WHAT’S CAUSING ALL THIS? / By MITCH LUCAS | Would you still write that story? – YOU BETTER BELIEVE I WOULD

ARLINGTON – The entire state of Texas saw two very different games in Class 4A on Friday afternoon at AT&T Stadium.

And they couldn’t have had a more different affect on the respective fan bases than if I’d personally given one of them $20 million to split and told the other they collectively owed that much.

Kilgore lost a 10-0 game for the UIL’s Class 4A, Division I championship to bratty Stephenville in the first of two that involved the East Texas Superpowers of Kilgore and Carthage on Friday at the Dallas Cowboys’ football palace. Carthage ran West Orange-Stark out of the freakin’ building in the second game, 49-21.

Listening to the ill-behaved Stephenville fans afterward, and watching them on the massive jumbotron that hangs over the turf, you’d have thought they were the second coming of the 1989 San Francisco 49ers, the 1992 Cowboys, and the 1985 Super Bowl Shuffle Chicago Bears all rolled into one.

Bless their hearts, they didn’t look any better the first half that Kilgore did. It was one long feeling-out period.

I will say that Stephenville seemed to be able to get what we have seen the Bulldogs do for the last two years so well – throw the ball down the field – off their game. Kilgore quarterback Kayson Brooks had only thrown six passes by halftime, and at the end of the game, Dre Sanders had two catches, and LaKeyleon Graves and Ja’Kalen Sheffield, two dynamic, explosive receivers (and defensive backs), only each had a catch. So the Yellow Jackets were able to disrupt the passing game.

That’s tough right there.

Stephenville’s defense seemed to focus on stopping the run. Rayshaun Williams, well, well over 1,000 yards this season for Kilgore, had a lot of escorts on Friday and they were all wearing white – Stephenville uniforms. Williams finished with 74 yards on 14 carries.

In short, it was a long day for Kilgore, and its fans, and I hate it.

Let me tell you about part of mine really quickly.

Joe Hale was in the press box for the game and I normally would be, as well. This year, I rambled around AT&T Stadium, kind of like “The Wanderer,” you know, the old song by Dion. Play it on Apple Music or somewhere if you don’t know it.

Anyway…

So I’m moving around the stadium, and this happens late in the game, when it was very apparent Stephenville was going to win. Like very late, around the time they were showing the Stephenville mom in the crowd with her son’s face on one of those stupid poster boards, holding up her ring finger over and over in moronic fashion.

Sorry, I’m a little bitter. But I have always hated those big face poster-things, to be fair.

This exchange, with a fan of another school – not Kilgore and not Stephenville. In fact, his school wasn’t involved in a state championship game at all this past week.

“I read that story you wrote,” he said, between bites of his ultimate nachos, which I think cost enough at AT&T Stadium that you could buy a Fiat with that same amount of money. He wiped his hands, and his mouth. “That one about Kilgore, and the history, and some of the quarterbacks. I read it. It was a pretty good story. Real, real long.”

He laughed.

“You look like a fool for writing that now. I bet you wish you had not wrote that story! They made you look like a jackass!”

Here’s the link to the story he’s talking about, first off: BROOKS COOKS! | Awesome quarterback Kayson Brooks the latest in a long line of great Kilgore signal-callers (w/ special video by BOX.COUNTY!).

What I told him…

“Actually, I’m glad I wrote it. Because I’m still proud of him. They might have had their worst game, don’t know haven’t seen the numbers yet. It’s been rough today. Looks like we’ve lost, and it’s 10-0. But Kilgore is going to be 14-2 on the year and the ‘2’ are Stephenville, who will have won the 4A-DI title, and Carthage, who will PROBABLY have won the 4A-D2 title. Brooks had a huge year.”

He didn’t really say much else, and I didn’t either. After having time to think about it, here’s what I WISH I WOULD HAVE ADDED. And dude, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry, I don’t like to alienate readers, but I wish I had thought to ask him what time HIS team played on Friday or Saturday. When was THEIR kickoff?

Oh yeah – that’s because their season ended six weeks ago.

Bulldogs, Bulldogs fans, Bulldogs community: you got 14 wins, two losses, and both losses were to the two 4A state champions. For a second straight year, there was only one team in the state that showed up better than you on the scoreboard. AT&T Stadium bit us again. It’s a hard end to what was otherwise a great season. When the sting eases a bit, the good stuff from this year will feel a good bit better. Trust me, I’ve finished 32 of ‘em, and it ALWAYS does.

