FRIDAY NIGHT FLYOVER | …of games going on throughout the ETBlitz.com area
EDITOR’S NOTE: ETBlitz.com editor / publisher Mitch Lucas was monitoring games throughout the ETBlitz.com coverage area, and typed this up live as it happened on Friday night, watching the Henderson-Chapel Hill game, the Tatum-White Oak game and the Overton-Mount Enterprise game. Here’s the way it happened, unedited.
- In Mount Enterprise, the Wildcats lead Overton, 16-0, with eight seconds left in the first quarter in this battle for second place in District 11-2A, Division II. Mount Enterprise scored on their opening drive, then got the ball back on an interception and have just scored again, getting the two-point conversion after both touchdowns.
- Oh man… Mount Enterprise went for an onside kick and got it. They’ve got it at the Overton 49-yard-line.
- In Tatum, the Eagles, hosting White Oak in a District 8-3A, Division I game, have a goal-to-go situation in the first half.
- White Oak has forced Tatum into a fourth-down situation inside the White Oak 5. It’s fourth-and-1.
- Cayden Tatum just scored for Tatum, and the Eagles are up now 21-0 with 10 minutes left in the first half.
- Wow, now Tatum just kicked an onside kick, and got it. What is in the air tonight?
- Back to Mount Enterprise. Keegan Ash just scored on a 32-yard touchdown run, and the darn two-point conversion is good. Overton is in trouble. The Mustangs, with 7:40 left in the half, trail Mount Enterprise, 24-0.
- In Henderson, quarterback Vince Howard just ran for a 24-yard touchdown — he faked the handoff to Jesstin Starling and the whole Chapel Hill defense bit on the fake. Howard ran to his left untouched for the score. And it’s 7-0 Henderson, with 10:21 left in the first half. They kicked off at 7:30.
- Volume on the Tatum-White Oak broadcast is so low, that I can just barely hear it. But the Eagles have scored again, and are up on White Oak, 28-0, with time rapidly running out in the first half. I’d love to tell you who scored; I couldn’t make out the call.
- Bryce Still and the Overton Mustangs have scored, and added a two-point conversion, courtesy of Still running that one in. Overton trails 24-8.
- At Henderson, Chapel Hill — playing handicapped without starting quarterback Demetrius Brisbon and also without injured running back Rickey Stewart — just got a big run on an end-around by Trevor Brooks, and they’re at their own 41. Chapel Hill, remember, trails 7-0.
- Overton tries to snooker Mount Enterprise into an onside kick, but no dice: Mount Enterprise recovers near midfield.
- Mount Enterprise just got called for an unsportsmanlike penalty, but it was after yet another touchdown; broadcast is plain, but the video is lagging a bit. The Wildcats’ Ash just added the two-point conversion, and lead Overton by the odd score of 32-8 with 4:50 left in the half.
- Henderson just took its second time out of the half with 6:17 left in the first quarter; they’re leading Chapel Hill, 7-0.
- Tatum just scored again — you know, for Tatum — and the Eagles, with 4:26 left in the half, lead White Oak, 28-0.
- Still just connected with Jayden Edwards for a touchdown pass, and then with Jacob Osburn on the two-point conversion. Overton, in a game where defenses have taken the night off so far, trails 32-16 in Mount Enterprise.
- Henderson is at midfield with a fourth down, and is punting to Chapel Hill.
- He gets a good roll, all the way down to the 17-yard-line, and CHHS will take over with 3:58 left in the first quarter, the Bulldogs’ second possession of the night, down 7-0.
- Chapel Hill just really finding it hard to move the football, and no real surprise on that: Brisbon and Stewart are two huge reasons the Bulldogs have had so much success the last three seasons, and now both, as seniors, aren’t in the lineup.
- And as I just wrote that, Blake Brown just caught a pass and took it the distance, 82 yards, for a Chapel Hill touchdown. The extra point, with 2:40 left in the first quarter, is good, and Chapel Hill has tied it at 7-all.
- White Oak just went for it on fourth down at the Tatum 46-yard-line, but failed; the Eagles are about to get the ball back. Braylen McAlister gets a 9-yard carry into White Oak territory, but they’re moved back 8 yards on a penalty on the next play. Tatum still leads, 28-0, late in the first half.
- Luke Sigler makes a grab from Jacobie Bradley, and takes it down to the White Oak 42 for a first down.
- Mount Enterprise, with 54 seconds left, just got another unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, after getting a big play down to Overton’s 4-yard-line.
- 2:14 to go in the first half in Tatum; the Eagles still up 28-0 over White Oak.
