Carthage Hammers Silsbee 49-6 to Clinch 3A D-I Region III Title Game Berth

BEAUMONT -- The third round was more of the same for the Carthage Bulldogs.

A powerful rushing attack complemented Blake Bogenschutz' three touchdown throws to fuel the Bulldogs' 49-6 rout of Silsbee in Friday's Class 3A Division I Region III semifinal at Lamar University's Provost Umphrey Stadium.

Carthage (12-1), which has outscored three playoff opponents 142-26, faces West Orange-Stark (11-1) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Beaumont ISD Stadium in the 3A D-I Region III championship. The win marked the second consecutive year Carthage has beaten Silsbee. The Dawgs won 50-21 in last year's 3A D-I Region III final in Lufkin.

Senior tailback Tevin Pipkin ran for 183 yards on eight first-half carries and finished with 12 rushes for 211 yards and three touchdowns, which covered 74, 10, and 68 yards. Pipkin became the second player in Carthage history to eclipse the 5,000-yard career rushing mark and unofficially needs 15 yards to tie the school record set by Kris Briggs (5,130 from 1995-98).

The UTSA-bound Bogenschutz completed 11 of 21 passes for 140 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to senior Terian "Tee" Goree plus a two-yarder to senior O'Keeron Rutherford, a receiving duo who committed to North Texas on Wednesday. Goree's touchdown receptions covered 13 and 26 yards to help him finish with four grabs for 62 yards. Rutherford caught four passes for 48 yards.

Goree has a school-record 25 touchdown catches and Rutherford has 13 entering the matchup with West Orange-Stark. Bogenschutz has a school-record 48 touchdown passes and only three interceptions, along with more than 3,300 yards.

Carthage gained 321 of its 381 total yards in the first half, when the Dawgs built a 35-0 lead halfway through the second quarter. Carthage held Silsbee (9-3) to 80 total yards in the first 39 1/2 minutes before the Tigers finished with 148 for the game.

Silsbee trailed 49-0 when backup quarterback Dontre' Thomas scored from a yard with no time remaining following a timeout with a second left in the fourth, marking the second consecutive week Carthage's opponent scored on the game's final play. Those two touchdowns account for 13 of the 26 points the Dawgs have allowed in the playoffs.

Carthage has outscored its first three playoff opponents 108-7 in the first half.

Junior middle linebacker James Marshall had three tackles for loss and forced a fumble for the Bulldog defense, which has allowed only 74 points in Carthage's eight-game winning streak. Junior safety Bryian Bolton intercepted a pass for the second consecutive week.

Senior linebacker Tra Leary and senior defensive tackle Mario McCain recorded a sack apiece, while sophomore defensive end Jarrod McLin was in on two tackles for loss, one of which he combined with senior linebacker Christian Allison for the stop. Allison also recovered a fumble.

Pipkin's 74-yard touchdown sprint was sandwiched between Goree's first-quarter touchdown catches for a 21-0 Bulldog lead. Carthage outgained Silsbee 177-17 in the first quarter.

Pipkin's 10-yard and 68-yard touchdown runs pushed the lead to 35-0 with six minutes left in the first half. Carthage's yardage advantage ballooned to 321-52 by halftime. Carthage's starters stayed in for only two second-half series, the first of which ended in the two-yard Bogenschutz-to-Rutherford connection for a 42-0 lead four minutes into the third. Junior Tredarion Jackson scored from four yards after Silsbee's third turnover set up a two-play, seven-yard Carthage possession and a 49-0 lead 3 1/2 minutes into the fourth.

Texas State quarterback pledge Patrick Reed finished 7-for-14 for 72 yards and an interception for Silsbee, which gained only 80 yards on 33 rushes. Thomas' 46 yards on six carries led the Tigers and all of that came in the game's final 8 1/2 minutes.

Silsbee senior Zayon Jackson caught a game-high five passes for 59 yards. Sophomore Sedrick Spearman had 39 yards on nine carries, all in the first half.

---

Class 3A Division I Region III

Semifinal

Carthage 49, Silsbee 6

Lamar University's Provost Umphrey Stadium, Beaumont

Carthage -- 21 14 7 7 -- 49
Silsbee -- 0 0 0 6 -- 6

First Quarter
CAR -- Terian "Tee" Goree 13 pass from Blake Bogenschutz (Jimmy Gonzalez kick) -- 7:23
CAR -- Tevin Pipkin 74 run (Gonzalez kick) -- 4:06
CAR -- Goree 26 pass from Bogenschutz (Gonzalez kick) -- 1:02
Second Quarter
CAR -- Pipkin 10 run (Gonzalez kick) -- 9:53
CAR -- Pipkin 68 run (Gonzalez kick) -- 6:11
Third Quarter
CAR -- O'Keeron Rutherford 2 pass from Bogenschutz (Gonzalez kick) -- 7:56
Fourth Quarter
CAR -- Tredarion Jackson 4 run (Gonzalez kick) -- 8:40
SIL -- Dontre' Thomas 1 run (pass failed) -- 0:00

                               CAR                 SIL
First downs                15                    11
Total yards                381                  148
Rushes-Yards         22-241              33-80
Pass yards                140                   68
Comp.-Att.-Int.       11-22-0              8-17-1
Penalties-Yards         4-30                 5-54
Fumbles-Lost             1-1                  6-2
Punts-Avg.              3-37.3              7-29.3

INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING -- Carthage: Tevin Pipkin 12-211, Tredarion Jackson 5-11, Bryian Bolton 1-13, Blake Bogenschutz 3-5, No. 48 (No name on roster) 2-1. Silsbee: Dontre' Thomas 6-46, Sedrick Spearman 9-39, C.J. Green 1-17, Patrick Reed 9-15, Tavoris Brooks 5-11, Troy Gore 1-(-10), TEAM 2-(-39).
PASSING -- Carthage: Blake Bogenschutz 11-21-0 140, Jarod Blissett 0-1-0. Silsbee: Patrick Reed 7-14-1 72, Chase Partain 1-2-0 (-4), Dontre' Thomas 0-1-0.
RECEIVING -- Carthage: Terian "Tee" Goree 4-62, O'Keeron Rutherford 4-48, Tevin Pipkin 2-19, Keldrean Strong 1-11. Silsbee: Zayon Jackson 5-54, Troy Gore 1-10, Sedrick Spearman 1-0, Chris Elam 1-(-5).