Kason Davis, Keaontay Ingram + Carthage Cruise By Palestine, 48-16

CARTHAGE – Carthage quarterback Kason Davis passed for 270 yards and two touchdowns while running back Keantay Ingram rushed for 104 yards and three touchdowns as Carthage rolled past Palestine 48-16 in a District 9-4A Division I game on Friday at Bulldog Stadium.

Carthage (6-2, 3-2) clinched a playoff berth with the win. The loss and Center beating Kilgore 40-39 on Friday eliminated Palestine (5-4, 2-3) from postseason contention. Carthage scored touchdowns on its first four possessions and had a 41-0 lead before Palestine got on the scoreboard on a 25-yard field goal by Edgar Ayala with 45.6 seconds left in the third quarter.

The most pivotal play of the game was on Carthage's first drive. A sack by Jakobe Pursley forced Carthage into a third-and-19 pay at its own 23-yard line, but Davis connected with Ingram on a 45-yard screen pass. The play helped set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Ingram with 8:09 left in the first quarter.

The Carthage passing game was even better the rest of the first half. On Carthage's second drive, a 55-yard pass from Davis to Dewaylon Ingram set up another 2-yard touchdown run by Keaontay Ingram.

On Carthage's third drive Davis connected with Dee Bowens on a 50-yard touchdown pass to give the Bulldogs a 20-0 lead with 2:24 left in the first quarter. Davis completed his first 10 passes and finished the first half with 228 passing yards.

Carthage made it four touchdowns on its first four drives when Davis found Dewaylon Ingram for a 6-yard touchdown pass with 6:26 left in the first half. This capped an 80-yard drive in which Keaontay Ingram had five carries for 49 yards.

Carthage safety Mason Graham had two interceptions in the first half, returning the second 31 yards to the Palestine 48-yard line with 45.3 seconds left in the first half. This helped set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Keaontay Ingram with 2.4 seconds left in the first half, giving the Bulldogs a 34-0 halftime lead. Palestine was held to 55 total yards in the first half. Keaontay Ingram finished with 107 yards rushing on 14 carries.

Palestine running back Irric Deyon scored on a 14-yard touchdown run with 8:54 left, but he was held to 65 yards, snapping his consecutive game of 100-yard rushing games at four. Quarterback Claude Rodgers led Palestine with 83 yards rushing, including a 9-yard touchdown run with 2:19 left.

Carthage will play at Chapel Hill next Friday while Palestine will conclude its 2016 season hosting Henderson.