I’ll tell you something else: my math may be a little off, because it’s very late as I write this. But I have Kilgore as 60-12 under coach Clint Fuller, as in the Bulldogs have won 60 and lost 12 since Fuller arrived at the start of the 2021 season.

That is ridiculously good.

District championships everywhere. Two state title game appearances.

THERE’S NOT A GUY WALKING PLANET EARTH that I’d rather have coaching the Kilgore Bulldogs than Clint Fuller. Can I be any more clear than that?

I’m saying that because I want everyone in this community to know that, as the sportswriter of record for this community since 2002, Fuller is your guy. To average 12 wins a year in a schedule where you technically are only guaranteed 10 games…?

Our Carthage coverage is coming; I had to divide my attention a little bit. We’re going to be busy this weekend putting content on. I don’t know what all you’ll see, but hopefully you’ll like it.

And we’ll turn our attention to basketball and soccer, which means schedules, photos and the like. Oh, and HUGE PLUG:

Don’t miss our ALL-ETBLITZ.COM FOOTBALL TEAM. We do it every year, There will likely be a first-team, second-team, third-team, a coach of the year, an offensive and defensive player of the year, and an overall player of the year. It’ll probably hit within the next two weeks.

Y’all, I believe in thanking people personally, and I want to personally and publicly thank all of our advertising partners, every single one of them, for coming on board this year. They’re the reason that ETBlitz.com doesn’t have any kind of paywall and that you guys can read it for free.

I’m going to try and name everyone, plus just everyone to thank in general. This gets me in trouble sometimes, but here goes.

First and foremost, I want to thank DKT Investments, specifically Jack Moore, for believing in ETBlitz from the beginning, and I want to say this: Jack Moore is one of the most benevolent souls in the Kilgore community. Kilgore, you are so blessed to have this man and his family in your community, and yes, of course from the sports standpoint, but so many things Jack and the folks at DKT do that never get recognized because they don’t want recognition. They want to help people. They are truly, truly good folks and I want our readers to know that, from the bottom of my heart.

I also want to thank Mike Clements and Energy Weldfab, and Dr. J.T. Roberts at a host of places, namely Kilgore-Gilmer Eye Care Centers, Zippy J’s Community Stores / Washmasters and Denny’s. Again, like Jack, two guys who are not only businessmen in this area but people who truly care about East Texas and our way of life here.

There’s Brent Goudarzi and Marty Young and their staff at Goudarzi & Young, LLP, and the scope of what they do, not only locally but nationally just boggles your mind when you realize it. We’ve said it here in this space, but did you realize and let it sink in that Brent has been the PRESIDENT of the NATIONAL Trial Lawyers Association? If you pull he and Marty away from their jobs, I saw them personally handing out food to people in need at the holidays. I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t doing that.

There’s the Clower family, and Clower Meats, and their generational talents, years – decades – of making people happy. Now, think for just a minute: these folks don’t just have good meat that you’re eating at your dinner table. Their products are served here at local restaurants and restaurants around East Texas. Literally millions of people are eating Clower products daily. And Scott and Carl Clower and their staff, they strive week after week after week to make sure it’s the very best. You can tell it: take one bite.

Ever been downtown to Kilgore Mercantile & Music to get you a Blue Bell dipped cone, a sundae or hear Fred Gebhardt play? I’m almost positive that man could pick up a broom and get a few strings off of it, and make it sound good. If you can go into Kilgore Mercantile & Music and look, really look, at all the fantastic things they have in their old fashioned country store, hear a jam (and buy some!) and get a snack or a meal, then that’s a great day.

Downtown D’Lites is just a couple of spots down and I’m not going to say it’s like “the best kept secret in Kilgore,” or something like that, because IT’S NOT A SECRET! Eating healthy does NOT have to mean you don’t enjoy your food! Baked potatoes are served there and on the go, and have a homemade dessert, live a little. Downtown D’Lites and Kilgore Mercantile & Music are two reasons downtown Kilgore is a vibrant place to be!

Thanks, as well, to the great folks at East Texas Treatment Center, who serve East Texans who need physical, occupational, speech and hand therapy, and to ETX Electrical Services, which provides quality professional and domestic electric care for their clients.

Last but not least, thanks so much to Gabriel Jordan Buick GMC here in Kilgore, and to Ragin’ Red Broadcasting – Don Hedrick and Doug and Jason Smith. Guys, let’s do season 45 and come back and get that state win.