LONGVIEW – Darnell McKnight finished with a pair of touchdowns as the Gladewater Bears ran past Spring Hill, 42-23, on Thursday night at Panther Stadium.

McKnight finished with 80 yards and a pair of scoring runs of 18 yards for the Bears, who used a strong second half to pull away from the Panthers.

Gladewater (4-5) moved to 3-1 in District 6-4A Division II action, setting up a regular-season final showdown at Jack V. Murphy Stadium next week with Center, which sits at 7-1 (3-0) in the loop entering Friday night’s contest with Pleasant Grove. Spring Hill (1-8), on the heels of its first win of the season, fell to 1-3 in district play.

Gladewater's Marcello Jackson (28) takes a hit from Spring HIll's Scott Deal during their game Thursday night in Longview. (Jim Frake, ETSN.fm)
Gladewater's Marcello Jackson (28) takes a hit from Spring HIll's Scott Deal during their game Thursday night in Longview. (Jim Frake, ETSN.fm)
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Marcello Jackson paced the Bears ground game, finishing with 106 of Gladewater’s 289 total rushing yards. Jackson and Isaiah Davis (16 carries, 93 yards) each added scores for the Bears, who held a 14-10 lead at halftime.

Blake Guthrie finished 5-for-9 through the air for 87 yards with a score, and added one on a 1-yard keeper on the ground. His main target was Cameron Callaway, who hauled in four passes for 77 yards, including a 34-yard score.

Spring Hill kept the contest close, paced by the aerial attack led by Cameron Castleberry, who finished 21-for-40 with 225 yards and scores of 22 and 51 yards. He had four receivers in double digits, led by Scott Deal who had nine catches for 128 yards. Deal also drilled a 27-yard field goal for the Panthers. Kolby Tulpa had an interception defensively and offensively found the end zone on a 22-yard score.

Gladewater jumped out to a 14-0 lead before the Panthers came back with 10 consecutive points, the final coming on Deal’s boot inside the final minute of the first half.

After exchanging scores to open the third, Gladewater rattled off three-straight touchdowns. Guthrie and Callaway connected for 34 yards, Davis scampered for a 4-yard score, and McKnight hit the end zone on an 18-yard touchdown to round out the Gladewater scoring.

Castleberry and Deal closed out the night on a 51-yard connection as time expired.

Spring Hill visits Atlanta next Friday.

Gladewater's Isaiah Tiner (55) applies pressure to Spring Hill quarterback Cameron Castleberry during their game Thursday night in Longview. (Jim Frake, ETSN.fm)
Gladewater's Isaiah Tiner (55) applies pressure to Spring Hill quarterback Cameron Castleberry during their game Thursday night in Longview. (Jim Frake, ETSN.fm)
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