Red-hot debut

OPENING DAY — Top: the Kilgore High School football team, led by Sabit Bauta (9), Shaun Edwards (30) and Vince Cano (68), bursts through the paper banner held by the KHS cheerleaders before Friday night's home game against Carthage, a game Kilgore would go on to win, 33-20. Above: Kilgore linebacker Jordan Henderson puts a solid hit on Carthage quarterback Si'Darius Blackshire, but not before Blackshire got the ball off — the pass went for a touchdown to tailback Dwight Smith. Kilgore would play ball-control offense and good defense, though, and come out with a win on the humid night. The Bulldogs (1-0) visit Hallsville on Friday. It was hot, humid, and not exactly the kind of night that's a football player's best friend Friday at R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium.

Players for Kilgore and for Carthage, an up-and-coming Class 3A team, struggled with cramps and the heat, and while Carthage was able to hang with Kilgore for the bulk of three quarters, the Ragin' Red was just overpowering late — KHS captured a 33-20 win in the season opener.

Photos by Lester Murray "It was one of those nights where both teams were just trying to keep kids on the field," said Kilgore head coach Mike Vallery, opening his 14th season at the helm of the Bulldogs. "My hat's off to this Kilgore team for battling this heat and a pretty good Carthage team and getting a victory."

Senior running back Frank Reddic paced Kilgore's ground game with 109 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown on 25 carries. The Bulldogs also had an interception for a touchdown by defensive end Tyler Dennis, a safety on a botched Carthage punt, got a 40-yard touchdown catch and a 50-yard kick return from Andrew Ector that led to another score, and benefitted from another good night by placekicker Ryan Bustin, who had a 33- yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

Kilgore (1-0) visits Hallsville this Friday, then travels to Marshall on Sept. 12. The Ragin' Red won't return home until Sept. 19 when they face 3A power Gilmer — that's also homecoming.

Kilgore's season-opener against Carthage began in interesting fashion. Carthage quarterback Si'Darius Blackshire, who was injured late in the second half, started off nicely, making some good passes and some athletic moves to avoid Kilgore's pressuring pass rush — Kilgore linebackers Sabit Bauta and Jordan Henderson were regular visitors into the Carthage backfield, but in the first half, Blackshire seemed to be a step in front of them.

On the opening drive, the Ragin' Red forced Carthage to punt, but gave the ball back to CHS on a fumble on the punt return. Carthage made Kilgore pay, putting together a nineplay drive that ended with six points. In third-down-and-9 at Kilgore's 19-yard-line, Blackshire looked to be sacked for sure by Henderson, who hit him hard. But the quarterback

held on and delivered the throw, a screen pass that running back Dwight Smith caught and sprinted into the left corner of the end zone for the touchdown. With the extra point — and quite a bit of the first quarter gone — Carthage claimed a 7-0 lead with 5:16 remaining.

KHS finally came out for its first offensive series with an experience laden front: tight end Dominique Jones, offensive linemen Tyler Waddle, John Swanson, Colby Rosen, Vince Cano, Jeff Watson and tight end Blayne Cole all lined up in front of senior quarterback Steven McBryde, with Reddic and Bauta, also a fullback, in the backfield. The first series would end in a punt after an apparent miscommunication between McBryde and wide receiver Xavian Sanders.

The second series, though, would begin just before the first quarter ended and culminate with Kilgore's first score of the night. Reddic picked up 11 yards on a screen pass by McBryde, and four plays later, on second-and-14, McBryde hooked up with speedy Ector, who got free from defenders and took it the distance for a 40-yard touchdown play. Bustin's extra point was good — he went 4-for-4 in extra points on the night — and Kilgore tied it with 9:48 left.

As the teams traded punts, Bustin was able to pin Carthage back around its 10- yard-line with 6:48 left in the half. Tyler Dennis and Dominique Jones threw Blackshire for a 3-yard loss on a sack on first down, and then on second down and long, Blackshire dropped back to pass and didn't see Dennis — who pulled in a "look-what-I-found" interception and stepped two yards forward and into the end zone for the go-ahead score. Bustin's extra point was good, and with 5:50 left in the half, Kilgore led 14-7.

Carthage did tie the game with a big pass play, a 68-yard touchdown from Blackshire to Jarvin Robinson, on the next possession, but Kilgore wouldn't trail again.

Helped by great blocking in front of him, Ector pulled a 50- yard kick return out of his hat, setting McBryde up with great field position at the Carthage 38. His first three passes of the drive were incomplete, but Trevor Moon and Reddic put together 10 yards on the ground that allowed Kilgore to get a first down and keep the possession alive. Then, on third-and-6 from the Carthage 23, McBryde found Sanders across the middle for the touchdown, McBryde's second TD pass of the night and Sanders' first catch of the season. Bustin gave KHS the 21-14 lead, which it took into the half.

Carthage's defense played well on Kilgore's first offensive series of the third quarter, forcing the Ragin' Red to punt. But Bustin was able to get all of it, booting a 53-yard kick that left Carthage with horrible field position.

Smith took care of that. On second down, the talented tailback broke a tackle and hit the Kilgore sideline, getting away for a 76-yard touchdown run. The extra point was blocked, though, and Kilgore still led, 21-20, with 5:41 left in the third quarter.

On the first Carthage series of the fourth quarter, Kilgore's defense stood tall, forcing Carthage to punt. It didn't happen — the snap went right, past the kicker, who slapped it out of the back of the end zone and resulted in a Kilgore safety. The Bulldogs led 23-20.

From there, it was the Ragin' Red's night. The offensive line seemed to take over the game, along with Reddic's good running, and got Bustin close enough to kick a 33-yard field goal.

Blackshire, who didn't complete a pass in the second half, was injured on a tackle and forced from the game. The Bulldogs weren't able to move the ball on Kilgore's defense after that, and turned the ball back over to KHS on downs following a fourth-down incomplete pass.

Kilgore would march 66 yards on six plays to wrap up the game with a 7-yard touchdown run by Reddic, with a little Courtney Maddox thrown in for good measure along the way. Bustin's final extra point of the night sailed through the uprights at around 10:25 p.m., and shortly after that, Kilgore junior Stephan Warren picked off a Carthage pass that ended the game.

Smith had the one big run for Carthage for the 76-yard touchdown, but other than that, Kilgore pretty much held him in check. He finished with 113 yards on the night (just 37 yards, taking away the one big carry). Carthage did have an 85-yard touchdown play called back on the opening drive, thanks to a pass interference call, a push-off by the receiver that caught the pass.

For Kilgore, in addition to Reddic's performance, McBryde completed 6-of-13 passes for 95 yards and the two touchdowns. Ector had the 40-yard touchdown catch; Sanders had the 23-yard TD catch; Devaron Harvey had a 9-yard catch; Reddic had two catches for 15 yards; and Moon caught a pass for 10 yards.

Defensively, Dennis and Jones shared the sack that put Carthage back against their goal line, and then Dennis had the subsequent interception for the score; Bauta and Henderson did a good job pressuring Blackshire all night; Mishaud Austin had four tackles for KHS; Moon had four tackles; and Warren had the game-ending intercep-