CORSICANA -- The third-ranked Whitehouse Wildcats made quick work of Corsicana Friday night at Tiger Stadium. Literally.

Whitehouse produced two special teams touchdowns and had three scoring drives that cumulatively took just 2:07 off the clock in a 45-14 victory that kept the Wildcats (9-0, 4-0) unbeaten heading into their showdown with rival John Tyler next week for the District 16-4A championship.

Senior quarterback Patrick Mahomes accounted for four touchdowns, completing 22 of 27 attempts for 274 yards and three scores to three different receivers and rushing for 46 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown. The Texas Tech commit surpassed the 3,000-yard passing mark and now has 36 touchdown passes for the season.

Jake Parker's 68-yard punt return for a touchdown early in the first quarter opened the scoring, while Reggie Long scooped up a punt blocked by mammoth defensive tackle Kostin Wallace for a 35-7 Whitehouse lead it carried into halftime.

Whitehouse will enter the Class 4A Division II playoffs as the No. 1 seed from 16-4A regardless of what happens next week in the regular-season finale against defending league champion John Tyler (7-2, 4-0).

Corsicana (1-7, 0-4), which got a 186-yard rushing effort from senior quarterback Devontay Bell, was eliminated from playoff contention with the loss. It will be the first time since 2008 the postseason will not include the Tigers.

After Parker lost a fumble on the Wildcats' opening possession, the Whitehouse defense forced a quick Corsicana three-and-out. Parker field the ensuing punt at his own 32, darted to his left behind a wall of blockers and outraced the Corsicana coverage unit to the end zone for a 7-0 lead.

Corsicana got a 52-yard run by Bell on its next possession and looked primed to even the score when Bell mishandled the snap on second-and-goal from the 1 and Whitehouse's Jamal Kennedy fell on the ball for the turnover.

The Tigers' miscue didn't yield any Whitehouse points, but Mahomes boomed a punt 62 yards to pin Corsicana inside its own 5. And on fourth down, Parker again came up big on special teams with a 22-yard punt return to the Corsicana 23. Mahomes hit Drew Smith for a 10-yard touchdown on the second play of the possession for a 14-0 lead.

Corsicana cut the deficit in half when freshman running back Victor Wilkerson scored on a 17-yard run, but Whitehouse had the answer. The Wildcats traveled 66 yards in five plays and increased its lead to 21-7 with an 11-yard scoring toss from Mahomes to Ryan Cheatham at the 10:00 mark of the second quarter.

The Tigers' ensuing drive traveled inside the Whitehouse 15, but an incomplete pass on fourth down gave the ball back to the Wildcats. Whitehouse moved 87 yards with rapid precision, using a 36-yard completion to Smith to get it started and a 24-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to Jaylon Dews for a 28-7 advantage. The scoring drive consisted of five plays and lasted all of 46 seconds.

Corsicana then went three-and-out, and Wallace powered his way through the Tigers' protectors to block Hector Calvillo's punt. Long picked up the ball at the 23 and carried a couple of Corsicana would-be tacklers 10 yards into the end zone for a 35-7 lead with 2:19 remaining in the half.

Mahomes' 31-yard scoring run capped Whitehouse's opening drive of the second half and Travis Blackburn's 32-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter pushed the Wildcats' lead to 45-7 before Lakeem Christmas broke free for a 57-yard touchdown on Corsicana's ensuing possession.

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No. 3 Whitehouse 45, Corsicana 14

Tiger Stadium, Corsicana

Whitehouse           14   21    7    3   --   45
Corsicana               0     7    0    7   --   14
First Quarter
WHI--Jake Parker 68 punt return (Travis Blackburn kick), 9:15.
WHI--Drew Smith 10 pass from Patrick Mahomes (Colby Crim kick), :52.
Second Quarter
COR--Victor Wilkerson 17 run (Ryan Condley kick), 11:07.
WHI--Ryan Cheatham 11 pass from Mahomes (Blackburn kick), 10:00.
WHI--Jaylon Dews 24 pass from Mahomes (Crim kick), 4:12.
WHI--Reggie Long 23 blocked punt return (Blackburn kick), 2:19.
Third Quarter
WHI--Mahomes 31 run (Crim kick), 9:30.
Fourth Quarter
WHI--FG Blackburn 32, 8:15.
COR--Lakeem Christmas 57 run (Josiah Clagett kick), 7:17.

                                    WHI               COR
First Downs                       22                  13
Total Yards                      445                 327
Rushes-Yards              18-120           56-335
Passing Yards                  325                  (-8)
Comp.-Att.-Int.           29-37-0              2-6-0
Punts-Avg.                   2-51.0             4-36.5
Fumbles-Lost                     2-1                3-1
Penalties-Yards                3-40                0-0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Whitehouse, Patrick Mahomes 3-45, Dominique Hollie 5-33, Jackson Allen 4-21, Tre' Staples 3-20, Shemar Smith 1-4, Vernon Polk 2-(-3). Corsicana, Devontay Bell 26-186, Lakeem Christmas 1-57, Victor Wilkerson 9-49, Donovan Fields 13-34, Ty'Garius Sheffield 4-17, Hector Calvillo 1-16, Kishawn Kelley 1-(-9), Team 1-(-15).
PASSING--Whitehouse, Mahomes 22-27-0--274, Allen 7-10-0--51. Corsicana, Bell 2-6-0--(-8).
RECEIVING--Whitehouse, Ryan Cheatham 6-46, Drew Smith 4-56, Jake Parker 4-55, Eric Munoz 4-50, Smith 3-47, Jaylon Dews 3-36, Hattib Siddiqui 2-20, Hunter Franks 2-14, Staples 1-1. Corsicana, Bell 1-(-4), Sheffield 1-(-4).

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