COUNTDOWN TO 100 | Kilgore seniors honored, as they sweep New Diana; Bulldogs seniors 15 wins away from No. 100 as a class

Kilgore High School’s soccer Bulldogs are inching closer and closer to win No. 100 for the senior class of 2024 – as in, 100 wins since they began their varsity careers.

And New Diana certainly wasn’t going to stand in their way, especially not on this night, where all of Kilgore’s soccer seniors were honored at home at R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium.

Both the Kilgore Lady Bulldogs, then the Bulldogs, routed the two New Diana squads – coach Todd BonDurant’s Lady ‘Dogs blanked ND, 7-0, with Lexi Lara leading the way with three goals.

And then the Bulldogs laid the wood to the Eagles, sending them back to the bus with an 11-0 loss, both games in District 15-4A play, where the Kilgore teams are undefeated and untied.

This coming week, both of the KHS teams will play at Tenaha – the varsity girls start at 5 p.m., and the varsity boys will follow, likely around 7.

Kilgore 7, New Diana 0 (girls): Lara had the hat trick, three goals in the contest, and Angelica Canchola, Gloria Cedillo and Genises Castillo each scored one.

That moved BonDurant’s Lady ‘Dogs to 7-2-1 overall, but 3-0 where it really counts: 15-4A play.

Between the girls and boys games, the school and the crowd paid tribute to all of Kilgore soccer’s seniors. Girls seniors this season are Emily Beason, Yoseline Serrano, Gloria Cedillo and manager Leslie Martinez.

It was noted during the ceremony that the Lady Bulldogs’ 2024 seniors have been a part of 55 wins, 30 losses and a tie during their time on varsity, with a 35-23-1 record in district play.

Coach Hector Peralez’s Bulldogs squad has a ton of seniors: goalkeeper Chris Martinez, Jaime Vasquez, Jose Vasquez, Leo Yzaguirre, Adan Reyes, Diego Rojas, Jacob Contreras, Giovanny Araujo, Jobani Chavez, Joseph Chavez, Anthony Garcia, and manager Yaillen Rojo.

Kilgore 11, New Diana 0 (boys): The Bulldogs were honored, and then, in a driving rain for much of the game, they began to shoot the lights out at the stadium.

In a game where halves were shortened to 30 minutes, rather than the usual 40, Kilgore scored almost immediately: Contreras scored the first goal with 29 minutes left on the first-half clock.

The floodgates were opened from there. Jobani Chavez scored less than a minute and a half later, giving the ‘Dogs a 2-0 lead. Chavez scored again right at three minutes later at the 24 1/2-minute mark (3-0 Kilgore).

Yzaguirre – who was named to the All-ETBlitz.com Gridiron Team (the football all-star team) earlier in the day for both his kicking and punting duties (ALL-ETBLITZ.COM GRIDIRON TEAM! | East Texas, here’s your high school football best-of-the-best) – put it in the net on a header with 18:56 left in the first half (4-0), and then both Christian Ramirez and Eddie Jiminez would score before the half expired, sending KHS to a 6-0 lead at the break.

The rain let up, but the scoring didn’t. Jose Gonzalez scored two minutes into the second half (7-0), and then Contreras scored for the second time, with 24:02 left in the game (8-0).

Kilgore would get three additional goals in the final 14:20 of the contest, by Angel Ibarra (9-0), Omar Lopez (10-0) and finally, with 36 seconds left, Jerson Avelar Flores (11-0).

As mentioned earlier, while both Kilgore teams are driving to win both district titles and make it back to the state tournament in Georgetown – a rather frequent destination for both programs, particularly the boys, since 2011 – the Bulldogs’ senior boys have an 85-11-8 record together. That means with 15 more wins this season, this senior class will reach the 100-win mark, an incredible achievement.

In fact, for those who make it out to a Kilgore boys soccer home game this year, there are special commemorative books marking the drive to 100.

Peralez’s Bulldogs are 10-0-2, now, after that win, and 4-0 in district play.

Gloria Cedillo, one of four seniors for Kilgore’s Lady Bulldogs, gets ready to execute a corner kick Friday night against New Diana. (Photo by ALEX NABOR – ETBLITZ.COM)

From left: Kilgore’s Diego Rojas (9), Giovanny Araujo (14), Jacob Contreras (10), and Adan Reyes (7) celebrate after one of 11 goals in Friday’s home win over New Diana on senior night. (Photo by ALEX NABOR – ETBLITZ.COM)