Wise Old Owl

Carthage, under Coach Surratt, won’t set very many offensive records because he pulls the first-team offense at the half if they’re up by 4 TDs or so.  If they’re not, he pulls them as soon as they do get that far ahead.

Gilmer, on the other hand, always tries to score as many points as they can. They don’t mind scoring 70-plus on a team.

Not to take anything away from Navasota, which had a great offense for a few years, but their district opponents during those years were awful.

How do the Tigers get within 2 or 3 scores if they can’t get a stop on defense?

3 hours ago, ST413 said:

That was in the first half...should have been looking to score especially when getting the ball back after the half.  If score on both possessions at that point it could have been a 2 or 3 possession game...too early to give up hope.

 

3 hours ago, ctown81 said:

I never saw that game as a huge upset.

Totally agree.  Carthage was the two-time defending state champions when they beat Brownwood in 2010.

So much for history. It certainly seems that Carthage will score a lot of points tonight. They have scored at least 41 in every game they have played this year. And that includes going against at least a couple of teams that had (or have) fairly good defenses - Henderson and 5A Whitehouse.

Silsbee thus needs to score often and find a way to get a couple of stops. The kicking game is an area  that the top-ranked Bulldogs have shown some vulnerabilities, having given up kickoff returns for TDs in two straight games to end the regular season. However, Coach Surratt sees everything we fans see...and plenty more. I don’t expect to see many deep kickoffs tonight that allow Tiger speedsters opportunities to return.

With revenge on their minds, the Tigers will play hard. And they’ll no doubt have a good game plan, as their coaching is top-notch. But this year’s Bulldog team appears to be special. 

My prediction is Carthage 45, Silsbee 31.

Pre-game story

2 hours ago, H3llR4z0r said:

They made some personnel changes after their loss to Kilgore last year. 21 games later, here we are, talking about how they're going to get outrun to the endzone  

Carthage has won 22 games in a row - 10 last year and 12 this year.

10 hours ago, JimThorpe said:

If the Tigers survive it doesn't get much easier.   Counting Carthage, 9 of the top ten in Div 1 made it thru the Area round.  Only Estacado has been knocked out.  La Vega, the Stepford Children at Argyle, Midlothian, Kennedale, all the usual suspects. 

I saw the movie, but I'm not certain what this means.  Their players are robots?

2 hours ago, IsoSauce said:

 Kilgore won state this past year in the 4x100 and two of those guys were the Oklahoma St. Commit receiver, and the triple option wizard Qb.

 

Good post.  However, I believe Kilgore won state in the 4x200 rather than the 4x100.

CHS Bulldogs' Season-to-date stats

Points scored per game        46

Points allowed per game      19

Yards gained per game      446 

Rushing yards per game    217 (49%)

Passing yards per game    229  (51%)

 

RB Keaontay Ingram's  Season-to-date stats 

Carries                              145 (12/game) 

Rushing yards                1,700 (142/game)

Avg. yards per carry        11.7

TDs                                    29 (28 rushing)

 

WR Dee Bowens's Season-to-date stats

Catches                         46 (3.8/game)

Receiving yards           947 (79/game)

Avg. yards per catch   20.6

TD catches                    16

 

WR Dewaylon Ingram's Season-to-date stats

Catches                         48 (4/game)

Receiving yards           879 (73/game)

Avg. yards per catch   18.3

TD catches                    12

 

WR Mekhi Colbert's Season-to-date stats (an All-State DB)

Catches                         39 (3.3/game)

Receiving yards          618 (52/game)

Avg. yards per catch  15.8

TD catches                     4

 

QB Gunner Capps's Season-to-date stats

Completions                         167 (14/game)

Attempts                               270 (22.5/game)

Yards                                 2,749 (229/game)

Avg. yards per completion   16.5

TD passes                              35 (2.9/game)

 INTs                                       6                                                                                                                                                                   

  

2 hours ago, BADSANTA said:

Silsbee doesn' back down from anyone. Should be a close game. Carthage hasn't seen a team with his much speed at the WR position all year. 

