ONE MORE TIME, WITH FEELING | Kilgore shuts down Chapel Hill, 30-6; state semifinals next (w/VIDEO)

FORNEY – Friday night here at City Bank Stadium, Kilgore punched its ticket to the University Interscholastic League 4A Division I Semifinals next week with a 30-6 victory over Chapel Hill, a district rival that’s been a thorn in the Bulldogs’ side recently when it comes to the playoffs.

But on a cold, windy evening at City Bank, none of that really mattered, this being the here-and-now.

Kilgore advances to the semis for the first time since a 59-19 win – also over Chapel Hill – in the 2013 regional finals at CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium in Tyler.

Chapel Hill has had Kilgore’s number, winning each of the last two playoff games, both in the fourth round between the schools, and the year before (2021) in the third round.

But not this year. This year, Chapel Hill’s number was up.

Earlier in district play, Kilgore defeated Chapel Hill, 42-7, on Oct. 11, and improved to 5-4 in the last nine games of the series. Kilgore is 2-3 in playoff games against Chapel Hill, and improved to 38-12 all-time in the series.

Again – the main number is 30-6 Kilgore, Friday night’s score.

Kilgore High School head football coach Clint Fuller got a ride on top of his players’ shoulders after the game, many of the team chanting, “We’re not done! We’re not done!”

The Bulldogs (12-2) stretched their current win streak to eight in a row and advance to face La Vernia (11-3), after the Bears defeated Bay City 42-24 on Friday night.

The semifinal is tentatively scheduled for Randall Reed Stadium in New Caney next Friday, a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. Continue to read ETBlitz.com for updates.

The Yellow-and Blue Bulldogs, the third-place playoff entry from District 9-4A, Division I, finished its season with an 10-4 record after reaching the state championship game a year ago and losing to Anna in a shutout.

In Forney Friday night, Kilgore quarterback Kayson Brooks threw for three touchdowns to three different receivers (Isaiah Watters, Lakeyleon Graves and Javon Towns), and for more than 200 yards (206) for the third time in four playoff games thus far this season.

Brooks’ 16-of-27 performance included an interception off a deflection late in the game by Timontrea Jenkins, but gives the junior quarterback 3,134 passing yards and 39 touchdowns this season and just seven picks, impressive numbers.

He also showed a lot of maturity during the contest, rolling out to avoid Chapel Hill’s pursuit and throwing the football away instead of taking a sack or forcing a pass into tight coverage. And in other instances when needed, as he has the entire four games this postseason, he tucked the ball and scrambled for valuable first downs with gains of 26, 11 and 14 yards.

Both teams, though, lost turnovers early in the game. Kilgore’s Cam Christian recovered a Chapel Hill fumble at the CH 16-yard-line. Brooks scrambled for 14 on a third-and-9 call before being separated from the football at the 2-yard-line, where Tyrell Gause recovered for the visitors.

Kilgore’s defense stopped the yellow-and-blue, though, forcing a Trevor Brooks punt to give Kilgore the football at its own 35. Brooks then threaded the needle with a 2-yard completion to Watters, giving the Ragin’ Red a 6-0 lead to cap a 65-yard drive with just 2:20 remaining in the opening period.

Demetrius Brisbon, Jr. and Malik Gee shared the quarterbacking duties for Chapel Hill, with the senior, Brisbon (the starter since he was a freshman), playing in only his third game since returning to the field of play, drawing the starting nod from coach Jeff Riordan.

Gee entered late in the first quarter and was greeted rudely by Kilgore’s secondary, suffering an interception to Ja’Kalen Sheffied, who has three picks in the last two games, returning one of those last week against Navasota for a touchdown. With the pick, the junior free safety moves into the team lead in interceptions with six.

The pick gives Kilgore 23 for the season to go with now 15 fumble recoveries, counting Christian’s against CH.  

The offense went to work again, driving 89 yards in six plays to extend its lead to 13-0. Brooks and then Watters notched first-down runs to set the stage for a 49-yard Brooks completion to Graves to the Chapel Hill 17.

A gain of 2 on a run by Watters, and then Brooks teamed with Graves again, this time on a 15-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second quarter, extending Kilgore’s lead to 13-0 following Eddie Jiminez’s extra point.

The Ragin’ Red held a decisive 237-to-49-yard edge in total yardage at halftime, and wound up with 414 compared to Chapel Hill’s 171 for the game.

Chapel Hill received the second-half kickoff, but failed to reach Kilgore’s end of the field after Wylie Mitchell sacked Brisbon, Jr., for a 7-yard loss to force a Bulldog punt back to Kilgore.

The Ragin’ Red then moved from its 27 to the Chapel Hill 6-yard line, where the drive stalled again, this time bringing on Jiminez to kick a 23-yard field goal, stretching Kilgore’s lead to 16-0. The big play of this march was a 57-yard Brooks completion to Towns, giving the Bulldogs a fresh set of downs at the visitors’ 6.

Chapel Hill didn’t allow a touchdown, though, and then put together its most successful drive of the contest with Gee returning as the quarterback. The ‘Dogs then maneuvered 51 yards in six plays, scoring on a 35-yard Gee completion to Maliek Brown, who won a jump ball contest in the end zone with a Kilgore defender.

Chapel Hill went for two points, but failed, and trailed by 10, 16-6, with 4:48 remaining in the third quarter.

It took Kilgore all of three plays and just over a minute to answer, navigating 50 yards with Brooks’ scoring completion to Towns, who made an acrobatic catch in the back of the end zone. Jiminez converted the point after, giving KHS a 23-6 advantage in the waning moments of the third period.

Kilgore’s defense continually stopped Chapel Hill in the fourth quarter. The district champions had good field position each time to work with, and Bulldogs wrapped up the scoring with a relatively short, 28-yard march. It was after a four-downs-and-out – the third in the fourth quarter for Chapel Hill – to turn the ball over to Kilgore to run time off the clock, if nothing else.

Watters, who did some heavy lifting running the ball, leading Kilgore’s rushing attack with 126 yards on 21 carries. He scored for the second time in the game on a 4-yard run with just 3:31 left to play.

And that would be it: no comeback this time.

Brooks followed the rushing lead of Watters with 69 yards on nine carries.

Brisbon, Jr., led Chapel Hill’s ground game with 36 yards rushing on nine carries. Brisbon was 2-of-6 passing for 25 yards, while Gee was 4-of-11 for 64 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Chapel Hill coach Jeff Riordan swapped the two in and out of the line-up almost every play.

Kilgore held University of Texas signee Rickey Stewart to 25 yards on 12 attempts.

Brown (two catches for 41 yards and Chapel Hill’s only TD) and Demarcion Blaylock (two for 34 yards) led Chapel Hill’s receiving corps.

Towns led Kilgore with five receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown. As mentioned earlier, Watters (five for 15) and Graves (four for 78) also had scoring receptions. Jacory Walton added three catches for 9 yards.

Kilgore was 4-of-5 inside Chapel Hill’s 20-yard-line, scoring three touchdowns and a field goal, bringing their numbers for the season to 36 touchdowns and nine field goals.  

Kilgore’s next opponent, La Vernia, beat Bay City, 42-24, on Friday night.

The Kilgore-La Vernia winner moves on to the 4A-DI state championship, set for 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The UIL’s state championships begin that Wednesday, Dec. 18, and continue through Saturday, Dec. 21, all at AT&T.