- Henderson is punting the ball back to Chapel Hill again; the Bulldogs will get it at their own 14, with 20 seconds left in the first quarter.
- For you Overton-Mount Enterprise fans, they just announced that Lovelady is leading Cushing, 41-0, in the first half.
- Cayden Tatum just scored yet again for the Eagles, and the extra point is good; Tatum leads White Oak, 35-0, with 1:11 left in the half.
- In Henderson, Trevor Brooks just had another big catch for Chapel Hill, but a flag is down; the penalty flag was picked up, and the referee announced that helmets were stuck together, that there is no penalty. The pass play to Henderson’s 40 will stand, a first down Chapel Hill.
- Mount Enterprise is back inside Overton’s 5-yard-line yet again, still in the first half.
- Henderson, wearing red jerseys, red pants and blue helmets, is still on defense, just avoiding a big pass play when a Chapel Hill receiver couldn’t pull a deep ball in at the goal line.
- Keegan Ash, trying to get into the end zone against Overton, was called down, and then took his helmet off, drawing a penalty. That could be very costly for Mount Enterprise; in fact, the first half just ended, with Mount Enterprise in front, 32-16.
- It’s also halftime in Tatum, with coach Whitney Keeling’s Eagles in front big, 35-0, over White Oak.
- Chapel Hill is inside Henderson’s 25-yard-line, and Henderson defender Amauri Murphy just knocked down a pass that looked to be a sure touchdown. Malik Gee, a junior, is playing quarterback for Chapel Hill for the missing Brisbon.
- The Lions now have the ball back at their own 22. They’re handing the ball to all-everything running back Jesstin Starling, but Chapel Hill is all over that right now. Henderson is in third and long at its own 22.
- Vince Howard’s pass intended for Zeshaun Reed was incomplete, and the Lions are in fourth down once again.
- There’s 8:17 left in the half at Henderson ISD Lion Stadium, and the game is tied at 7-all, still.
- Punter Eric Garza is standing at his own 5-yard-line, but he gets the punt off, and gets a roll down to the Chapel Hill 45.
- Varian Williams just threw Malik Gee down for a tackle for a loss. Chapel Hill is at Henderson’s 40, though, tied at 7, still in the first half.
- Brooks, on the very next play, just caught a pass from Gee all the way down to Henderson’s 13.
- Gee tries to run it in himself on second down, and is thrown out of bounds at Henderson’s 3. A flag is down.
- It’s holding on Chapel Hill, moving them back 10 yards to the 16.
- It’s second-and-13 at the 17.
- Gee pulls it down for just 3, to the 14.
- With 5:43 left in the half, the Bulldogs called time out, their first of the game.
- Chapel Hill has scored, with 5:26 left in the half, and leads 14-7. Well, now they say 13-7. We’ll see. They ruled that the extra point was good.
- A run by Henderson’s Lemarion Coleman, where he turned into Superman and leapt a Chapel Hill defender, was called back on an illegal shift penalty by Henderson. They’re at their own 23, but the Bulldogs are keying on Starling.
- Howard’s pass just fell incomplete, and on third down, he finds Jordan Ervin on a screen pass and gets to the 32. That’ll be short of the first down, though, and the Lions will have to send Garza out to punt again.
- In case you’re wondering, both the Tatum-White Oak game and the Overton-Mount Enterprise game are still at halftime.
- They’re saying 14-7, Chapel Hill leads, and they take over possession at their own 29.
- Chapel Hill won this game last year, 63-24. So don’t tell me Henderson second-year head coach Clay Baker hasn’t helped the Lions make a HUGE leap this year.
- Malik Gee finds Jonah Riordan, the son of Chapel Hill coach Jeff Riordan, for a 3-yard gain and a first down at the Bulldogs’ own 40.
- Chapel Hill’s drive is stalling out, thanks to the Lions’ defense, at midfield.
- In Tatum, they’re getting ready to start the second half, with the Eagles in front of White Oak big, 35-0.
- Chapel Hill just faked a punt! Brooks, the regular punter, faked as if he was going to punt, then threw the pass to Tyrell Gause, all the way to Henderson’s 29, with 50 seconds left in the half.
- Malik Gee wastes no time: he finds Maliek Brown for a 29-yard pass, and the Chapel Hill Bulldogs are now up on Henderson, 21-7, with 49 seconds left in the half. It looked for all the world that Chapel Hill was punting, in fourth and long, but that fake punt was a fantastic call, unfortunately for the Lions and their fans.
- A Chapel Hill lineman just threw a punch, and has been kicked out of the game.
