The Push for the Postseason Begins
Recap Week 5
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
EAST TEXAS – The push for the playoffs began last week for five of the six area teams as district play kicked off. The sixth team, the Grapeland Sandies, opens district play this coming Friday.
For some, the opening of league play was a much-needed shot in the arm while for others, it was a time to re-assess and move forward.
The Grapeland Sandies hit the road last week as they traveled to Burkeville to take on the Mustangs. The long bus ride may have had something to do with the slow start from Grapeland as the offense didn’t get rolling until the second half of the 58-22 win.
The Sandies D caused numerous turnovers and Cadarian Wiley led the way for the Grapeland offense as he racked up 296 yards on 21 carries to go along with four TDs.
In Lovelady, the Lions knew they had to play their best game of the year if they hoped to defeat the Tenaha Tigers last Friday. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
Back-to-back put returns for a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter put the Lions in too deep of a hole to dig their way out of as they dropped their first game in District 11-2A DII by a final score of 41-6.
The Crockett Bulldogs got back in the win column as they picked up the win in their District 9-3A DI opener against the Huntington Red Devils by a margin of 42-28.
The Bulldogs racked up nearly 350 yards on the ground with Keyshun Easterling gaining 148 on 19 carries while Jadyn Collins running for 176 yards on 16 attempts. Both Easterling and Collins had two TDs each.
In a rivalry game, the Westwood Panthers beat up on their neighbors in southern Anderson County as they handed the Elkhart Elks a 55-20 loss.
The Elks drew first blood in the contest, but then the Panthers rattled off 35 unanswered points to close the first half. It was a deficit Elkhart would not be able to overcome as the Elks open 0-1 in 9-3A DI while Westwood moves to 1-0.
The Palestine Wildcats continue to improve but suffered a setback on Friday night as the Kilgore Bulldogs throttled the Wildcats by a final score of 35-6.
The two teams battled back-and-forth for much of the contest but a blocked FG attempt by Kilgore led to an 80-yard TD return which seemed to take the wind out of the Wildcats as they failed to score until the third quarter.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
