Kilgore Earns Thrilling 41-34 Win Over No. 8 Carthage
KILGORE – Just another quaint little evening in the “District of Doom” – and another Kilgore-Carthage game that came right down to the wire.
Kilgore pulled off a bit of a shocker at home Friday night, handing visiting Carthage a 41-34 loss, its second straight, and dropping Carthage to 0-2 in district play.
Kilgore (4-3 overall) is still unbeaten in 9-4A Division I, and must face another hurdle, and another state-ranked rival, in Henderson next week. Carthage (3-2) will host Center.
The final moments of Friday’s Bulldogs vs. Bulldogs showdown: four touchdowns in the last six minutes. Kilgore’s Jamal Nobles scored on a 2-yard run with 6:02 left, and the extra point was off the turf and missed, leaving the game tied at 27.
A turnover, an interception of Kason Davis by Kilgore corner Mateo Meraz, led to the go-ahead score, a 35-yard run by quarterback Patrick Jackson. This time, Elivan Torres got the extra point and gave his team a 34-27 advantage with 4:59 to play.
Davis and teammate Dewaylon Ingram combined for an impressive night, and tied the game up on a 33-yard pass play with 1:49 remaining, but Kilgore wouldn’t settle for overtime. Receiver Jonathan Shepherd broke free on the kickoff and put his team in position to score, and ran out of bounds at the Carthage 33.
Jackson picked up 26 yards on a first-down run, and two plays later, Nobles was in the end zone again, his third touchdown of the night, and this time with 43 seconds left in the game. Torres was good on the point after and Kilgore led, 41-34.
Carthage had two timeouts remaining, and after a touchback on the kickoff, 75 yards to go. It got inside the Kilgore 30 with seven seconds to play, but on what was the final play of the game, Jerrick Ervin intercepted Davis in the end zone to seal the contest.
Davis was 19-of-28 for 369 yards, three scores (two to Ingram) and three interceptions – the final one by Ervin and two by Meraz. Ingram finished with eight catches for 155 yards and the two scores. Running back Keaontay Ingram lived up to his dual-threat reputation, rushing for 132 yards and two touchdowns, and making four catches for 110 yards and a score.
For Kilgore, Jackson had 158 yards rushing on 18 carries and two touchdowns, and completed 6-of-9 passes for 111 yards and a first-half touchdown to Cole Wood, who finished with three catches for 63 yards. Shepherd had the big return to go with three catches for 48 yards. Nobles had only six yards rushing but three touchdowns.