- The kickoff for the second half of Overton-Mount Enterprise was — an onside kick. Mount Enterprise snags it, though, and has first-and-10 at Overton’s 48 to start the half, leading 32-16. And that’s four touchdowns and four two-point conversions.
- Trevor Brooks just sacked Vince Howard in the Henderson-Chapel Hill game. The Lions get a play off before the end of the half, and Howard completes a pass to Coleman, but he’s tackled at midfield, and that will run out the first-half clock. Henderson scored first, but now trails, 21-7, at halftime.
- With 9:29 left in the third quarter, White Oak has scored: Jaxsen Ludlow to a leaping Brayden Bratcher, and the new score is Tatum 35-7.
- And hey… the Roughnecks just recovered an onside kick. Because, you know, it’s onside kick night in East Texas football.
- In Mount Enterprise, the Mustangs got a stop on Mount Enterprise’s offense and are now driving. A long run by Bryce Still gives Overton the ball at ME’s 29, and then a play by Edwards down to the 10.
- Justin Weir helps out with a run inside the 5, and then Still takes the ball into the end zone himself on the next play.
- Still, rushed on the two-point conversion attempt, avoids the pass rush — man, this kid is so good — and finds Weir alone in the end zone for the two.
- Overton has cut Mount Enterprise’s lead to 32-24, with just under six minutes left in the third quarter!
- There seems to be a lull at Tatum-White Oak; a lot of standing around with officials talking.
- Overton’s defense must have heard me. The Mustangs just stopped Mount Enterprise again, at Overton’s 35, and have gotten the ball back, trailing just 32-24 now, in the third quarter.
- Still finds Edwards, who makes the catch and is down inside the ME 45 for a first down. Gabriel Miller reels off a quick run behind the O-line of Garrett Boney, Vance Fletcher, Chris Foster, Elijah Dorsey and Eathen Oates.
- The Mustangs now have second-and-8 at the Wildcats’ 16.
- Mount Enterprise has really made a mistake here. Too many penalties. And they are not going to be able to stop Overton.
- As I said that, Bryce Still just found Rylan Holleman for the possible tying touchdown!
- Still pitched the ball to Weir on the two-point try, but it’s no good. But with 2:11 left in the third quarter at B.W. Jackson Field in Mount Enterprise, the Wildcats now only lead Overton, 32-30.
- Tatum has added to its lead, and it’s now 42-7 Tatum over White Oak with 6:46 left in the third quarter at Eagle Stadium.
- It’s still halftime, if you’re wondering, in Henderson, where the Lions — in a huge game in District 9-4A, Division I — trail Chapel Hill, 21-7.
- Overton’s defense now collapsing on Mount Enterprise’s Keegan Ash. The Wildcats in second and 7 at their own 45.
- Another handoff, to the Wildcats’ own 49, is stopped and Overton has them in third and short there.
- Ash picks up the first down, moving into Overton territory at the Mustangs’ 47. And that will be the end of the third quarter in Mount Enterprise, as their Wildcats lead Overton but only by two, 32-30, headed to the fourth quarter.
- That felt like a 3-minute third quarter. That FLEW by.
- White Oak in second and 15 at its own 45. Bratcher makes another catch from Ludlow to convert for the first down at Tatum’s 39.
- Mount Enterprise goes for it on fourth-and-2 at Overton’s 38, and they get the first down, but barely.
- The Henderson band is on the field at their stadium, as it’s still halftime there.
- In Tatum, Scotty Breitenberg just caught a 30-yard pass from Ludlow for a White Oak touchdown. The Roughnecks kick the extra point and trail Tatum, 42-14, with just over two minutes left in the third quarter.
- Overton, trailing 32-30, has the ball at the Mustangs’ own 41, after a pass from Still to Edwards.
- On the very next play, Still scrambles to the MEHS 32, a 27-yard run for a first down.
- Gabriel Miller just ran through the heart of the ME defense, all the way to the Wildcats’ 15, with 6:47 left in the game.
- And Mount Enterprise just called a time-out. And I do not blame them.
- Still just ran to the Wildcats’ 9-yard-line, but a holding penalty has been announced, and it’ll push Overton back to the 24.
- Still just connected with Bryson Bobbitt for a huge pass, to Mount Enterprise’s 5, and then it’s Bryce Still into the end zone — AND OVERTON LEADS MOUNT ENTERPRISE, 36-32, before the two-point conversion attempt. Still finds Edwards going across the middle of the end zone, and hits him for the conversion. Overton is up six, 38-32, with under six minutes left in the game.
- Jamarri Gibson just ran for a first down to the White Oak 13, with 11:30 left in the game.
