Chapel Hill Rolls Up 700-Plus Yards of Offense in 76-36 Destruction of Palestine
NEW CHAPEL HILL -- Big play, after big play, after big play. That's how Friday night went for Chapel Hill, and Palestine had no hope of stopping the Bulldogs.
Chapel Hill put up 732 yards of offense and the Bulldogs scored seven touchdowns of 21 yards or more in a 76-36 rout of Palestine at Bulldog Stadium.
The Bulldogs (4-3, 2-0 in District 9-4A Division I) averaged 14.4 yards per play and rushed for an incredible 523 yards on the night.
Jabraylon Franklin ran for 188 yards and two touchdowns -- one a 94-yarder on Chapel Hill's second play of the game.
Delenis Garrett (touchdown runs of 21 and 5 yards) scored both times he touched the ball and Reggie King (5- and 12-yard touchdown runs) reached the end zone on two of his three rush attempts.
Johntaveon Martin scored on a 64-yard touchdown run on his only carry late in the fourth quarter, and Deandre Hodge added a 31-yard touchdown run about four minutes prior.
And that's all on the ground.
Chapel Hill quarterback Konnor Hitchcock torched the Palestine (0-7, 0-2) secondary, hitting on 10 of 11 pass attempts for 209 yards and two touchdowns. The first was a wide receiver screen to Deundre Phillips, who turned it into an 84-yard touchdown. Hitchcock, who also ran for a touchdown in the win, also hit Jeffery Minor for a 26-yard touchdown in the second quarter to cap 21 straight points for the Bulldogs at the time.
Palestine wasn't without offense, though. The Wildcats just couldn't slow down Chapel Hill on defense.
Quarterback Gee Clark threw for 228 yards and three touchdowns, and running back Devonte Mims rushed for 168 yards and a touchdown. Mims also caught a 35-yard touchdown in the loss.
All told, Palestine put up 489 yards of offense, but the Bulldogs were too explosive on offense to give the Wildcats a chance to stay in it.
Chapel Hill punted just once in the game and finished with 30 first downs. The Bulldogs had eight drives with five plays or fewer that ended with touchdowns. Their longest drive came in the first quarter -- a nine-play, 48-yard trek that ended with a 5-yard touchdown from King.
That touchdown gave Chapel Hill an eight-point lead, and that's as close as Palestine would be for the rest of the game.
After Franklin's 94-yarder to the house on the Bulldogs' first drive, Palestine got a 44-yard touchdown run from Marcus Robinson. A failed extra point made it 7-6 with 5:59 left in the first quarter.
Chapel Hill scored 21 unanswered points, highlighted by Phillips' incredible catch and run for 84 yards to paydirt.
Chapel Hill took a 34-15 lead into the locker rooms at halftime, and that lead shrunk less than two minutes into the second half after a 35-yard touchdown run from Mims made the score 34-22.
But the Bulldogs would score another 21 unanswered points, all coming on the ground in a span of less than five minutes. Hitchcock (1 yard), King (12) and Garrett (5) all reached the end zone to give the Bulldogs a 55-22 lead with 3:26 left in the third quarter.
Chapel Hill travels to face defending state finalist Kilgore at 7:30 p.m. Friday (Oct. 24), while Palestine entertains Henderson at home at 7:30 p.m. Friday (Oct. 24).
Chapel Hill 76, Palestine 36
At Bulldog Stadium, Chapel Hill
Palestine 6 9 14 7 -- 36
Chapel Hill 14 20 21 21 -- 76
First Quarter
CH--Jabraylon Franklin 94 run (Austyn Fendrick kick), 8:40
PAL--Marcus Robinson 44 run (kick failed), 5:59
CH--Reggie King 5 run (Fendrick kick), 2:59
Second Quarter
CH--Deundre Phillips 84 pass from Konnor Hitchcock (Fendrick kick), 7:36
CH--Jeffery Minor 26 pass from Hitchcock (Fendrick kick), 5:10
PAL--Devonte Mims 3 run (run failed), 2:16
CH--Delenis Garrett 21 run (kick failed), 1:16
PAL--Edgar Ayalla 25 FG, 0:15
Third Quarter
PAL--Devonte Mims 35 pass from Gee Clark (Ayalla kick), 10:02
CH--Hitchcock 1 run (Fendrick kick), 8:09
CH--King 12 run (Fendrick kick), 5:48
CH--Garrett 5 run (Fendrick kick), 3:26
PAL--Vay Davis 27 pass from Clark (Ayalla kick), 1:16
Fourth Quarter
CH--Franklin 25 run (Fendrick kick), 11:20
PAL--Devon Lomax 17 pass from Clark (Ayalla kick), 8:07
CH--Deandre Hodge 31 run (Fendrick kick), 7:05
CH--Johntaveon Martin 64 run (Fendrick kick), 3:22
PAL CH
First Downs 23 30
Total Yards 489 732
Rushes-Yards 41-261 40-523
Passing Yards 228 209
Comp.-Att.-Int. 13-25-0 10-11-0
Punts-Avg. 7-32.6 1-42.0
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards 5-40 5-46
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Palestine, Devonte Mims 23-168, Marcus Robinson 11-68, Gee Clark 7-25. Chapel Hill, Jabraylon Franklin 9-188, Michael Bledsoe 14-85, Johntaveon Martin 1-64, Deandre Hodge 4-59, Jeffery Minor 1-47, Konnor Hitchcock 5-31, Delenis Garrett 2-25, Reggie King 3-18, Jacon O'Neal 1-6.
PASSING--Palestine, Clark 13-25-0--228. Chapel Hill, Hitchcock 10-11-0--209.
RECEIVING--Palestine, Vay Davis 4-79, Jamonte Milton 3-46, Irric Deyon 3-17, Mims 1-35, Marquis Hernandez 1-34, Devon Lomax 1-17. Chapel Hill, Cole Williams 3-30, Deundre Phillips 2-99, Minor 2-54, King 1-17, Zach Walters 1-9, Franklin 1-0.