CARTHAGE FENDS OFF CHAPEL HILL | Another attempt to knock off No. 1 fails, but Chapel Hill gave it a great try
CARTHAGE – What do they say: “If you come for the king, you best not miss”?
Chapel Hill did just that here Friday night, shocking the Carthage home crowd with a two-touchdown lead early, but unable to finish the upset, as the Bulldogs – the ones wearing red-and-white – bounced back, tied the game before halftime, and then had a big second half for a 56-34 win.
Carthage, the defending 4A-Division II state champions that have been ranked No. 1 in the poll since August of 2024, is now 3-0 on the season. The Bulldogs visit Jasper next Friday night, the first of three straight games away from home.
Chapel Hill, ranked No. 10 in the state coming in to the contest, will go to Lindale next Friday night.
Malik Gee and Malik Brown stun the Carthage crowd with a 56-yard touchdown pass less than a minute into the game. The extra point went through fine, and Chapel Hill – who came from 20 points down to upset Gilmer a few weeks ago, is still in the ambush business, a 7-0 lead with just 55 seconds off the clock.
That would be by far just the first of several unbelievable plays in the first half, alone.
Carthage took the field after the kickoff, as senior quarterback Jett Surratt got positioned, often in the pistol formation, behind the offensive line: Tyler Ortigo, Cooper Walters, Vernon Pittman, Carson Carter and Jeremiah Jones.
Surratt wouldn’t have the best half, but he guided the Bulldogs right down the field on their opening drive, finding Jaden Jeffress for a first down, a 12-yard pass on third and 9, and then Texas A&M-bound senior running back K.J. Edwards burst free around the left side for a 48-yard gain, all the way to Chapel Hill’s 14-yard-line.
On the next play, Surratt hit Bryston Price for the 14-yard score, tying the game at 7.
Carthage’s defense forced Chapel Hill to punt, and then on the next play, right after Carthage had a 40-yard pass play called back on a penalty, disaster: Ke’rion Green, NOT wearing Carthage red, picked off Surratt and returned it all the way to the house, a 40-yard pick-six, giving CHHS a 14-7 lead.
Next, SURPRISE: an onside kick, and the Bulldogs – the blue-and-yellow ones – managed to recover it at Carthage’s 44. A pass interference on a play downfield helped Chapel Hill keep its drive going, and then a strike: Gee to Demarcion Blaylock, a 29-yard touchdown. It stunned the Carthage crowd, and with the extra point, allowed Chapel Hill to grab a 21-7 lead – and probably send shockwaves across the state.
But the ‘Dawgs wouldn’t be on their heels long – at all. After recovering a squib kick, Surratt threw a dart on a slant pass to Jayden Lewis, who had a nice game at both receiver and defensive back. Lewis caught the back-end of the football, but caught the football, a 16-yard pick-up and a new set of downs, at their own 41.
Edwards got free for a run on the next play to Chapel Hill’s 43, and then moments later, on a third-and-1 from the Chapel Hill 27, Surratt showed why he’s one of the state’s best at overcoming diversity: a 27-yard strike to Lewis, down to the 1.
Benny Smith, who also had a big night, came in and scored on a 1-yard run. The extra point was missed, leaving the Bulldogs down, 21-13, with 35 seconds left in the first quarter.
A defensive stop early in the second quarter allowed coach Scott Surratt’s Bulldogs to get the ball back. Surratt the quarterback hooked up with Bryston Price for a 29-yard pass to midfield, to Chapel Hill’s 48, and then on the next play, a connection with J.D. Edwards got the ‘Dawgs to Chapel Hill’s 34.
K.J. Edwards, the future Aggie, would break free for a 32-yarder, all the way down to the 2, and then scored on the next play.
On the two-point conversion, Surratt found tight end Carson Crawford – who doubles as a hard-hitting linebacker – for the game-tying points (21-all). Crawford is headed to Colorado after high school to play for coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes.
Chapel Hill’s tempers got the best of them on the next drive. CHHS managed to put together a nice one, all the way to Carthage’s 15, before being flagged for a post-possession personal foul.
That moved Chapel Hill back 15 yards to the 30, and a fourth-down incomplete pass later, Carthage took over on downs at that very spot.
Carthage, trying to get its first lead of the game, called K.J. Edwards’ number and by the 2:30 mark of the second quarter, was back at midfield.
But then another interception, this one by Chapel Hill’s Jeremiah White, gave them the football at their own 40, and plenty of time with which to work.
Carthage’s defense held, though, and got the ball back – only to see ANOTHER interception, this one on a tipped ball by defensive lineman Kaeden Franklin, and Carthage’s third turnover of the first half.
The drive stalled out deep in Carthage territory, and Chapel Hill missed a 35-yard field goal.
But an offsides penalty gave the Bulldogs a new set of downs, and on the next play, Gee hit a dagger, going back to Maleik Brown for a 17-yard touchdown.
Chapel Hill’s extra point was good, and they had re-claimed the lead, 28-21.
Until they didn’t.
On the kickoff, rather than keep it on the ground, it was lofted, all the way back to Carthage’s Jace Harris – who fielded the ball at his own 25 and was GONE, a 75-yard kick return for a touchdown that tied the game again, 28-all, as it went to halftime. Harris crossed the goal line with six seconds left after bobbing and weaving his way over 75 yards of the field, first taking it down his own sideline, then bouncing it out into the open field, where he outran everybody for the score.
In the third quarter, Carthage’s talent and big-game experience – the ‘Dawgs aren’t No. 1 for nothing , folks – just took over.
The ‘Dawgs got the ball to begin the second half and scored on their first possession, a 23-yard run by K.J. Edwards. That was set up by a throw of 23 yards, ironically, to JD Edwards down to Chapel Hill’s 27.
The score broke the tie and gave Carthage a 35-28 advantage that they would not relinquish.
On Carthage’s next drive, it appeared Chapel Hill had stopped the ‘Dawgs on fourth-and-8, but a pass interference penalty on Timontrea Jenkins allowed the drive to continue, giving Carthage a first down at Chapel Hill’s 13.
Edwards (KJ) dropped the hammer on the following play, a 13-yard run that gave his team a 42-28 lead, midway through the third quarter.
An interception by Ethen Portley ended Chapel Hill’s next drive – that would be the first interception of two by Portley on the night – and set up another Carthage touchdown, this one on a 53-yard run by Smith, with 11:24 left in the game (49-28).
Gee and Blaylock would connect for a 13-yard touchdown pass for the second time in the game with 7:54 left, but that only got Chapel Hill within 15 (49-34), and they’d get no closer.
In fact, Carthage would get one more: Portley, on a pick-six, an interception for a touchdown, that put Carthage in front, 56-34, the game’s eventual final score.
Carthage’s Cooper Crawford and Zee Pearley sacked Gee late in the contest, on Chapel Hill’s final drive, to punctuate the win, Carthage’s 18th straight.
K.J. Edwards finished with 182 yards and three touchdowns on eight carries. Smith had 131 yards on 15 carries, and scored twice. Surratt went 13-of-19 for 180 yards and a touchdown to Price, and the three picks, one of them a tipped ball.
JD Edwards caught four passes for 48 yards.
For Chapel Hill, Gee was impressive in defeat: 20-of-32 for 275 yards and four touchdowns, but also threw two picks, one to Portley for the game’s final score.
