No. 1 Carthage flexes muscles in 45-14 win over No. 3 Hawks
Pleasant Grove, Nashville last regional teams to fall in playoffs
Like the sports saying goes: To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.
Pleasant Grove (11-3), ranked No. 3 in Class 4A, Division II, had to meet the state’s top-ranked team, Carthage (14-0) in Friday night’s Region II final at Marshall’s Maverick Stadium.
The two-time defending state champion Bulldogs came into the state quarterfinal with a 43-game winning streak.
Carthage, which has won an amazing eight state championships in 13 seasons under coach Scott Surratt, proved to be too much for Pleasant Grove to overcome as the Hawks absorbed a 4514 loss.
Carthage’s winning streak has reached 44 games. The Bulldogs will face Glen Rose (13-1) in next week’s state semifinals. Wimberley (140) and Cuero (13-1) will collide in the other semifinal.
Here are the highlights from Pleasant Grove’s game against Carthage:
CARTHAGE 45, PLEASANT GROVE 14
MARSHALL, Texas — “The score didn’t end up like we wanted,” Hawks coach Josh Gibson said. “But I saw a bunch of guys keep fighting until the end of the game, many playing both ways. That’s what I’m especially proud of.”
Victor Shaw hauled in a 4-yard pass from quarterback Ahkhari Johnson with 7:55 remaining in the game, trimming the Bulldog lead to 31-14. The touchdown came at the end of a 94-yard drive that began when the Pleasant Grove defense stopped Carthage on fourth down with 3 minutes left in the third quarter.
Johnson ended the night with 85 yards through the air and 109 on the ground.
After Carthage recovered the ensuing onside kick, Kydarious Matlock took a handoff 50 yards to paydirt, increasing the lead to 38-14 in favor of the Bulldogs.
“I’m especially proud of the growth I’ve seen in our kids this year,” Gibson said. “That growth was just on the field, but who are they are as young men, physically and spiritually.”
Carthage took the opening drive of the second half 65 yards, culminating with a Kydarious Matlock 3-yard dive, giving the Bulldogs a 31-7 lead at the 7:30 mark in the third quarter. Those would be the only points scored in a third quarter that saw each team put together long drives and chewing up time.
Johnson put up the first points for the Hawks with 1:39 in the first half on a 35-yard touchdown scamper. The Hawks trailed 24-7 heading into halftime. The junior accounted for all but 4 of Pleasant Grove’s 107 first-half yards.
Braden Manning scored from 10 yards out for Carthage to grow the Bulldog lead to 24-0 with 3:37 in the first half.
Carthage led 17-0 halfway through the second quarter after senior quarterback Connor Cuff hit Montrel Hatten on a 20-yard touchdown strike.
Carthage jumped out to an early lead in a first quarter in which the Hawk offense could not get much going.
The Bulldogs kicked a 36-yard field goal on their second offensive drive with just over a minute in the opening period, giving them the 10-0 advantage at the quarter turn.
Carthage got on the board first on a 30-yard touchdown run by Kelwin Edwards. Carthage had the 7-0 lead with 7:25 in the first.
— Matt Fry
MALVERN 56, NASHVILLE 37
MALVERN, Ark. — After a furious start, Nashville didn’t keep pace with Malvern in the Class 4A state semifinals Friday night at Leopard Stadium.
The Leopards took their first lead late in the first half and finished the game on a 21-6 run to claim a 56-37 win and trip to the state championship game against Harding Academy next Saturday at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Harding Academy (12-0) kicked a last-second field goal to upset top-ranked Arkadelphia, 31-28. Harding Academy won three state championships in 3A in 2019, 2020 and 2021 before climbing to 4A this season.
The Scrappers (10-4) piled up 527 yards of total offense against the Leopards (11-2). Sloan Perrin 20 times for 132 yards and two TDS for Nashville, Tre Hopkins had 72 rushing yards and a score, and Felix Mendiola scored three times, rushing for two and 88 yards and catching another with six grabs for 131 yards.
Perrin completed 18-of-29 passes for 235 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Donte Gilliam added four receptions for 42 yards, and Toddrick Watson had three for 29 yards.
For the Leopards, Cedric Simmons had 21 carries for 153 yards and a touchdown, and he also completed 15-of23 passes for 296 yards and five TDS. Jalen Dupree added 16 carries for 102 yards and two scores, Dyelon Caradine caught seven balls for 147 yards and three touchdowns, and Dante Cagle added seven receptions for 133 yards and two TDS.
The teams traded punches on every possession in the third quarter, including three touchdowns in a matter of three offensive snaps.
Caradine extended Malvern’s lead with a 16-yard TD reception at the end of a 12-play drive with 8:03 left in the third.
Hopkins’ 9-yard TD run capped the Scrappers’ 14-play drive that covered 78 yards with 2:39 left in the third. Simmons raced 68 yards on the Leopards’ first snap of the ensuing drive at 2:22, Mendiola hauled in a 65-yard touchdown from Perrin on Nashville’s possession at 2:09 and, after a failed onsides kickoff, Cagle caught a 53-yard score for Malvern with 2:05 remaining in the third.
The Leopards took a 4231 lead into the final period.
Cagle snagged a 19-yard TD reception with 5:26 left to play, and after Perrin scored on a 1-yard run for Nashville, Dupree punched the final Malvern TD in from the 2 with 3:10 remaining in the game.
The Scrappers scored on all three of their first-quarter possessions and held a 19-7 lead at the first break. Mendiola had two scoring runs to finish off Nashville’s first two possessions.
The senior receiver took an end-around for a 19-yard TD to cap a 10-play drive that covered 67 yards, the TD coming at 8:46.
The Scrapper defense forced a turnover on down inside the red zone, taking over at their 14. Four plays later, Mendiola raced 52 yards to get into the end zone the second time, this one coming with 5:00 left in the first quarter.
The Leopards responded to their two-score deficit with a 5-play, 58-yard scoring drive with Caradine snagging a 47-yard strike from Simmons with 2:55 left in the first.
Perrin broke free for a 56-yard scoring run three plays into the ensuing Nashville campaign, getting to paydirt at 2:06.
The Scrappers didn’t keep up the same pace in the second quarter, turning the ball over on downs twice — one time in the red zone — and punting once. Dupree scored on a 3-yard run at 8:33 in the second quarter, and Caradine hauled in a 36-yard TD to give Malvern its first lead, coming with 3:03 left before intermission.