Kirbyville 49, Caldwell 28 Final.

[navscanmaster]

Great season Hornets! You exceeded everyone's expectations but your own. Congratulations on a great defensive game Kirbyville.

[zebrablue2]

on a very good year. hold your heads high.

[Daddy D 11]

grrreat season hornets!

scott and colton: HELL OF A SEASON :clap:

[Bull's-eye]

Great season Hornets! D23 was behind you all the way.

[CHS_CG]

GREAT JOB HORNETS we are ALL very proud of you. Hated to see the season end, but it was a hellva ride wasnt it. To any seniors good luck on your trip foward! To the starters coming back.. lets get it in shape and set our goals high next season!

Looks like offically a bandwagoner for LH

[HEMOTOXIC]

Great season Hornets. Keep your head up! Congrats to Kirbyville.

[j_dog]

Go K Cats! You did D21-3a proud! :clap:

[bulldogbark]

Great game cats, there was just no stopping the offence tonight. Great passing and running attack. Congrats to the Hornets on a great season.

[bulldogbark]

Caldwell Kirbyville
Total yards 409 491
First downs 15 21
Rushes/Yds 41/344 47/314
Average rush 8.39 6.68
Comp/Atts 5/12 5/12
Pass yards 65 177
Comp pct 41.67 41.67
Punts 3 2
Punting Yards 106 68
Punting Average 35.33 34
Fumbles/Lost 2/1 0/0
Penalties-yards 4-30 9-49

Almost 500 Yrds total offence and 7 TD

[Rattlesnake_08]

Good season Caldwell. Y'all really did look like one of the most dominant teams going into the playoffs, but congradulations on a great season anyways!!!

I hope we're in the same district next year...

[Rattlesnake_08]

So...I guess this means D23 falls to 4-2 in the playoffs overall.

[Crimestick]

So far, 21-3A is looking pretty good at 5-1.

[Stownhorse]

What happened? Did Kirbyville get overlooked?

[griff]

Originally posted by Stownhorse
What happened? Did Kirbyville get overlooked?

Maybe. The big surprise to me is Kirbyville's success in the passing game. They've haven't done much with the forward pass all year. Secondly, their defense was better than expected in this game.

If only Jasper could have held on to that big lead it would have been a 21-3A sweep. Jasper made an impressive turnaround in one year thanks to Coach Brooks. They're back.

[Bull19]

where the turnovers what hurt caldwell?

[ProudHornetMom]

Thanks for the support. I'm still stunned. Kirbyville had many trick plays that were successful and passed more than expected...then there is their speed.

We're extremely proud of the Hornets. They were picked to go next to last in district by Dave Campbell, had wins against teams no one thought they could beat, moved up in the rankings and keep plugging through week after week. They played with their all week after week.

To the seniors, thank you for your leadership both on and off the field. You have set a high standard for the other classes to meet. You've set the precedence of self-discipline, self-control, striving for playing perfect each and every play.

To the younger guys, work hard in off season and powerlifting. Remember the experience of this year and go after it again next year.

Navasota - keep winning and representing D23 well.

[CHS_Grad '85]

Thanks Hornets for a great ride... I'm so proud of all you men... I have to agree with everybody else - as a group that was picked to be at the bottom of the district, you surprised them all... be proud of that...

Kirbyville - congrats on the win and good luck as y'all move on...
Caldwell ousted by Kirbyville

Updated Sunday, November 25, 2007 2:10 AM

By DAVID CAMPBELL
Eagle Staff Writer

HUMBLE -- Just when they thought the rain had stopped, some more fell on the Caldwell Hornets.

The Kirbyville Wildcats' response became easy to forecast. They answered a pair of second-half Caldwell scores to rein in a 49-28 victory at Turner Stadium on Saturday.

Kirbyville improved to 11-1 and will meet China Spring in the Class 3A Division II regional round next week. Caldwell's season ended with a 10-2 record.

The Hornets battled back from an early 20-point deficit to cut Kirbyville's lead to 20-13 when senior running back Xavier Canto burst 42 yards though a big hole at 10:44 of the third quarter. It was one of the best runs on a typically spectacular night from Canto, who rushed 17 times for 287 yards and scored twice. He powered away from tackles on numerous occasions with Kirbyville holding on to only an overstretched jersey.

