#14 Palestine beats #21 Carthage 47-21 [Archive]

texasjeremy

09-03-2005, 08:51 AM

ET FOOTBALL: Wildcats claw Bulldogs, 47-21

By JOE HALE

Saturday, September 03, 2005

CARTHAGE – Palestine quarterback Devin Stephens ran for two touchdowns and threw for three others in leading the Wildcats to a 47-21 non-district victory over Carthage Friday night at Martin Stadium.

With the visiting Wildcats leading 20-6 at halftime, thanks to scoring tosses of 28, 44 and 10 yards by the senior quarterback in the first half, Stephens put the exclamation mark on the Wildcats' second win of the season with scoring runs of 3 and 17 yards in the third quarter against the Bulldogs (1-1).

Besides Stephens' exploits – 10-of-19 passing for 146 yards to go his 30 yards rushing on just seven carries, the Wildcats got a 30-yard scoring run from running back Trevlyn Reed and a 10-yard interception return by Billy Lewis to round out the scoring.

Palestine finished with 313 yards of total offense, 167 on the ground and 146 through the airways. Led by quarterback Marcus Bowman, who scored on an 88-yard scamper in the first half and was 4-of-7 passing for 107 yards, Carthage finished with 255 yards of total offense.

Bowman led the ground assault with 72 yards on 21 carries. Kel Hines, who added a touchdown on a 56-yard run, followed with 59 yards on six carries.

Jason Teague led the way in receptions with three for 91 yards, including a 79-yard strike from Bowman for a score.

The Bulldogs suffered four turnovers, losing two fumbles and two interceptions along the way.

Stephens was almost a one-man wrecking crew. He threw for three touchdowns, leading the Wildcats on scoring drives of 61 and 47 yards on their first two possessions of the contest. The first one, a six-play march, was capped as Stephens teamed with Leon Mickens, covering 28 yards. John Gold's extra point failed, leaving the score at 6-0.

But not for long, as Stephens and friends extended the Wildcats lead to 13 with a nifty three-play drive culminated with a 44-yard Stephens strike to Kevin Swanson.

Palestine, which held a 172 to 98 edge over the Bulldogs in yards gained at intermission, scored again as Stephens hooked up with Justin Mosley for a 10-yard completion, coming with 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter. Gold converted, giving Palestine a 20-0 advantage.

The Bulldogs answered, following a Myers interception at the Carthage 10 yard line on a Stephens pass intended for Mosley.

Teague carried for two yards and then Bowman broke 88 yards on an option keeper, pulling the Bulldogs to within 14 at halftime, after Bowman's extra point attempt failed with 6:37 left in the half.

Stephens was 8-of-13 passing for 106 yards at intermission with one interception.

Bowman led the Bulldogs' ground game with 89 yards on 12 carries at the break. Myers and Teague accounted for 277 yards rushing and four touchdowns in last week's decisive 47-14 victory over Henderson.

Carthage's state championship baseball team was recognized prior to the game. They were presented their state championship rings earlier in the day.

The Wildcats won last year's high-scoring game, 42-31.