Hallsville Erupts in the First Half to Pull Away for 38-0 Win at Rival Pine Tree

[By Jeff Henderson, Special to ETSN.fm]

LONGVIEW -- The Hallsville Bobcats brought the chill to the Pine Tree Pirates tonight in both the weather and the game, dominating Pine Tree in a 38-0 victory at Pine Tree Stadium in game decided in the first half.

Hallsville (6-1, 2-0) never punted in the first half, scoring on 5 of 7 possessions (the other two ended on turnovers) on quarterback runs by Macailyn Wilder and Austin Toney, and never took more than 2 minutes, 48 seconds to do it. Wilder scored on touchdown runs of 1 and 7 yards in the first quarter to bring the score to 14-0. Toney added a pair of scores in the 2^nd quarter on touchdown runs of 13 yards and one yard.

Wilder added a third touchdown run with 33 seconds left in the half for a 35-point lead at the break.

Hallsville outgained Pine Tree 355-149 in the first half and 528-334 for the game.  Pine Tree (2-4, 0-2) had its share of good drives; after all, the Pirates generated 16 first downs. However, the Bobcats created nearly double that number with 29 first downs.  Untimely turnovers and penalties killed Pine Tree’s chances to put points on the board.

Toney was 10 of 13 passing for 148 yards and an interception and rushed for 49 yards and the two touchdowns on eight carries. Wilder went 1 of 2 passing for 17 yards and ran for 113 yards and three scores.

Hallsville's Thaddeus Fagan ran for 88 yards on 15 carries, and Khalil Sneed put up 105 yards on 13 carries, allowing Hallsville to spare Wilder during the second half and providing a change of pace back to complement Fagan’s rushing attack.

For the Pirates, Jake Oden finished his night passing 14 of 29 for 170 yards and two interceptions and rushed 20 times for 88 yards. The remaining yards came from a bevy of running backs in Pine Tree’s option attack.

Both defenses produced four turnovers. Pine Tree got fumble recoveries by safety LaMarcus Reese, defensive tackle Eddie Calico, and linebacker Chris Chadwick, as well as an interception by safety Tre Devine. Hallsville recorded two interceptions, one by senior Jesse Navarro, the other by junior linebacker Nathan Bailey. The Bobcats also recovered two fumbles, one by Dionte Johnson and another by Dagan Hatfield.

With no scoring at all in the third quarter, Hallsville’s Paden Brown put up three points on a 23-yard field goal midway through the fourth. Hallsville accomplished their win over the Pirates in 2 hours, 3 minutes.