GAMES
RANKINGS
INSTANT REACTION: Carthage Dominates After Slow Start
ARLINGTON - For the eighth time in the Scott Surratt era, Carthage is on top of the hill with a 70-14 win over Gilmer in the 4A Division II State Championship.
Gilmer came out firing, forcing Carthage to punt on its opening possession, scoring then getting the onside recovery only to score again.
It seemed like this was not going to be the same type of game the first time out where Carthage absolutely rolled to a win. But that is exactly what happened.
Carthage shook off the sluggish start and then began to completely dominate Gilmer in all facets, largely thanks to a four-interception performance from Brandon King, two of which were returned for scores.
Brandon King AGAIN?!?!
INT No. 3️⃣#UILState #UILonFSSW pic.twitter.com/bRNETcQgs7
— Dave Campbell's Texas Football — TexasFootball.com (@dctf) December 18, 2020
Kai Horton settled in, too, after missing some deep shots on his way to tossing three scores.
It seemed that once Gilmer turned the ball over the first time and Carthage found the endzone for the first time, it was able to have its way on both sides of the ball. Carthage, before pulling its starters, scored 63 straight points to earn its eighth state crown.
STATE PREVIEW: 4A DII Gilmer vs. Carthage
It's an all-East Texas showdown in Friday's first 4A state title matchup as Gilmer and Carthage hook up. It's a matchup featuring two teams with 10 combined championships and will mark a combined 18 appearances.
And with two teams that know each other so well - playing in the same district some years and in non-district in others - it should be an interesting game, to say the least.
This game is a rematch from earlier this year when Carthage (13-0, Region III champion) completely dominated Gilmer (14-1, Region II champion) 42-12 at home. Since then, Carthage has just done Carthage things, pitching three shutouts and not allowing more than 18 points in any game.
Gilmer has rattled off 10 straight since that loss and has only been involved in one, one-score game - a 3-point win over Texarkana Pleasant Grove.
HOW GILMER GOT HERE
- BI-DISTRICT: Beat Canton 54-21
- AREA: Beat Godley 42-20
- REGIONALS: Beat Sunnyvale 31-14
- QUARTERFINALS: Beat Caddo Mills 38-14
- SEMIFINALS: Beat Graham 35-21
HOW CARTHAGE GOT HERE
- BI-DISTRICT: Beat Gatesville 1-0 (forfeit)
- AREA: Beat Silsbee 49-0
- REGIONALS: Beat Salado 35-7
- QUARTERFINALS: Beat China Spring 52-14
- SEMIFINALS: Beat Wimberley 38-7
LINE: Carthage favored by 17