Second-Half Passing Attack Propels Carthage to 49-31 Victory Against Jasper

CARTHAGE -- Jasper scored 17 unanswered points to take an early third-quarter lead, but Carthage had a response that overwhelmed the Bulldogs from Newton County.

Junior quarterback Blake Bogenschutz engineered a 28-point outburst that propelled No. 9 Carthage to a decisive 49-31 victory that put the Bulldogs (7-2, 3-0) one win away from their fifth undefeated district championship in six seasons under coach Scott Surratt.

Bogenschutz completed 13 of 25 passes for 288 yards and four touchdowns. Two third-quarter touchdowns went to junior Tee Goree, who caught five passes for 184 yards. Junior tailback Tevin Pipkin had 120 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries for a Carthage offense that gained 455 yards.

"I thought we were very inconsistent and didn't play very well in the first half. We didn't play clean," said Carthage coach Scott Surratt. "We started tackling well in the third and got some stops. Bogie was hot and Goree made big plays and we ran the ball good. We stayed balanced and that's when we're at our best."

Bogenschutz followed six consecutive incompletions with six completions in a row to finish the game, including three consecutive throws that went for touchdowns -- a 17-yarder to junior Okeeron Rutherford and scores of 59 and 44 yards to Goree. That 17-yard Rutherford score gave Carthage a 28-24 lead with 4:51 left in the third and capped an 11-play, 61-yard drive that saw Carthage convert three consecutive third downs.

Carthage then got two big defensive stops, the first of which led to the 59-yard strike to Goree on the play after a fourth-and-2 stop by the Bulldog defense. The 44-yard connection came after a three-and-out and gave Carthage a 42-24 advantage on the final play of the third quarter. Goree caught a deep slant and accelerated past the only Jasper defender with any chance of stopping him.

Carthage added a nine-play, 61-yard drive capped by senior fullback Payton Klysen's one-yard touchdown run. Klysen also caught three passes for 44 yards, including a five-yard fourth-and-goal touchdown on the second quarter's first play for a 14-7 Carthage lead.

Carthage completed passes to six different players. Rutherford caught three passes for 40 yards and the touchdown. Even Bogenschutz caught a five-yard pass on a receiver throw from Goree. Senior short-yardage back Trent Jackson, who starts at middle linebacker, had a six-yard touchdown run.

Jasper (6-2, 1-1) gained the early third-quarter lead thanks in part to a strong running game. Jasper ran for 303 yards on 42 rushes and finished with 364 total yards. Senior tailback Donavan Middleton led Jasper with 13 carries for 151 yards, including a 63-yard, second-quarter touchdown. Middleton added a three-yard touchdown late in the game to make the score 49-31. Junior Terrence Cuney carried 15 times for 68 yards and two scores. His five-yard touchdown less than four minutes into the third gave Jasper a 24-21 lead that capped a 17-0 run.

"Defensively we had a great plan. We took No. 1 (Demarcus Collins) away from them," Surratt said. "We just didn't tackle great all night. But you've got to give credit to Jasper."

Carthage limited Collins, who entered the game with more than 500 receiving yards, to two first-half touches for 19 yards. Jasper junior quarterback Steven Walker completed 6 of 15 passes for 61 yards and an interception and ran nine times for 57 yards.

Carthage junior cornerback Trevor Cooper had an interception and senior cornerback Dominic Collins got a sack on a corner blitz. Jasper junior Marco Lopez kicked a 32-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter to cut Carthage's lead to 21-17.

Carthage concludes its regular season next Friday at Diboll. Jasper hosts Huntington.

No. 9 Carthage 49, Jasper 31
Bulldog Stadium, Carthage
Jasper -- 7 10 7 7 -- 31
Carthage -- 7 14 21 7 -- 49

First quarter
CAR -- Tevin Pipkin 36 run (Jimmy Gonzalez kick) -- 9:27
JAS -- Terrence Cuney 13 (Marco Lopez kick) -- 4:28
Second quarter
CAR -- Payton Klysen 5 pass from Blake Bogenschutz (Gonzalez kick) -- 11:53
CAR -- Trent Jackson 6 run (Gonzalez kick) -- 5:55
JAS -- Donavan Middleton 63 run (Lopez kick) -- 5:36
JAS -- Lopez 32 field goal -- 0:00
Third quarter
JAS -- Cuney 5 run (Lopez kick) -- 8:15
CAR -- Okeeron Rutherford 17 pass from Bogenschutz (Gonzalez kick) -- 4:51
CAR -- Tee Goree 59 pass from Bogenschutz (Gonzalez kick) -- 2:39
CAR -- Goree 44 pass from Bogenschutz (Gonzalez kick) -- 0:00
Fourth quarter
CAR -- Klysen 1 run (Gonzalez kick) -- 6:03
JAS -- Middleton 3 run (Lopez kick) -- 1:36

                                             JAS                     CAR
First downs                             17                        18
Rush Yards-Att.                 42-303                 37-162
Pass Yards                             61                       293
Comp.-Att.-Int.                    6-15-1                 14-26-0
Penalties-Yards                   4-59                     7-44
Fumbles-Lost                         2-2                       4-2
Punts-Avg.                           4-30.3                  2-27.0

INDIVIDUALS
Rushing -- Jasper: Donavan Middleton 13-151, Terrence Cuney 15-68, Steven Walker 9-57, Shawn Jones 1-34, Deroddrick Hadnot 2-7, TEAM 1-(19). Carthage: Tevin Pipkin 21-120, Bryian Bolton 3-20, Trent Jackson 3-12, Derontay Brown 3-8, Blake Bogenschutz 3-3, Payton Klysen 1-1, James Marshall 1-0, TEAM 2-(-2).
Passing -- Jasper: Steven Walker 6-15-1 61. Carthage: Blake Bogenschutz 13-25-0 288, Tee Goree 1-1-0 5.
Receiving -- Jasper: Jonavan Limbrick 3-32, Demarcus Collins 1-14, Shawn Jones 1-13, Donavan Middleton 1-2. Carthage: .Tee Goree 5-184, Payton Klysen 3-44, Okeeron Rutherford 3-40, Kolby Blissett 1-15, Bryian Bolton 1-5, Blake Bogenschutz 1-5.