Has any high school team in the country (other than Silsbee's previous opponents)?

Article on four of Carthage's players, all of whom are related

 

REBgp commented on Carthage's ability to make halftime adjustments.  The Bulldogs' final non-district game this season was against Gilmer, which was ranked #2 in the state at the time.  The game, which was played in Gilmer, was sold out during the week of the game. The Bulldogs, who have been ranked #1 in the state all year, trailed at halftime 28-13.  

The 2nd half was a different story.  Carthage outscored the Buckeyes 35-0 in the final 24 minutes to win 48-28.  The Bulldogs' defense limited Gilmer, which had more than 350 yards of offense in the 1st half, to only 50 yards in the 2nd half and scored 2 TDs on back-to-back Buckeye possessions. This is a dramatic example of Carthage's ability to adjust at the half.  

43 minutes ago, MBaller#1 said:

You are correct this might be the best team that Carthage has but I’m hearing that Waco la vega might have the best defense in the state and they have been a big problem for Carthage so even if my tigers shock the world Waco la vega will probably be there waiting it just gets tougher from here.

Waco La Vega was a big problem for Carthage two years ago in the semi-finals.  RB Keaontay Ingram, then a sophomore, was out with an injury, and what was left of CHS's running game wasn't effective.  Being forced to rely on the passing attack didn't work too well against the La Vega secondary, which included 2 DI DBs.

Having been down this road many times recently, I imagine all of Carthage is aware the road tends to get tougher week by week.

Although Carthage has won 5 state championships in the past 9 years and got all the way to the semi-finals 2 of the other 4 years, many of their fans think this may be their best team ever.  They have not only the best RB in the state according to many of the recruiting services, but also 3 legitimate threats at WR, all of whom started for last year's state championship team.  And their junior QB has the arm to get it to them. 

Defensively, 4 of their front 7 started last year. One of those is a 225-lb. All-State LB.  Of the 3 new starters, one is another 225-lb. LB who was All-State at Crockett last year.  Another new starter is a sophomore DE who is projected to be a DI player.

I'll provide season stats later for those who are interested.

4 hours ago, oldschool2 said:

Seems like going to Carthage was a good decision.

Folks in Carthage have been pleased with it!

By the way, the freshman Morgan played some safety in the 4th quarter last night.  He was 1 of 9 Carthage freshmen who got into the game last night.

10 minutes ago, camsdad said:

Anthony I believe was his name. 

He started on 3 consecutive state championship teams at Carthage. Was a safety as a sophomore and QB the next 2 years. Threw 6 TD passes in 2010 state championship game.

CHS reserves are playing the 4th quarter. That includes some freshmen.

46-10, CHS

8 minutes ago, camsdad said:

Is Mike Morgan still an assistant at Carthage?

Yes. One of his sons was a key player on this year’s undefeated freshman team.

CHS CB Ware gets 4th INT of the game. Returns ball to the HH 38.

Less than 5 minutes left in Q3

Colbert runs 31 yards for a CHS TD.

CHS leads 39-10 w/ 7:24 left in Q3.

HH QB was injured on CHS’s pick-6 near the end of the 1st half.  

2nd QB breaks off a run of 50+ yards, the big play in the 70-yard TD drive. 

CHS 32, HH 10 w/ 9-1/2 minutes left in Q3

Halftime score: CHS 32, HH 3

Ware’s 3rd INT of game is returned for a TD of about 20 yards.

CHS leads 32-3 w/ 1:22 left in 1st half.

CHS CB Ware returns his 2nd INTof game to HH 17. TD pass to Bowen’s on 1st play. 

CHS finally makes a kick to lead 25-3 w/ 1:43 left in half

Keaontay Ingram scores on 1-yard run. Big play in drive was 35-yard pass to DeWaylon Ingram.

CHS 18-3 w/ under 2-1/2 minutes until halftime.