Dawgs12345

Huntsville? Come’on man. Saw their best team in a while have to take Marshall to the last play of the game to get out of the 3rd round in 2018. Carthage beat Marshall much easier that same year. You guys are giving way too much credit to 5a DII. Crosby just beat the #5 team in that class. Is Crosby world beaters? Ennis who is the #1 team got beat in the 2nd round by an I ranked team. Carthage could win a state title in 5a DII this year. In 2020! There I said it. They don’t lose at Jerry World. If they made it, they would beat any team in that division.

Everybody saw what Carthage could do in high definition. They scored 70 unanswered points while setting the 4a (old 3a) scoring and yardage records in a state championship game. Not to mention Kip Lewis and Brandon King went totally nuts on D. It’s there for everybody to see. The result speaks for itself. What Carthage did to Gilmer should be illegal. 

I’m going to go ahead and say it, Carthage will give Aledo all they want. I have seen Aledo many times over the years. They usually play the same day we do or the day after us. I watch all the games at Jerry World. Carthage would be a top 5 team in 5a DII. Name 5 teams better. Don’t think you can do it. But that’s as far as Carthage goes. 5a DI is a different story. Start getting up there with Denton Ryan, HP, Longview, Manvel, etc. But I don’t want to hear about Aledo blowing out Carthage. Plenty of years Carthage can play with and beat them. This is one if those years. 2017 was one of those years. 5a DII is not a great division no matter what people want to think.

Why would y’all want to see WO-S get beat by 40? That’s no fun. 

I understand that. But some are beat before they take the field because its Carthage.  We play every year. Sometimes we win but lately its been Carthage. Maybe I meant more of expectation than intimidation. We just like anyone else would be. Let's get there and then we will take our chances. Its not like we haven't gotten our ass kicked 3 different times in the state championship game. But 3 times we were in a place that many others would like to have been. 

I was told none of the Carthage lineman ,not only don't play both sides of the ball, but they don't practice both sides of the ball, thats un heard of at the 4a level. 4a and down, and even some 5a kids may not start both ways , but they are backups on the other side of the ball, therefore they spend half their practice time practicing that. This means Carthage lineman are getting twice as much practice time as other teams. They have the numbers to do it, we can argue as to why that is, but it is. Everything they do on Offense is based off their O Line scheme, from running zone plays, to being able to protect QB long enough to connect with secondary crossing routes. This is why 6a football looks like its so much better coached. My opinion, but Carthage has a great 4a defense, but they are playing Offense at a 6a level.  

Exactly! This is why Carthage continues to be so dominant. Obviously it helps to have great players, but when Carthage is carrying 70 kids on the varsity in the playoffs (a lot of freshman and sophomores) this is a huge advantage in getting the next group ready. And you better believe that is what Surratt is doing. He is playing the long game. Of course he wants to win this year, but always planning for the next. 

I'm sure those backups have been getting alot of playing time against top opponents all season. A big reason for the continuation of dominance. Playing 16 games a season is an extra half a season of practice per year. I remember a few years back we had a guy that broke the "most games played record" at WOS. I think it was over 60 games in a 4 year career, when most student athletes are lucky to get 20 or 30.

He was 14-18 for 275 yards and 3 TD with no interceptions. Another very efficient game. Carthage passing game is really clicking. Had 2 one play TD drives where he dropped dimes on the receivers. One for 35 yards and one for 94 yards.
 
For the season 131 of 180 for 2,249 yards. 26 TD and 2 Int. 73% completion is outstanding, especially in this Carthage offense. Not a lot of easy short passes to pad the completion % stats.

And another one on Silsbee.

Come’on guys. I know Carthage fans are tough to deal with, and we have kinda came over here with the mighty Carthage attitude but you gotta be kidding me. Argyle ain’t got nothing for Carthage. I understand wanting to find something to get under Carthage posters skin, but this? Carthage is a terrible matchup for Argyle. You can look at the PG / Silsbee / Argyle connection this season. I mean if Argyle would smash Carthage, what would they do to the rest of 4a? 
Anyway much respect for SETX fans and supporters. And we all have the highest amount of respect for WO-S and other great programs in this area. All of us wanted nothing more than a matchup with the Mustangs. Just weird situations and a crazy season with the COVID and everything else that made 2020 such a crazy year. Look forward to next season to start it all over with the back and forth. Carthage will be in 4a DII R3 for a long time. We will have plenty of good discussions in the future. 
 

Yeah but you're talking about the almighty University of Carthage.  They are the only team in the state who could forfeit next week and still advance.

Even with the missing players, special teams is what put WOS in a big hole. Blocked punt taken in for a score, 7-0.Fumbled punt at own 8 gave China Spring a short field, 14-0. Cougars then grind a drive out for 21-0. After a trick play makes it 21-7. China Spring’s 2,000 yard rusher breaks it for a huge TD run, 28-7. Then Cougars recover pooch kick that set up a 52-yard TD pass, 35-7. 
 
