Kilgore Erupts For 62 Points in First-Round Blowout of Huffman Hargrave

LUFKIN -- Kilgore rolled up almost 400 rushing yards, had three passing touchdowns, an interception for a touchdown, and sent Huffman Hargrave packing Thursday night at Abe Martin Stadium in the first round of the Class 4A Division I playoffs

The Bulldogs soundly defeated Hargrave, 62-26, punching their ticket to the area round, where they'll face either El Campo or Houston Wheatley.

Kilgore (8-3) has won eight of its last nine games.

The Bulldogs got more than 100 yards rushing each from quarterback Patrick Jackson and tailbacks Ja'Quorius Smith and Melek Hamilton, who each also had a touchdown. Defensive end Ken Fagans had two interceptions, one of them for a touchdown, and Caylon Williams, Chris Toombs and A.J. Henson each caught a touchdown pass. Kicker Christian Galvan had a pair of field goals,

Kilgore stopped Hargrave's first offensive series, forcing a punt (which Kilgore didn't do in the game). The Bulldogs scored on their first drive, a 25-yard field goal by Galvan.

Hargrave took the lead on a 57-yard pass from quarterback Cody Gaitan to receiver Lane Shrively, but lost it just 10 seconds later when, on first down, Smith broke through for a 66-yard score, giving Kilgore a 10-7 lead.

Still in the first quarter, Hargrave scored again, this time on an 11-yard pass from Gaitan to Dylan Lorfing. Hargrave was back in the lead, 14-10.

That would be the last time the Falcons were in front.

Kilgore's next drive began at its 11-yard-line and ended with a Smith dive into the end zone from a yard out, giving the Bulldogs the lead for good, although at the time it was 17-14.

The Bulldogs' defense forced a three-and-out in their own territory, with Gaitan's final two passes missing the mark. The Bulldogs took over at their own 39 and scored in four plays, a 40-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Williams.

Hargrave did keep things interesting, putting together its own drive -- including six straight runs by tailback Camron McMahan -- that culminated in a 21-yard scoring pass to Shrively. The Falcons missed the extra point and trailed by four, 24-20, with 2:31 remaining in the half.

The final minutes before halftime saw Kilgore score 17 points in the last 1:38. Kilgore's Kamron Carbonneau recovered a Hargrave onside kick attempt after the touchdown, and was tackled at Hargrave 40. Two plays later, Jackson was standing in the end zone after a 37-yard run.

Fagans intercepted Gaitan on third-and-10 of the next drive, bolting into the end zone for a shockingly quick score, and then Fagans struck again after the kickoff, intercepting Gaitan yet again, which led to a 42-yard field goal by Galvan. In just 1:38, Kilgore blew the game open from a four-point lead to a 41-20 halftime advantage.

Incredibly, Hargrave tried an onside kick to open the second half, and succeeded -- then fumbled the ball back to Kilgore on the ensuing first-down play. Just nine plays later Kilgore scored yet again, this time a 26-yard pass from Jackson to Henson.

Shrively got Hargrave's final points of the game, a 23-yard touchdown catch, and then Kilgore scored twice more -- a 43-yard touchdown pass play where Toombs caught a short pass and broke free, and then in the fourth quarter, a 16-yard run by Hamilton.

Kilgore's Mason Shelton stopped Hargrave's final attempt at points when he intercepted Gaitan -- Gaitan's third pick of the game -- at Kilgore's 1-yard-line with just over eight minutes left.

The Bulldogs' defense held Gaitan to 192 yards passing, on a 14-of-28 performance, but he did get four touchdowns. Jackson was 5-of-f7 for 85 yards and the three scores.

Kilgore finished with 391 rushing yards.