Kilgore’s D.Q. Scott is the ETSN.fm + Dairy Queen Defensive Player of the Week

Another playoff game, another huge performance from Kilgore's defensive line.

This time, Stephenville faced the wrath of the Bulldogs' front four, which helped head coach Mike Wood's team avenge last year's season-ending loss in a 44-6 Class 3A Division I state semifinal blowout Saturday at Corsicana's Tiger Stadium.

Kilgore (14-0) shut down Stephenville's high-powered offense, which entered the game averaging 474.4 total yards and better than 270 per game on the ground. That started up front, where senior defensive end D.Q. Scott and company won the battle at the line of scrimmage increasingly often as the game progressed.

Scott finished with a team-leading nine tackles and two sacks to earn this week's ETSN.fm/Dairy Queen Defensive Player of the Week award. Through Kilgore's first 14 games of the season, Scott has 80 tackles, 18 for loss, 11 sacks, three forced fumbles, and 32 hurries.

Scott also had four quarterback hurries Saturday, which marked Kilgore's second state semifinal win in school history, joining the Bulldogs' 10-7 win vs. Pflugerville Connally in 2004. The 6-foot-0, 252-pounder led a Kilgore front seven that amassed five sacks and seven tackles for loss in the 38-point rout, which saw the Bulldogs hold defending 3A Division I champion Stephenville to only 202 total yards of offense.

Stephenville freshman running back Kaegun Williams ran for 122 first-half yards, but Kilgore's defensive front put more and more stress on the Jackets' offensive front, resulting in only three second-half carries for four yards. That pressure chased Stephenville's heavily-recruited junior quarterback, Jarrett Stidham, the entire afternoon. Combined with a hamstring injury he suffered in a regional championship win against Lubbock Cooper, Kilgore's pass rush limited Stidham to negative yardage on six rushes after he entered the game with 999 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground.

Fellow senior defensive lineman LaDarrin Anthony, who won the ETSN/DQ weekly award twice earlier this season, had four tackles, 1 1/2 sacks, and a team-high five hurries against Stephenville, while junior defensive tackle Jacobe Wafer had a big game with seven tackles and one sack. Junior linebacker Kris Haynes had six stops, two tackles for loss, and half a sack.

While Kilgore's front dictated the action at the point of attack, the Bulldogs' secondary definitely did its job. Stidham threw for only 50 yards on 5-for-18 passing. Senior defensive back Jeffrey Sanders had eight tackles and one interception.

Kilgore's stellar defense, which has allowed only 13.6 points per game this year, faces perhaps its toughest challenge of the season when it collides Friday afternoon with Carthage's offense. Carthage averages 45.8 points per game and features three of the most prolific skill players in program history: senior quarterback Blake Bogenschutz, senior running back Tevin Pipkin, and senior receiver Terian "Tee" Goree.

ETSN.fm/Dairy Queen 2013 Defensive Players of the Week

Filed Under: Kilgore, Player of the Week

Categories: Class 3A, Football, News