ETBLITZ WEEK ONE ROUNDUP | Carthage runs by Henderson; ‘Necks can’t escape Spring Hill; more to come
EDITOR’S NOTE: Here are stories from the Carthage-Henderson game on Friday night, and from Spring Hill-White Oak. More to come, as we bring to you coverage of high school football’s opening weekend here on ETBlitz.com.
Believe in the brand.
The Beatles were a musical and pop culture phenomenon – in the 1960s and early 1970s.
Michael Jackson and before him, Elvis Presley, are the two best-selling male singles artists of all time: Jackson laying claim to Thriller, the best-selling album of all time, and Elvis with the highest-claimed sales of one billion.
The two best-selling female artists: Taylor Swift, who recently went to No. 1 on the list, oh, and number two?
Madonna.
It’s been a minute since The Beatles, Jackson, Elvis or Madonna took the stage, but they are proven brands that you can trust.
McDonald’s? Pizza Hut? Amazon?
Believe in the brand.
Scott Surratt stepped onto the turf Friday night at Henderson Lion Stadium, he began his 20th season as head coach of the Carthage High School Bulldogs.
One could make an argument that Surratt is the greatest winner in Texas high school football history, and has 11 state championships in the previous 19 years to prove it.
Carthage football allows you to keep believing in the brand. And they reminded you just why on Friday night, a 49-10 win at Henderson in the first game between the programs in almost eight years.
Elsewhere around the ETBlitz.com coverage area on Friday night, Kilgore went to Pleasant Grove and couldn’t overcome the Hawks, dropping a somewhat-shocking 42-7 decision in Texarkana.
Gladewater coach Jermaine Lewis and the Bears are determined to look like the team to beat in what will be a tough district, flexing their muscles Friday night with a 39-14 win over Daingerfield.
Shelbyville went to Liberty City and left with a 21-0 win over Sabine.
Spring Hill held off White Oak, 39-34.
A pair of state-ranked 3A teams in the ETB area – Arp and Troup – both won. Troup, ranked No. 2 in the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football state 3A-Division II poll, hosted Diboll for a 54-21 win over the Lumberjacks.
Arp routed Waskom, 43-7.
In another meeting of two teams in our coverage area, West Rusk left Tatum with a 37-34 win. In Class 2A, Joaquin beat Beckville, 43-14.
On Thursday night, in the first games of the season involving ETB-area programs, Pine Tree held off Gilmer, 52-40, in a game that was back and forth the entire time, and Overton, in 2A, continued to look fantastic under coach Scotty Laymance, a 38-2 beat-down of Harleton.
For other scores across the East Texas region, check out this link: WHO WON? | Scores from high school football’s opening weekend.
Carthage 49, Henderson 10: Continuing our focus on the renewal of this long-time rivalry, there is this important note: Henderson does still lead the all-time series, 40 wins to Carthage’s 37.
But man, Carthage looks like they didn’t even take a week off after winning the last two UIL Class 4A, Division II state championships. Their aiming for their third straight. And they’re ranked No. 1 in the DCTF 4A-DII state poll.
The Bulldogs scored on their first three possessions of the game.
Carthage’s offense began the first drive of the season at their own 39-yard-line, 11:55 on the first quarter clock.
Javon Landers is the answer to the trivia question of who scored the first touchdown for Carthage this season. Landers scored on an 8-yard run with 10:26 left in a long first quarter. Jesus Lopez hit the extra point for a 7-0 Carthage advantage; Lopez had a busy night, but went 7-of-7 in his point after kicks.
Henderson’s Jaden Lockett set the Lions up for their first time in the 2026 season at their own 34. They didn’t stay there long: Brailon Walker reeled off a 14-yard run to near midfield, to Henderson’s own 48.
Jacob Bishop couldn’t quite hang on to a pass to him out of the backfield on first down, and then Henderson was flagged for a false start right after – coach Ricky Meeks’ Lions were in a second and 15 hole, back at their own 43.
Blake Meeks – the coach’s son and the Lions’ starting quarterback – went back to Bishop, who made the grab, and went for 18, a first down at Carthage’s 41.
A pass downfield fell incomplete near the goal line, but the Bulldogs were flagged for roughing the passer. Henderson had a first down at the ‘Dawgs’ 26.
Meeks again went deep, this time to the end zone, but it was nothing doing, an incomplete pass. Meeks dropped back on second down and scrambled for a handful, but a holding call during the run (penalty on Henderson) pushed the Lions into a third and 20 at the 37.
Jackson made one heck of a catch along the Carthage sideline and was just short of the first down, about fourth and two.