Mustangs fumbled another punt but was able to recover it.
China Spring was a top 10 ten team for part of this season. They took advantage of every mistake. A full strength WOS would’ve still been in trouble with those special teams mistakes.

Any team at the 4A level and down loses their entire starting offensive line and two defensive line starters will suffer terribly against a good team. That's no excuse, just fact.
If you claim your team can overcome that type of loss, you live in a fantasy land.

Never mind. See you guys next year. Enjoyed the discussions. 

Carthage needs to get their starters out before these personnel fouls get out of hand. Seen a couple that weren’t called. That hit on the QB just now was cheap.

I didn’t realize this. If there are 2 freshman in the secondary that’s going to be trouble for Silsbee.
IMO to have any chance at disrupting Carthage’s offense you have to get pressure on the QB. And get pressure without putting your secondary in a bad position. That’s easier said then done, but if you get pressure on the QB he might make a mistake or 2. If he has time to sit back and pick you apart it’s going to be a very long night for any teams in 4a.

Truth.  I've been disappointed every time I've watched #40 (which is 7 games over the last few years), he never quite lives up to the legend built around him.  Maybe he will prosper at LSU and onward. Who knows.  

Agree with everything you said here. If the game is close at the half, you can almost guarantee a Carthage win. Unbelievable the adjustments at the half, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Luckily Carthage is one of those teams that still puts a lot of emphasis on defense and have great players and coaches on that side of the ball. Coach Preston does an excellent job and is one of the most underrated coaches in the state. Lucky to have him. 

With offenses getting better and more diverse I think a great offense beats a great defense these days. I guess the main thing is you don’t have many teams that play great D anymore. There are a few like WO-S, Carthage, and LV that still play great D and put a lot of their top guys on D. But those teams are few and far between. Most of the time your best players are playing on offense in TXHSFB. For sure their are still a few throwbacks, but not many. Carthage is fortunate to have the depth to have athletes on D without playing them both ways, but in the lower classes that’s rare. That’s all I’m getting at. I don’t see a team outside of WO-S in 4a DII that might have a D that can stop Carthage. We will probably find out, but they haven’t shut down a team anywhere close to Carthage yet this season. So your best shot is to score as many as you can and hope it’s enough. Catch a couple breaks and get a few turnovers. Let the chips fall where they may, and in the end you might have a chance. But to think you are going to shut them down isn’t really an option. The last time Carthage got beat was because they couldn’t stop LH. Bad weather was a factor but Carthage still put up like 500 yards of offense and 41 points. Another game they almost lost in that time frame was last year against Lampasas. Lamp scored 42, but they threw 2 pick 6’s and Carthage scored 49.
I agree that a great D can be the key, just don’t think teams have great D’s anymore. Tackling is almost a lost art. Again I know there are exceptions, but not many. I just believe if your going to beat Carthage you better have a great offense. That’s the only teams that have beat or came close to beating them recently. Carthage is on a tear since the 2016 playoffs.

I have to disagree. Obviously a good defense helps, but playing Carthage you have to score just about every time you get the ball. 

With offenses getting better and more diverse I think a great offense beats a great defense these days. I guess the main thing is you don’t have many teams that play great D anymore. There are a few like WO-S, Carthage, and LV that still play great D and put a lot of their top guys on D. But those teams are few and far between. Most of the time your best players are playing on offense in TXHSFB. For sure their are still a few throwbacks, but not many. Carthage is fortunate to have the depth to have athletes on D without playing them both ways, but in the lower classes that’s rare. That’s all I’m getting at. I don’t see a team outside of WO-S in 4a DII that might have a D that can stop Carthage. We will probably find out, but they haven’t shut down a team anywhere close to Carthage yet this season. So your best shot is to score as many as you can and hope it’s enough. Catch a couple breaks and get a few turnovers. Let the chips fall where they may, and in the end you might have a chance. But to think you are going to shut them down isn’t really an option. The last time Carthage got beat was because they couldn’t stop LH. Bad weather was a factor but Carthage still put up like 500 yards of offense and 41 points. Another game they almost lost in that time frame was last year against Lampasas. Lamp scored 42, but they threw 2 pick 6’s and Carthage scored 49.
I agree that a great D can be the key, just don’t think teams have great D’s anymore. Tackling is almost a lost art. Again I know there are exceptions, but not many. I just believe if your going to beat Carthage you better have a great offense. That’s the only teams that have beat or came close to beating them recently. Carthage is on a tear since the 2016 playoffs.

I have to disagree. Obviously a good defense helps, but playing Carthage you have to score just about every time you get the ball. 

All I know about CS, is those boys play hard as hell every time is see them. They are physical. Or at least they were when I was following them from 2015 - 2017. Don’t think they will beat WO-S, but I do expect them to push the Mustangs for a half or so. WO-S defense will be the difference. 

All I know about CS, is those boys play hard as hell every time is see them. They are physical. Or at least they were when I was following them from 2015 - 2017. Don’t think they will beat WO-S, but I do expect them to push the Mustangs for a half or so. WO-S defense will be the difference.