- Oh man — a fumble by Tatum just rolled all the way back to the White Oak 30, and it’s recovered by the Roughnecks at their own 28. White Oak trails, 42-14, but now has the ball back.
- Mount Enterprise, with just over four minutes left, at Overton’s 38. Now 3:50 left.
- The Lions just ran out of their tunnel for the third quarter against Chapel Hill.
- Mount Enterprise with a key fourth down coming up at Overton’s 35. It’s fourth and 4.
- Ash was stopped running up the middle, but wasn’t tackled, and rolled to his right and gets the first down, all the way to Overton’s 23 with a minute and a half left in the game.
- My apologies to Kaegan Ash; I’ve been spelling his first name wrong. Sorry about that.
- Tracey Thompson just ran for a touchdown with 1:18 left, tying the game at 38-38. The Wildcats line up for the two-point conversion, and for the first time tonight, Ash fails on the conversion attempt. It’s TIED at 38-ALL with 1:18 left in Mount Enterprise!
- Mount Enterprise, I kid you not, just attempted another onside kick. They failed. And Overton, with all three time outs with 1:18 left, in a tied game, has the ball at its own 46-yard-line.
- Still hands off to Justin Weir, who gets 3 yards. Overton is in the hurry-up, no huddle.
- Still tries to throw the ball downfield, but the receiver, Holleman, is double-covered, and the ball is incomplete.
- The Mustangs are in fourth-and-5 at the Mount Enterprise 49.
- Still finds Holleman for the first down! And he’s out of bounds with 29 seconds left!
- At Mount Enterprise’s 44, Still is tackled at the line of scrimmage. Overton takes a time out. And I don’t know the clock situation, can’t see it and they’re not announcing it.
- Overton is at Mount Enterprise’s 44, with a second down and 10.
- Still takes a lot of time, pressured by Connor Pollard, and throws the ball away.
- The clock is stopped with the incompletion, with 16 seconds left and a third down coming up.
- Holleman makes a grab and is out of bounds at the 37.
- Still has the ball and runs, then out of bounds at the 25-yard-line with five seconds left!
- Overton calls a time out, in a fourth and short.
- Still’s pass falls incomplete into the end zone, as time expires in Mount Enterprise. It’s going to overtime, tied at 38.
- Henderson-Chapel Hill update: with 6:59 left in the third, the Lions just fumbled the ball to Chapel Hill at Henderson’s own 14, a handoff gone wrong between Howard and Starling.
- Chapel Hill, already with a 21-7 lead, takes over there.
- Gipson just gave Tatum a first down at the White Oak 13, as time is running out on the Roughnecks there in Tatum.
- Henderson trying to hold Chapel Hill out of the end zone. Lemuel Stinson is tackled at the Lions’ 3-yard-line, but a flag is down. The official is waving it off again, as Henderson fans are booing.
- In Mount Enterprise, the coaches are getting their overtime instructions from the officials.
- Back to Henderson. The officials have the ball spotted incorrectly; they just realized it and it’s first down, Chapel Hill, at the Henderson 2-yard-line.
- Now they’ve moved it back to the 4.
- Apparently it’s not a career night for the officials in the Henderson-CHHS game.
- Chapel Hill now at Henderson’s 1, and there’s a time out on the field with 5:22 left in the third quarter.
- Cayden Tatum just scored another touchdown; and I missed a White Oak touchdown in all of that. With 4:29 left in the game, it’s Tatum 49, White Oak 21.
- Some trickery from Chapel Hill: the Bulldogs just put in defensive lineman Braylen Allen on offense, and he scored a 1-yard touchdown. Chapel Hill now up bigger, 28-7, with 5:04 left in the third.
- Back to Mount Enterprise, where Overton and the Wildcats are in overtime. Tracey Thompson, who scored the game-tying touchdown for the Wildcats, just scored on a 7-yard run. No clock, remember, and Mount Enterprise has re-claimed the lead. The two-point conversion fails, though, and they’re up, but only by six — 44-38 — over Overton. A touchdown and an extra point, or a conversion, would win it for the Mustangs, who are about to go on offense.
- On first down, Edwards takes the flip from Still all the way to the 14-yard-line for a first down.
- Justin Weir takes the handoff on first down, and is almost into the end zone — he’s spotted at the 1-yard-line!
- Still up the middle: TOUCHDOWN, OVERTON!
- Coach Scotty Laymance sends out freshman Jackson Furlow for the extra point. If he hits it, it’ll win the game — and also be the game’s only extra point!
- Still is holding, and here’s the snap: HE HITS IT! FURLOW HITS IT! IT’S OVERTON 45, MOUNT ENTERPRISE 44, in OVERTIME!!!
