Carthage Hooks Up With Houston North Forest in Second Round

CLASS 4A DIVISION I
Region III Area Playoff

Carthage Bulldogs (8-2)

vs.

Houston North Forest Bulldogs (8-3)

7:30 p.m. Friday
Texan Drive Stadium, Porter

Coaches

• Carthage: Scott Surratt
• North Forest: Mike Ferrell

Last week

• Carthage: def. Silsbee, 34-30
• North Forest: def. West Columbia, 41-28

Next week

• Winner faces El Campo or Henderson, Class 4A Division I, Region III semifinal

Playmakers

Carthage

• RB Keaontay Ingram, Jr., 5-11, 198 (189 carries, 1,384 yards, 20 TDs; 30 catches, 335 yards, 2 TDs)
• QB Kason Davis, Sr., 6-2, 180 (144 of 245, 2,240 yards, 24 TDs, 6 INTs)
• WR Dewaylon Ingram, Jr., 6-0, 160 (43 catches, 719 yards, 7 TDs)
• WR Dee Bowens, Jr., 5-7, 140 (46 catches, 749 yards, 11 TDs)
• LB Mykel Gates, Jr., 6-0, 222 (98 tackles, 12 for loss, 3 forced fumbles, 2 recoveries, 2 INTs, 2 PBUs)
• CB Nic Moore, Sr., 5-11, 155 (42 tackles, 2 for loss, 4 PBUs, 1 fumble recovery)
• CB Mekhi Colbert, Jr., 5-10, 180 (30 tackles, 2 for loss, 2 INTs, 8 PBUs, 2 forced fumbles)
• LB Jase Dixon, Sr., 5-11, 190 (100 tackles, 10 for loss, 1 sack, 4 forced fumbles, 2 recoveries, 2 defensive TDs)

North Forest

• QB Rashand Jones, Jr., 5-9, 160 (95 of 170, 1,850 yards, 26 TDs, 5 INTs; 136 carries, 1,355 yards, 16 TDs)
• WR Demond Demas, Fr., 6-3, 185 (32 catches, 783 yards, 13 TDs)
• RB Antonio Davis, Sr., 6-0, 190 (118 carries, 786 yards, 10 TDs; 20 catches, 358 yards, 4 TDs)
• LB Rufus Wade, Soph, 6-2, 190 (105 tackles, 10 for loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 2 recoveries, 2 INTs)
• DB Montel Perkins, Sr., 5-8, 157 (33 tackles, 1 for loss, 4 INTs, 1 PBU)
• LB Caleb Bledsoe, Sr., 6-3, 200 (69 tackles, 24 for loss, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles, 1 recovery, 1 blocked kick)
• DB Fred Whitaker, Jr. (57 tackles, 14 for loss, 2 sacks, 4 fumble recoveries, 2 INTs)
• DB Derick Graham, Jr., 5-9, 160 (63 tackles, 3 for loss, 3 INTs, 1 PBU, 1 defensive TD)

Just the facts

• Carthage is averaging 35.1 points and 391.4 yards per game -- 158.6 rushing and 232.8 passing.
• Bulldogs junior running back Keaontay Ingram is averaging 171.9 total yards per game.
• Carthage is 36-5 (.878) in the playoffs under coach Scott Surratt.
• The cumulative record of the two teams that have beaten Carthage this season -- Henderson and Kilgore -- is 17-5 (.773).
• North Forest is averaging 40.9 points and 416.2 yards per game -- 247.2 rushing and 169 passing.
• Defensively, North Forest is allowing 14.9 points on the season, and has forced 27 turnovers -- 11 fumbles and 16 interceptions.
• North Forest quarterback Rashand Jones averages 291.4 yards of total offense per game.
• The cumulative record of the three teams that have beaten North Forest this season -- Stafford, Bridge City, and La Marque -- is 24-8 (.750).

Key matchup: Carthage rushing attack vs. North Forest defensive front. There haven't been too many more consistent running backs in all of East Texas this season than Carthage junior Keaontay Ingram. The star ball carrier has gone for at least 100 yards and scored at least one touchdown in nine of his team's 10 games on the season. Ingram missed a significant portion of his sophomore year to injury, and head coach Scott Surratt has been careful not to overexpose his offense's best player during the course of the season. But we may now have reached the point where caution is thrown to the wind. Ingram is averaging less than 20 carries per game, and has eclipsed the 20-carry plateau just four times on the year. Do not be surprised to see 30 attempts from Ingram this week, which if he stays on his current yards-per-carry average of 7.3, would put him at 220 yards. Carthage does have a couple of dynamic weapons in the passing game with receivers Dewaylon Ingram and Dee Bowens, but a strong running game will serve to amplify the passing attack's overall production.

North Forest has played outstanding defense for most of the season. The Bulldogs come in allowing less than 15 points per game, but during their current eight-game winning streak, North Forest has yielded a total of 52 points. However, North Forest did not play in the toughest of districts. Aside of the Bulldogs, District 11-4A was comprised of all Houston ISD schools that was outscored by a combined score of 165-34 in the bi-district round of the playoffs last week. In non-district, North Forest suffered losses to Stafford (33-13), Bridge City (56-12), and La Marque (23-16). In last week's win over West Columbia, North Forest allowed 411 total yards, 306 of which game on the ground. The Bulldogs' run defense will need tighten up this week in order to slow down Ingram and Carthage.

Don't be surprised if: Carthage comes out strong. Last week's emotional victory in the final seconds could give the Bulldogs a renewed sense of confidence following less-than-impressive performances in two of their three final regular-season games against Bullard and Chapel Hill. In the bi-district win over Silsbee, Carthage got a fourth-down stop with two minutes remaining, and drove nearly the length of the field with no timeouts to capture a thrilling 34-30 win. Quarterback Kason Davis' 24-yard touchdown pass to Dewaylon Ingram with 14 seconds to play helped Carthage stave off elimination.