District 20-3A

No. 7 Carthage Bulldogs (7-1, 2-0)

vs.

Jasper Bulldogs (4-2, 1-0)

7:30 p.m. Friday

Bulldog Stadium, Jasper

 

Coaches
  • Carthage: Scott Surratt
  • Jasper: Darrell Barbay

 

Last week
  • Carthage: won 55-3 vs. Center
  • Jasper: won 55-7 at Diboll

 

Next week
  • Carthage: vs. Diboll
  • Jasper: at Huntington

 

Playmakers

Carthage

  • QB Blake Bogenschutz, Sr., 6-1, 180 (committed to UTSA; 140 of 228, 2,427 yards, 34 TDs, 3 INTs; 1 rushing TD)
  • WR Terian "Tee" Goree, Sr., 6-2, 170 (53 catches, 1,031 yards, 19 TDs)
  • WR O'Keeron Rutherford, Sr., 6-5, 181 (39 catches, 631 yards, 7 TDs)
  • RB Tevin Pipkin, Sr., 5-10, 165 (100 carries, 849 yards, 9 TDs; 9 catches, 138 yards, 1 TD)
  • OT/DT Mario McCain, Sr., 6-0, 220 (67 tackles, 12 for loss, 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 recovery, 17 QB pressures)
  • OG Adrian Goodacre, Sr., 6-4, 318 (committed to ULL)
  • LB James Marshall, Jr., 6-0, 190 (69 tackles, 4 for loss, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles)
  • LB D'vodney Brooks, Sr., 6-3, 205 (63 tackles, 5 for loss, 2 INTs, 2 forced fumbles, 1 def. TD)
  • RB/S Bryian Bolton, Jr., 5-10, 175 (31 carries, 267 yards, 5 TDs; 2 catches, 84 yards, 2 TDs; 34 tackles)
  • WR/CB Keldrean Strong, Sr., 5-11, 165 (11 catches, 210 yards, 1 TD)
  • TE Marquise Guinn, Soph., 6-4, 220 (15 catches, 212 yards, 2 TDs)
  • DE Jarrod McLin, Soph., 6-3, 220 (43 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 2 recoveries, 19 QB pressures)

 

Jasper

  • QB Steven Walker, Sr., 5-10, 185
  • RB Terrance "Tiki" Cuney, Sr., 5-9, 215
  • OL Terrell Cuney, Sr., 6-3, 260 (committed to Texas)
  • LB DeAnthony Cuney, Sr., 5-10, 230
  • WR/DB Jamarcus Reed, Sr., 6-2, 175
  • WR/DB Chris Spikes, Jr., 6-1, 175
  • TE/LB Shawn Jones, Sr., 6-1, 220
  • RB/LB Deroddrick Hadnot, Sr.

 

Just the facts
  • Carthage leads the all-time series with Jasper, 8-7-3.
  • Carthage won last year's meeting 49-31 at home.
  • Carthage averages 47.0 points per game and allows 23.3.
  • Jasper averages 35.3 points per game and allows 14.3.
  • Carthage has won three consecutive games by a cumulative score of 154-16.
  • Jasper has won three consecutive games by a cumulative score of 125-30.
  • Carthage is 3-0 against Jasper since 2008, outscoring Jasper 132-55 in those three contests.
  • The winner of Friday's game will be the No. 1 Division I playoff seed from District 20-3A.
  • Friday's game is the Fox Sports Southwest DQ Big Game of the Week and will be featured on the channel's high school scoreboard show that starts at midnight Friday night.
  • Carthage senior quarterback Blake Bogenschutz has broken school career passing yards and touchdown passes records this year, while senior receiver Terian "Tee" Goree has broken the school single-season touchdown catch record.

 

Carthage QB Blake Bogenschutz. (© Christopher R. Vinn, ETSN.fm)
Carthage QB Blake Bogenschutz. (© Christopher R. Vinn, ETSN.fm)
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Key matchup: Jasper's pass rush vs. Carthage's offensive line. Jasper has talented defensive backs, but nobody can expect them to cover Carthage's stellar receiving corps led by Terian "Tee" Goree and O'Keeron Rutherford all night.

With that in mind, Jasper must absolutely get pressure on Carthage senior quarterback Blake Bogenschutz, who has thrown more than 11 times as many touchdown passes as interceptions this season. Think about that for a second.

Bogenschutz averages 76 pass attempts between interceptions. He hasn't thrown any during the Bulldogs' impressive three-game winning streak that has seen head coach Scott Surratt's team average 51.3 points per game with his offensive starters playing no more than a series into the second half.

Carthage OL Adrian Goodacre. (Christopher Vinn, ETSN.fm)
Carthage OL Adrian Goodacre. (Christopher Vinn, ETSN.fm)
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That means Jasper must find a way to make him uncomfortable in the pocket. Carthage's offensive line has prevented everyone except Whitehouse from getting pressure, and even Whitehouse didn't get enough to prevent Bogenschutz from throwing for a career-high 380 yards. Jasper runs a similar odd front that often brings outside linebackers to the edge at the line of scrimmage, similar to Whitehouse's scheme, so that could play in head coach Darrell Barbay's favor.

Don't be surprised if: Both teams look impressive early, but favored Carthage finds a way to pull ahead for a road win.

Jasper proved last year that it could play with Carthage. Jasper erased a 21-7 deficit to take a 24-21 third-quarter lead, but Bogenschutz threw three touchdown passes in the span of a few minutes to spark a 28-point run for a 49-31 victory.

Jasper LB Shawn Jones. (Christopher Vinn, ETSN.fm)
Jasper LB Shawn Jones. (Christopher Vinn, ETSN.fm)
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Except for about a quarter and a half of the second half against Whitehouse, Carthage has played about as well as anyone could expect this season. A win at Jasper on Friday would almost guarantee another undefeated district championship for Carthage, which enters this game 30-1 in district play since Surratt's arrival in 2007.

Jasper has home-field advantage and a lot of momentum coming into this game. Texas-bound offensive lineman Terrell Cuney and the Jasper running game should be able to find some room to run considering Carthage's susceptibility to the ground game. Carthage has allowed 160.8 rushing yards per game and 4.7 yards per carry. Not a huge number, but enough to give a run-first team like Jasper some confidence.

But Carthage has been ranked in the top 10 all season -- including several weeks at No. 1 -- for a reason. This should be a fun game with huge 20-3A implications.

Jasper OL Terrell Cuney. (Christopher Vinn, ETSN.fm)
Jasper OL Terrell Cuney. (Christopher Vinn, ETSN.fm)
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