- Overton moves to 7-2 overall, and 4-1 in district play, and takes over second place outright behind Lovelady, simply because Lovelady won the head-to-head with Overton a month ago.
- Just now, Jaxsen Ludlow finds Tyson McKinney for a touchdown. It’s 49-28 Tatum, with 1:58 left in the game.
- Here’s a fourth-quarter score: Gilmer 59, Spring Hill 28, with two minutes left in the contest.
- After all that — and a delay on my part due to tech failure (thank you, Phillips Android) — the third quarter has come to an end in Henderson, and the Lions are trailing Chapel Hill, 28-7. When the fourth quarter starts, the Lions will have the ball at the Chapel Hill 26 after a phenomenal toe-tap catch by Macen Jones on a throw by Vince Howard! Wow, what a key catch on fourth-and-long to keep the drive alive.
- Oh, my: Chapel Hill’s Kaeden Franklin just recovered a Henderson fumble in the backfield, and with 11:51 left in the fourth, Chapel Hill just got the ball back at its own 40, leading 28-7.
- Cazden Holton, at running back replacing Rickey Stewart for the Chapel Hill Bulldogs, just ran inside Henderson’s 10-yard-line, but a holding call moves it back to the 25.
- The Bulldogs are trying to run all the clock off they can. There’s 10:47 left in the game, and they’re up, 28-7.
- Stinson back to Henderson’s 9-yard-line, and I never would have thought this. No Demetrius Brisbon, no Rickey Stewart, and the Bulldogs are beating Henderson. Gee just threw a touchdown. A 10-yard pass from Gee to Jonah Riordan, and with 9:09 left, Henderson now trails 35-7. It was Gee’s fourth TD pass of the game.
- It’s a final in Tatum, where the Eagles move to 6-3 on the season, and 3-2 in district play with a 49-28 win over White Oak. Tatum is alone in fourth place in the district behind Jefferson, who defeated Liberty-Eylau just now in Texarkana, 35-34; L-E is in second; and Atlanta, by virtue of their win over Tatum and a win over Gladewater tonight, is in third. Atlanta beat the Bears in Gladewater, 35-7.
- Chapel Hill’s Kelean Banks just intercepted a tipped pass, and returned it the length of the field, for a touchdown. There’s 8:54 left and the Bulldogs now lead Henderson, 42-7.
- Henderson’s deficit is so large now with 8:37 left that a comeback for a win would be unbelievable. If Henderson does lose this game, the Lions will drop to 3-2 in district play and 6-3 overall, and Kilgore, not playing tonight with that open date, will lead District 9-4A, Division I with a 4-1 record. Pine Tree edged Lindale, 13-7, earlier tonight, and the Pirates are also 4-1 in district, but would lose the head-to-head tiebreaker with Kilgore.
- If Henderson could come back, it would still be the district leader. If not, then the standings would be Kilgore in first, followed by Pine Tree (by virtue of its wins over Henderson and Chapel Hill), then Chapel Hill, because it would have a win over Henderson, and then Henderson in fourth. That’s IF this score holds up, Chapel Hill 42, Henderson 7.
- There’s 6:01 left at that score.
- Henderson plays at Lindale to finish the regular season next Friday night. Lindale, though, is 2-3 after the loss tonight to Pine Tree. Lindale could still sneak into the playoffs as the fourth seed if it beats Henderson, and that would leave the Lions in the fifth spot and on the outside looking in.
- Kilgore will host Mabank on Thursday night; if the Bulldogs win, they’re the district champions. If Pine Tree finishes its regular season next Friday with a win at Palestine, the Pirates would go into the playoffs as the No. 2 seed from the district.
- With 4:41 left, Henderson has first-and-goal at Chapel Hill’s 8.
- Jayden Bishop scores for Henderson on the 8-yard run, and Ivan Navarro added the extra point. Henderson trails now 42-14, with 4:37 left.
- Clock has moved to 3:44 with Chapel Hill with the ball, just got an illegal formation penalty.
- An odd penalty by referee Gary Guthrie: sideline interference on Chapel Hill, moving the ball back to their own 25 on a 15-yard penalty.
- Fourth down coming up, with under two minutes left in the game.
- Chapel Hill punted, and Henderson has the ball with 1:17 left at its own 15.
- Reed picks up 8 on first down.
- Bishop loses a yard on second down, and the clock at 50 seconds.
- Henderson’s run gets the first down, and with 29 seconds left, a 5-yard gain.
- That’ll be the final play of the game. Chapel Hill wins, 42-14.
- Thanks for being with us tonight here on ETBlitz.com! We’ll have coverage of these games and more in the next few hours, here on the site.