The Wildcats' answer to any adversity was almost a sure thing, however. Quarterback Aaron Hazlewood threw to Randy Musgrove for 51 yards to the 1-yard line after Canto's big run.

It was the third reception of 50 yards or more for Musgrove, who had six catches for 200 yards and three touchdowns.

The Hazlewood-Musgrove duo, coupled with a pair of interceptions from Kirbyville linebacker Broderick Jackson, gave the Wildcats their edge and held the Hornets at bay.

"We played well, but Kirbyville's speed is something we never caught up with defensively," said Caldwell coach Dale Williams, whose team allowed 503 total yards. "We didn't play very well defensively tonight."

Trailing 20-0 with 1:48 left in the second quarter, Caldwell started its first scoring drive, moving 64 yards on nine plays. Canto converted on fourth-down with an 11-yard sweep and scored two plays later. The power-running Canto took a handoff on a delay, sped past Kirbyville linebacker Broderick Jackson and cut into the end zone at the right sideline with 14 seconds left until halftime.

Later in the second half, a 1-yard touchdown run from Caldwell's Kyson Woolverton cut Kirbyville's lead to 35-20. The Hornets then backed up Kirbyville to the Wildcat 4-yard line, but Broderick Jackson raced 62 yards to set up a 24-yard touchdown pass from Hazlewood to Musgrove.

Kirbyville's first two touchdowns came on deep passes from Hazlewood to Musgrove on significantly different plays.

The first touchdown came on the opening drive, which started at the Wildcats' 38 and feature four running plays, including a 2-yard dive on fourth down by Pierce Rhodes who lunged to the 49. A play later, Hazlewood ran a play fake and hit Musgrove in stride behind a Caldwell defender.

"They got a big play and then got an onside kick, and we never got things going offensively," Williams said. "It's awfully frustrating."

The second scoring connection came on a fake punt. Playing as the up back, Hazlewood briefly bobbled a short snap and then delivered a perfect pass against good coverage on the left sideline. Musgrove cut inside to turn the fourth-down conversion into a touchdown.

Playing through a heavy downpour during a portion of the first half, Kirbyville added another score. Reserve running back Brian Burley did the bulk of the work for the Wildcats, running six times on an 11-play march. His converted a fourth-and-1 with a 6-yard gain and scored untouched on a 12-yard sweep.

"I thought we had a good scheme defensively, but [Kirbyville] did some things and we weren't able to match it," Williams said. "Our kids really fought hard, worked hard and played hard this year. Hats off to this group of seniors for a great year. I just didn't want for it to end this way."

• David Campbell's e-mail address is david.campbell@theeagle.com.

[CowboyBillWatts]

Originally posted by griff
Maybe. The big surprise to me is Kirbyville's success in the passing game. They've haven't done much with the forward pass all year. Secondly, their defense was better than expected in this game.

If only Jasper could have held on to that big lead it would have been a 21-3A sweep. Jasper made an impressive turnaround in one year thanks to Coach Brooks. They're back.

If you didn't know about Kirbyville's passing attack then shame on you. They have thrown for over 1,500 yards this year. Are you kidding me? Hazlewood has thrown for 3,000 yards his first two seasons.

[CowboyBillWatts]

Originally posted by ProudHornetMom
Thanks for the support. I'm still stunned. Kirbyville had many trick plays that were successful and passed more than expected...then there is their speed.

We're extremely proud of the Hornets. They were picked to go next to last in district by Dave Campbell, had wins against teams no one thought they could beat, moved up in the rankings and keep plugging through week after week. They played with their all week after week.

To the seniors, thank you for your leadership both on and off the field. You have set a high standard for the other classes to meet. You've set the precedence of self-discipline, self-control, striving for playing perfect each and every play.

To the younger guys, work hard in off season and powerlifting. Remember the experience of this year and go after it again next year.

Navasota - keep winning and representing D23 well.

If you didn't know Kirbyville could pass then you didn't do your homework. Probably planning ahead for that Giddings rematch.