Heroes all over the place for Bulldogs in huge win

LUCAS Some of my thoughts during and after the Kilgore-Lindale District 14-4A football game Friday night in Lindale...

• Gone for a while: Sorry about the absence of “What’s Causing All This” in recent weeks. This thing of getting used to doing the paper on Friday night so you guys can read it has just been sort of difficult and hard to get used to.

• Kilgore’s performance: What in the world can I say to follow that? A marathon, a track meet, to be sure, and Lindale’s offense definitely creates problems. Quarterback Matt Broussard is one of the better players I’ve seen on an opposing team we’ve seen in a while. But we’ve got playmakers, too: Ladarius Anthony, Christian Sibley, Josh Medford — I can go on and on. Lots of heroes from Friday’s game.

Say what you will about the statistics, but here’s the one that counts: the final score, which saw Kilgore leave Lindale with a 55-44 victory, thanks to some very, very good running, some good offensive line play, and a timely interception — maybe the biggest play of young Josh Medford’s life. Two, actually: hitting Broussard and knocking him out of bounds on a fourth-and- 6, short of the first down, and then the game-ending interception that, combined with Ryan Bu s t i n’s extra point, gave Kilgore the 11-point lead with just a handful of seconds remaining.

Read the game story above, but know this: Kilgore’s overall record might be 3-3, but for all intent and purpose, the Bulldogs are 1- 0 in the “second season,” as coach Mike Vallery likes to call it, the district schedule.

And now here’s how it breaks down: Kilgore hosts Henderson, a team that is very much improved, this coming Friday, visits Whitehouse on Oct. 23, hosts Jacksonville on Oct. 30 and visits Nacogdoches on the final weekend of the regular season. The Ragin’ Red needs to finish in the top four in the district to make the playoffs, but don’t kid yourselves — that win over the Eagles Friday night was big, big, big.

I had to finish it by listening to the radio broadcast of Ragin’ Red Broadcasting, but I came out of my seat at the paper when Medford picked off that pass and returned it for a toucndown with 27 seconds left.

Kilgore’s defense made the plays it needed to make in the fourth quarter, and so did the offense. The team scored 28 points in the fourth quarter, the most I can remember in my tenure here.

Great finish, and what a big win to open 14-4A play for the Bulldogs.

• Lindale’s stadium: I think I’m in the minority on this one, but Lindale’s stadium has a bit of an old look, with the concrete bleachers on the ends of the visitors’ side, a grass field (which is rare with all the turf fields in East Texas) and even the press box on the visitors’ side.

I was told by those in the know that the visitors’ side at Lindale used to be the home side, but they’re making renovations.

• Under the lights: Booster club president Tim Capps had an addition to the Bulldogs’ entrance at Lindale: a strobe light inside the inflatable Bulldog. I like it. Now, like Bobby Bustin mentioned, maybe if they can just figure out a way to make smoke come from the Bulldog nostrils (without it catching on fire).

• Fake field goal: I’ve been watching KHS football now for eight years, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fake field goal work so well. In the first half, the Bulldogs lined up for what appeared to be a 35-yard field goal attempt by Bustin, but no — Anthony took it down to the Lindale 2-yard-line, a pickup of about 16 yards, and Jordan Henderson, who also had a good night, would score on the next play.

Here’s a stat for you. Anthony’s rushing in the last two games: 595 yards and nine touchdowns on 50 carries.

I’ll leave you with that. Have a great week.