Kilgore and Texas High faced off tonight at Tiger Stadium at Grim Park as the football season approaches district play. The Tigers won 44-0, marking Texas High’s fourth victory this year.

Kilgore was forced to punt on their first drive of the game. After a few short plays and a key fourth down conversion, Texas High’s quarterback Cade Pearson handed the ball off to running back Devauntay Walker for Texas High’s first touchdown four minutes into the game. The extra point kick was successful.

The Bulldogs received on the 7 and ran the returned to the 43. After a few unsuccessful plays and a 10-yard penalty, they were again forced to punt. Texas started on their 29-yard line with the ball. On second down, Pearson launched a long pass to receiver  Quan Hampton for a 68-yard touchdown with four minutes left on the clock in the first quarter, making the score Texas 14-0.

On Texas High’s next possession, Pearson passed to wide receiver Tevailance Hunt from the 45-yard line for a 55-yard touchdown. The score at the end of the first had the Tigers commanding a strong lead 21-0.

“We made a bunch of big plays out there,” Texas High head coach Barry Norton said. “We were a much more physical team tonight.”

Kilgore started the second quarter with a series of hard-earned first downs, but ultimately was forced to punt for a Texas touchback two minutes into the second. The Tigers made slow progress up the field to the Bulldog 7-yard line, where Pearson threw a short pass to Hampton for a fourth Tiger touchdown. The extra point kick was blocked by Kilgore, bringing the score to Texas 27-0.

Kilgore punted after yet another unsuccessful drive. Pearson then threw deep fade to Hunt who was run out of bounds a yard shy of a touchdown. In the next play, Pearson handed the ball off to running back Markese Martin, who leaped over the line of scrimmage for a fifth Tiger touchdown with a minute left in the second quarter. The extra point was good, giving the Tigers a 34 point lead.

Backup quarterback Colton Clack started the second half for the Tigers. Texas High punted the ball four minutes into the third quarter, but Kilgore fumbled and the Tigers recovered it on the Bulldog 14-yard line. After a costly penalty, Isidro Hernandez kicked a 30-yard field goal for Texas. The Tigers lead over the  Bulldogs was 37-0 at the end of the third.

During the last quarter Texas High put in reserve players to finish off the game. Running back Chris Sutton scored a touchdown with two minutes left to go in the fourth. The final score was Texas 44-0.

“It was a lot of fun and really high intensity,” Cade Pearson said. “I’m really proud of our team.”