PT SLIPS AT LINDALE | 9-4A seems clear now, with KHS on top, Lindale second, PT third and Chapel Hill fourth
LINDALE – The ninth week of the high school football season had playoff implications for both Pine Tree and Lindale on Halloween night here at Eagle Stadium.
The Eagles and Pirates were playing for second place in District 9-4A, Division I, aka to many the so-called “District of Doom,” but also for homefield advantage in the bi-district round of the upcoming University Interscholastic League (UIL Class 4A, Division I) football playoffs.
These two had split their last four meetings 2-2 with the Pirates winning last season as well as in 2023.
Lindale running back Hank Thurman scored on a couple of short runs in the second quarter, and the Eagle defense held off a valiant Pine Tree comeback bid in the second half to come away with a hard-fought 17-10 victory.
With the win, the Eagles improve to 8-1 overall and 4-1 in district play, while the loss drops the Pirates to 5-4 for the season and 3-2 against district foes.
In other district action on Friday, Chapel Hill upended Henderson, 56-35, to likely earn the fourth and final playoff spot in the district, and Palestine snapped a season-long losing streak with a 31-22 win against Mabank.
The Pirates and Eagles played like they knew very well what was at stake. It was one of those games where defenses definitely ruled.
The Eagles had a 301 to 254 edge in total yardage. Thurman led all rushers with 114 yards on 19 carries. Lindale finished with 216 yards rushing and David Lindig was 6-of-13 passing for 85 yards with an interception by Pine Tree linebacker Dalan Montgomery.
Reed Carnathan was the Eagles leading receiver with five catches for 45 yards. Kaden Fowler followed with two for 40.
Meanwhile, Pine Tree’s Colton Croft was 13-of-24 passing for 108 yards and a touchdown to Ashton Valentine. Ja’Karius Timmons led the Pirates’ rushing attack with 99 yards on 15 carries.
Valentine led the PT receiving corps with five receptions for 41 yards. Chris Nickoles (2-19), Bosston Johnson (2-21), Roger Attaway (2-21), Taibran Homer (1-11) and Timmons (1-4) also had catches for the Pirates.
Lindale won the coin toss and deferred. When the Eagles got the football for the first time with 10:59 remaining in the first quarter, they put together a nice drive from their 41 using Thurman’s running ability and toughness for 10-, 16-, and seven-yards to reach the Pine Tree 26-yard line.
David Lindig, the Lindale quarterback, completed a couple of passes to Carnathan, his tight end, before Pine Tree’s defense stiffened and the Eagles settled for a 31-yard Camden Lane field goal and a 3-0 lead with 6:30 remaining in the opening quarter.
The visiting Pirates answered, though, capitalizing on an Eagle fumble, recovered by Aiden Smith at the 50-yard line on a mishandled punt return.
From there, Pine Tree put together a six-play march with runs of 11- and 5-yards by Attaway, a 16-yard Croft completion to Valentine and a couple of runs by Timmons to reach the Lindale 16 before the drive stalled.
Julian Ibarra came on to boot a 33-yard field goal to knot the score at 3-all with 1:02 left in the first quarter.
The Eagles answered with a 10-play, 59-yard scoring drive of their own with Thurman scoring on a four-yard run with 9:30 remaining in the first half. It was his sixth carry of the march. Fowler also contributed a couple of timely 14-yard runs.
Both teams then drove into the others’ end of the field, but neither reached the red zone.
On the Eagles’ final possession of the first half, Lindale drove 77 yards to extend its seven-point advantage to two touchdowns at halftime.
A couple of back-to-back big plays made the difference. The first came on a third-and-six Lindig scramble for 31 yards, followed by a 36-yard Lindig completion to Fowler down to the Pine Tree five-yard line. Thurman scored a couple of plays later on a three-yard run.
Lane converted his second extra point of the contest, giving the Eagles a 17-3 halftime lead.
The Pirates used an onside kick, which Bosston Johnson recovered to open the second half of play, but an offsides penalty against the Pirates hurt, forcing Ibarra to kick off again.
Pine Tree’s defense, though, rose to the occasion, getting a sack of Lindig by defensive lineman David Lively to force a punt.
The Bucs moved from the Lindale 45 to the 12, but a couple of Croft passes, on third- and fourth-downs, one intended for Johnson, and the other to Valentine, sailed incomplete.
The Eagles took over, but on the third play of the drive, Pine Tree’s Montgomery intercepted Lindig to give the Pirates’ offense a fresh set-of-downs at the Lindale 28.
A 14-yard completion from Croft to Nickoles opened the march, moving the football to the 14. Three short runs by Timmons set the stage for a two-yard Croft completion to Valentine for the touchdown, cutting Lindale’s lead from 17-3 to 17-10 with 1:38 left in the third quarter, following Ibarra’s extra point.
On the Pirates’ very next possession, they reached the Lindale 21-yard-line, but a fumble proved costly, being recovered by Lindale’s Andre Foster.
Big plays, defensively by Brayson Woods and Montgomery, forced Lindale to turn the football over again, giving the Pirates another opportunity. This time, though, a false-start penalty by Pine Tree followed by a sack on a fourth-down would seal the victory for the Eagles.
Next week, Pine Tree and Lindale close the regular season with the Pirates entertaining Palestine and the Eagles visiting Henderson.
Kilgore, who had an open date on Friday. jumps back into the action with a Thursday night game against Mabank, at Mabank.