Wise County Messenger Online

Decatur 21, Argyle 0

Decatur coach Kyle Story knew his football team had to come up big on defense Friday night. His unbeaten Eagles traveled to Argyle to take on another unbeaten group of Eagles who have the district's top passing game.

Decatur, ranked No. 6 in the state, proved that it also takes a stout defense to win a title. DHS held Argyle to just 35 total yards of offense in the first half and forced three turnovers to win the District 8-3A title with a 21-0 victory.

The defense came through on a night the offense struggled for consistency. Jesse Ortiz, Chance Fuller and Sean Baird smothered AHS in all four periods. In addition, Brad Oates and Jake Cobb hauled in interceptions and Fredy Pacheco recovered a fumble to keep Argyle's potent offense on the sideline.

Decatur quarterback Brandon Cobb took care of the scoring for his team. The senior collected all three touchdowns on runs of 59, 15 and 5 yards. Jose Lira, who also tallied nine tackles on defense, was good on all three point-after kicks.

The win pushed DHS to 9-0 for the season and 4-0 in district. The victory also secured a fifth straight district championship for Story's group. Argyle slipped to 7-2 and 3-1 and will take on Sanger next week to decide second and third place.

DHS struggled to get on the scoreboard in the first quarter. The locals crossed midfield on all three possession but failed to cross the 30-yard line. Lira was also just short on field goal tries from 43 and 47 yards out.

"We played a great game on defense. We didn't give them anything at the line of scrimmage and we kept their replacement quarterback on the move," Story said. "Offensively, I guess we didn't want to score very bad. We did play well when we got close to the end zone, and our passes were either dropped or overthrown. We've got to improve. We've got one more game and we better get after it."

Brandon Cobb gave his team some life just before halftime. The offensive line took control and opened up some holes for Cobb who ran for 120 yards and two TDs in the second period. The late push made it a 14-0 game at halftime.

Decatur added one more touchdown on its first possession of the third period. Joseph Sanchez, who filled in for Zach Trant, ran the ball six times for 59 yards to set up Cobb's final touchdown run.

The defense took over from there. Argyle receiver Brice Bode, who leads all 3A metroplex teams with 734 yards receiving, was held to one catch for six yards, which came in the third period.

J.J. Harp, Argyle's regular starting quarterback, sat out with a bruised hip.

The shutout was the first for Decatur since 2004 when the Eagles routed Lake Worth 63-0.

Sanger 50, Bridgeport 21

The Bridgeport Bulls were eliminated from playoff contention Friday night at Bull Memorial Stadium as they fell to the Sanger Indians 50-21.

The Bulls will be having nightmares about Sanger running back Nathan Pegues who torched them for 169 yards rushing with four touchdowns. He also added a touchdown on an 84-yard kickoff return.

The two teams traded scores early in the game. The Bulls pulled to within 19-14 with 4:27 left in the first half when quarterback Ryan Durban found James Kilpatrick for a 3-yard touchdown. Antonio Martinez' kick was good.

The Indians quickly responded, however, with Pegues' kickoff return for a touchdown. He added another touchdown, on a 49-yard run, later in the second quarter as Sanger's lead grew to 35-14 at the half.

The Bull's needed a big defensive stop in the second half, but they didn't get it. Sanger scored two more touchdowns in the third quarter while the Bridgeport offense was shut out. The only Bridgeport points in the second half came with 31 seconds left in the game when Durban threw a 7-yard pass to Zach White. Martinez' kick capped the scoring.

With the win, Sanger clinched a playoff spot.

For the game, Durban completed 19 of 40 passes for 278 yards. Kilpatrick was the leading receiver with 134 yards. Durban also led the team in rushing with 28 yards.

Bridgeport dropped to 1-8 on the year and 1-3 in district while Sanger improved to 7-2 and 3-1. Bridgeport will finish the season next week in Gainesville.

Paradise 33, Godley 7

The Paradise Panthers wrapped up a Class 2A football playoff berth with a 33-7 victory over Godley's Wildcats in a District 10-2A showdown in Paradise Friday night.

Paradise is now 8-1 for the year and 3-1 in district play. Godley fell to 6-3 and 2-2.

The Panthers took advantage of two fumble recoveries, turning both into touchdowns. Casey Christian returned a fumble 40 yards in the first quarter for the first score of the game. Justin Bridges scooped up a muffed punt in the end zone in the fourth quarter for the last points of the night.

Josh Erwin led Paradise, throwing a 6-yard scoring pass to Cody Hambrick and running 19 yards for a score in the fourth period. The Erwin-to-Hambrick connection came with just 15 seconds left in the second period and gave the Panthers a 14-7 lead.

Erwin had 85 yards rushing and added another 141 yards through the air.

His favorite target was Bradley Bryant, who caught four passes for 57 yards. Bryant also scored a touchdown for the Panthers on a 19-yard run in the third quarter.

Cisco 12, Boyd 7

The Boyd Yellowjackets lost a heart breaker in the last 22 seconds Friday night when the Cisco Loboes scored on a nine-yard run to squeeze out a 12-7 victory. The loss puts Boyd at 2-2 in district play and elevates the Loboes to a perfect 4-0 district record.