A fullback run by Mike Russell, where the ‘Dawgs’ offensive line just bulled the Carthage defense back on their heels.
Meeks was tackled for a loss on first down, and ultimately, Ivan Navarro came on for a 37-yard try. He drilled it, and put Henderson on the scoreboard. Carthage led 7-3 with 5:16 left in the quarter still.
It took Carthage exactly two plays to get back into Henderson territory, and three to score: quarterback Jacob Dixon lofted the ball to the 5-yard-line, and Edwards leapt and pulled it down in the middle of Henderson’s pass defense, a 37-yard scoring pass. Carthage had grabbed a 14-3 advantage.
Carthage sacked Meeks, pushing the Lions back almost into their own end zone. They couldn’t pick up a first down, and punted back to Carthage.
The Bulldogs would score again, a 1-yard run by Kingston Jones, and lead 21-3 at the start of the second quarter.
Ayden Perry made a key grab to keep the Lions’ second-quarter drive alive, and into Carthage’s territory at the ‘Dawgs’ 45-yard-line.
Carthage went in front 28-3 on a 6-yard run by Landers, his second of the night, and the eventual halftime score.
Carthage began its first drive of the second half at midfield, and Dixon connected with Jace Harris for a 22-yard gain, down to Henderson’s 30. Harris followed with a run inside the 10, to the 8. Stephen F. Austin commit Bryston Price would get into the end zone for the ‘Dawgs with 8:56 left in the third, and the extra point by Lopez made it 35-3 Carthage.
The teams exchanged punts a handful of times, and on one of the most impressive plays of the night, Carthage wound up at one point in fourth and 27 – and CONVERTED, Price making a catch near the marker and squirmed free for the first down!
The Bulldogs would go on to score on the play, a 19-yard pass from Dixon to Anthony Crowell, and up their lead to 42-3 with 4:10 left in the third quarter.
That was the score as the fourth quarter started.
Walker made a grab from Meeks that he took all the way, the distance, for an 84-yard touchdown, Henderson’s longest play of the night. Navarro hit the point after and – while the score was still imbalanced (42-10 Carthage), at least the Lions had scored their first TD of the season.
Carthage added one last score with 5:54 left in the game for the final score.
The Bulldogs held Henderson to 216 total yards of offense, and the Lions were flagged for 105 yards worth of penalties.
Meeks finished 11-of-23 for 152 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Henderson held the ball for 23 minutes, 14 seconds, and Carthage for 24:46.
Dixon went 13-of-21, 181 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The Bulldogs had 248 rushing yards as well, and averaged 7 ½ yards a carry. Landers had 11 of those carries for 85 yards and two scores.
Henderson (0-1) will visit Athens in a non-district game next Friday, and Carthage (1-0) will be at home, with Pine Tree, another program in the ETBlitz.com coverage area, coming to town.
Spring Hill 39, White Oak 34: Another rivalry was renewed for the first time since 2021 in Longview, between the visiting Roughnecks – guided now by first-year head coach Tanner Thiel – and the homestanding Spring Hill Panthers.
The Panthers were in front late in the game and trying to hold on. On a two-point conversion try by White Oak, with Spring Hill leading 37-34, Isaiah Ryan picked off a pass in the end zone and took it all the way back for two points the OTHER direction, a four-point swing that gave the Panthers a 39-34 lead with two and a half minutes left.
White Oak would get one last shot. After recovering a Spring Hill fumble with 17 seconds left, quarterback Mason Wright got loose and ran for 8 yards, but was stopped and time ran out.
The ‘Necks looked like they would score first, driving all the way to the Panthers’ 1-yard-line, but fumbled the ball away to Spring Hill’s Kevin Juarez-Perez. The Panthers didn’t score – they would turn the ball over on downs – but not before driving inside White Oak’s 5-yard-line and running off about 9 ½ minutes of clock.
Spring Hill scored on a safety to take a 2-0 lead, and they upped that on a 24-yard run by Keilan Logan with just over two minutes left in the half. The 9-0 score would hold up at halftime. Logan scored again – this time to open the second half in dynamic fashion, on a 75-yard kick return for a touchdown.
That put the Panthers in front, 16-0.
White Oak wasn’t out of it. Chase Carroll had a scoring run in the third quarter, and the Roughnecks got a safety of their own (16-14) and were only two points down with 8 ½ minutes left in the game, eventually setting up the game’s final sequence.
White Oak (0-1) will try to get coach Thiel his first win as head coach at Winnsboro . Spring Hill (1-0) will play at Jefferson.
We’ll have more on Friday night football on Saturday morning here on ETBlitz.com, right here in this very round-up.