran for two scores, the second of those in the second OT session, as the Bulldogs roared from behind to beat Pleasant Grove 37-31 on Friday night.

It was homecoming for Kilgore as well as the 20-year anniversary of that ‘04 championship team with players and coaches from that team being recognized on the field during pregame festivities.

The first-ever meeting between Kilgore and Pleasant Grove could easily be remembered as an ‘Instant Classic’ with Kilgore scoring twice in the fourth quarter to force OT and then two more times in overtime to secure its third win of the season.

Coming off a two-point loss a week ago to Gilmer, Kilgore dropped from fifth to eighth in this week’s Dave Campbell Texas Football Class 4A Division I poll. So, Bulldog fans wanted and needed to see a bounce-back performance.

And they got exactly that.

“The biggest thing is that we learned from last week,” said Kilgore coach Clint Fuller. “Facing a very similar situation, we did the things we needed to get the game to overtime.

“The biggest take-away is that our team is resilient, tough and determined to get the job done.”

And they did.

Brooks threw scoring passes of 31- and 8-yards to Lakeyleon Graves, and 9-yards to Javon Towns. Williams stepped up big, adding touchdown runs of 15- and two-yards. His two-yard run in the second OT sealed the victory.

While Eddie Jiminez added a 40-yard field goal.

Pleasant Grove (2-2) came into the matchup allowing its three opponents just 5.3 points per game.

PG quarterback Jarret Halter completed 12-of-20 passes for 297 yards with scoring  tosses of 75- and 57-yards to Spencer Browning, and 25-yards to Kamdyn Harris. Brody Watts would add a 12-yard scoring run to go with a 20-yard Silas Yowell field goal for the Hawks.

Pleasant Grove outgained the Ragin’ Red 383 to 342 in total yardage. Besides leading 14-7 at halftime, the visitors held a 212 to 81 advantage over Kilgore in yardage gained at intermission.

Williams of Kilgore was the leading rusher with 97 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Pleasant Grove’s leading ballcarrier was Nick Bells with 61 yards on 17 carries.

Brooks threw to seven different receivers. Leading the way was Graves (5-100), Javon Towns (4-49), Jayden Sanders (3-47) and Williams (3-11). Isaiah Watters, K’Winn Reese and Brayden Williams also had catches for the Bulldogs.

Pleasant Grove’s Browning led all receivers with six receptions for 183 yards. Kamdyn Harris followed with three for 74 and Landon West had two catches for 31 yards.

Pleasant Grove won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. The Ragin’ Red defense limited the visiting Hawks to five yards, forcing a punt.

Javon Towns returned a 26-yard punt 37 yards, giving the Bulldogs a first down at Pleasant Grove’s 22 yard line. A 13-yard Brooks completion to Graves moved Kilgore to a first down at the nine yard line. Brooks then dialed up Towns for a nine-yard connection for the touchdown with 9:38 remaining in the opening period of play, giving the Bulldogs an early 7-0 lead, after Jiminez converted the first of his four extra points.

Pleasant Grove answered, though, on its third possession of the contest, putting together a two-play march covering 80 yards, with the big play being a Halter completion to Browning, covering 75 yards. Silas Yowell’s PAT knotted the score at 7-all with 2:14 remaining in the first quarter.

Halter and Browning would team up again for the Hawks’ second touchdown, this one a 57-yard completion over Browning’s outside shoulder with 3:04 left in the second period to give PG a 14-7 lead, after Yowell’s second of four extra points in the contest.

Yowell, the junior kicker stretched the Hawks’ advantage to 10, 17-7, with a 20-yard field goal to open the scoring in the second half. A punt snap over Jiminez’s head gave Pleasant Grove a first-and-goal from the Kilgore six yard line. A two-yard run by Buck Anderson into the teeth of the Kilgore defense got the Hawks to the four, but no closer as the Bulldogs’ defense stiffened to force PG coach Josh Gibson to call on Yowell with 9:32 remaining in the third quarter.

Kilgore’s answered with a six play, 48-yard drive which stalled at the Grove’s 23 yard line, setting up Jiminez for his 40-yard field goal with 6:51 left in the third quarter, to cut the deficit from 10 to 7 points (17-10).

The Hawks would respond on their next possession, though, manuevering 70 yards in eight plays with Brody Watts scoring on a 12-yard run. The big plays of the drive were an 11-yard Halter to Browning (again) completion, an eight-yard run by Bells and a 28-yard Halter to West completion to the 12 yard line.

Pleasant Grove led 24-10 with two minutes left in the third quarter.

For the Dogs, it was definitely time to circle the wagons and that’s what they did. The Ragin’ Red defense shutout the Hawks in the fourth quarter and the offense rallied for a couple of touchdowns and extra points to force a 24-24 stalemate at the end of regulation, to force OT.

Trailing 24-10, Kilgore used a couple of runs to set up a 31-yard Brooks to Towns completion to the four yard line. The Bulldogs were flagged for excessive celebration and penalized 15 yards back to the 19.

No problem, though, as Williams carried for four yards to the 15 and then scored his second rushing touchdown of the season and third overall with a 15-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter.

The Jiminez conversion closed the deficit to seven (24-17). The scoring drive covered 46 yards in seven plays.

Pleasant Grove used its passing game, completions of 18 yards to Harris, 20 and 16-yards to Browning, but the play of the game could easily go to Dre Sanders for his recovery to give Kilgore the football at its nine yard line with 9:39 left to play.

 The Bulldogs then put together a 54-yard march that took almost six minutes off the clock before stalling on a fourth-down incompletion at the Pleasant Grove 37 yard line. Four plays later, though, the Kilgore defense, answered the bell, getting heads up performances by David McGowan, Isaiah Watters and Dre’ Sanders, to force a short PG punt of just 22 yards to the Kilgore 41 yard line.

There, Brooks and friends went to work, driving 59 yards in five plays to the tying touchdown, with a two-yard Williams run and completions by Brooks to Jayden Sanders for 23 yards, three- and then 31-yards to Graves for the tying touchdown on a third-and-seven call from the Pleasant Grove 31-yard line. Jiminez’s PAT knotted the score at 24 with just 1:29 left to play.

Pleasant Grove won the toss to begin OT and elected to play defense. Runs of seven, nine and one yard by Williams carried the football to the eight yard line, where Brooks connected with Graves in the end zone to give Kilgore a 31-24 lead.

Halter, the Pleasant Grove quarterback, threw three incompletions and needed 25 yards and a touchdown on fourth down. And, he got it with a completion to Harris. Yowell converted, sending the contest to its second overtime.

PG got the football first in the second OT and Halter completed a couple of short passes to West (three) and Browning (four) and a two-yard run by Bells, who was stopped by Jackson Tucker-Phillips a yard shy of a first down at the 16. On fourth down, Halter went to his standout TE/DE Lance Jackson across the middle, but his pass was incomplete.

Kilgore took the ball, again, at its 25 and kept it on the ground with Williams carrying for 14-, nine- and two-yards for the game-winning touchdown.  

The Bulldogs open 9-4A, Division I play-for-keeps on Friday in Longview against state-ranked Pine Tree, while Pleasant Grove returns home to entertain Sunnyvale before kicking off its district on Friday, Oct. 3.