Despite the loss, Boyd Coach J. G. Cartwright said his defense "played the best it had played in several years." Overall, Cartwright said it was the "best defensive game I've seen all year."

Most of the scoring action came with less than a minute left in the first half. The Yellowjackets scored first when quarterback Cody Ogle was dead solid perfect on a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Sessums. Ogle added the extra point.

With 16 seconds remaining in the half, Cisco's Cordero Kuykendall scored on a one-yard run. The two-point conversion failed.

Boyd led 7-6 at halftime and kept the lead until 22 seconds remained in the game when Joe Traweek scored for the Loboes on a nine-yard run up the middle, leaving the final score 12-7.

Next week the Yellowjackets host Millsap to finish the regular season.

Nocona 38, Chico 0

Nocona had its hands full in the first half Friday night against the visiting Chico Dragons, but the Indians ran away for a 38-0 football win behind 26 points in the final two periods.

Nocona had 303 yards on the ground in the win.

Nocona is now 4-5 overall and 3-3 in District 9-2A action. Chico dropped to 1-8 and 1-5.

Chico fell behind quickly. The opening kickoff went through the hands of one Indian player, but Hunter Willard picked it up for Nocona and returned it 85 yards for a score.

Nocona couldn't score again until just 46 second remained in the first half when Willard threw a 17-yard TD to Remi Stewart.

That put the Indians ahead of the Dragons just 12-0 at halftime.

But, in the second half, Willard scored on a 25-yard run and Gary Hardy added touchdown scampers of 49 and 30 yards to put the game away for Nocona.

Chico's secondary gave up only 127 yards and got one interception. At least four passes from Willard were dropped by his receivers after the Dragons made punishing hits.

Holliday 48, Alvord 17

Alvord's playoff hopes are hanging by a thread following a 48-17 defeat at the hands of Holliday Friday at Eagle Stadium.

Alvord is out of post-season play unless Henrietta loses to Nocona next week. Holliday is the district champion with a 6-0 record with one game to go.

Fans had an action filled first half in Holliday with the Eagles piling up a 41-17 lead at halftime.

Holliday scored first, 15 seconds after the game began, when the Bulldogs fumbled the opening kickoff and it was recovered by the Eagles. Brent Brumblow then scored on a 38-yard run and Robert Spraggins kicked the extra point and Holliday led 7-0 with 11:45 remaining in the first quarter.

Alvord roared right back when Brian Scharen scrambled 72 yards on a kickoff return for a touchdown. Bill Vaughn kicked the extra point, and with 11:32 remaining in the first quarter, the game was tied 7-7.

The Bulldogs went ahead a minute later when Vaughn sailed a 33-yard field goal through the uprights for an Alvord 10-7 lead. It was the only time Alvord would lead the Eagles all night.

Before the first quarter ended, Holliday would score on a seven- yard run by Cuyler Flinn and a 15-yard pass from quarterback Trevor Wooten to Wade Davis to put the Eagles up 20-10 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second, Holliday scored on a 15- yard run from Flinn, a 13-yard run by Jerry Campbell who scooped up the ball and headed for the end zone after an Eagle fumble and a 16-yard pass from Wooten to Davis.

Alvord did post seven points in the second when Chance LaCour scored on a three-yard run to cap an eight-play 73 yard drive that was helped by a pair of pass interference calls against the Eagles.

Holliday posted its final seven points with 9:01 remaining in the third quarter when Wooten hit Davis on a 32 yard touchdown pass. When the clock finally clicked down to all zeroes, Holliday had kept its perfect district record with a 48-17 victory.

Next week the Bulldogs host Wichita Falls City View to end regular season play.

Northwest 24, Haltom 17

The Northwest Texans kept their playoff hopes alive Friday with a 24-17 victory over the Haltom Buffalos at Birdville Stadium. But Texan fans held their breath in the final seconds as Haltom tried an on-side kick after scoring with 36 seconds remaining in the game. They breathed easier after Northwest recovered the kickoff.

Haltom put up seven points in the first quarter on a five-yard touchdown run by Kyle McDonald, and in the second Darren Miller hit a 33-yard field goal.

Northwest scored first in the second period when quarterback Justin Rogers connected with Bryant Maxwell on a 17-yard touchdown pass. Darren Miller kicked the extra point, but Haltom led 10-7 at the half.

Northwest roared back in the third quarter when Drew Ashley plunged over the goal line twice, first on a 21-yard run up the middle and then with an 11-yard touchdown run. Michael Huskey was perfect on the extra points.

Huskey added the Texans final three points with 1:32 remaining in the final period with a 20 yard field goal.

Less than a minute later, McDonald hit Clarence Daniels on a 16-yard touchdown pass and the Texan fans were hoping they didn't see a repeat of the previous game when Northwest lost to Colleyville Heritage in the last seconds.

The failed on-side kick after the touchdown sealed the Buffalos' fate and propelled the Texans into a do-or-die game against Keller Central at Texan Stadium next week.

Texan Coach Leonard McAngus said he was "very proud" of backup quarterback Justin Rogers who "stepped in" for Will McAngus who has a fractured hand. "We were flat in the first half, but in the second half the offense came out and took control," McAngus said. "They fought back after a tough loss last week."

Northwest now stands at 3-2 in district play while Haltom falls to 1-4.