Once again I was at the Ford Center in Frisco, part of the Cowboy Star facility, the new world headquarters for the Dallas Cowboys. I was there to see a third round playoff game between Midlothian Heritage and Carthage.
Lee Wiginton has been the coach of Heritage since 2010. They entered this game with an 11-1 record. The jaguars were on a seven game win streak, their last loss coming to LaVega in October.
Scott Surratt leads a Bulldog team with a perfect 12-0 record in 2018. their last loss was also in October. . . October, 2016. Carthage has won thirty-eight games in a row, including the last two state championships.
More about the game in a moment. First let me show you the barbecue I ate on the way to the game.
The
Barbecue
My brother and I were tooling down the Sam Rayburn
toll road on our way to Frisco for the ball game. We couldn’t decide where to eat barbecue when
we passed by Hard Eight Pit BBQ in The Colony.
We took the next exit, circled back through the neighborhood and landed
at 5300 State Highway 121, at the corner of Plano Parkway. A nice man greeted all the patrons as they
walked in. He said this particular
establishment would seat 900 people and that Hard Eight would soon be opening
their fifth restaurant in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex. Hhmmmm. . .
Hard Eight was permeated by the sweet aroma of
barbecue cooking. While we were in line,
we saw their pit masters loading up hot coals into one of the pits where they
cooked rib eye steaks. I got my standard
order of moist brisket and some pork ribs.
I spotted some bacon wrapped shrimp that looked good, so I got a couple
of them as well. Pickles and onions,
samples of both their sauces, and some iced tea and I was all set to eat.
The brisket had a nice smoky flavor, but. . . While it looked really juicy when it was
being cut, it was kinda dry and crumbly and required more chewing than it
should. Not sure what happened between
the cutting board and the table. The
ribs were tasty: tender and moist, but didn’t have a whole lot of meat on
them. They made up for that by giving me
more ribs than what I normally order. The
grilled bacon wrapped shrimp was very tasty.
I hate to say it, but my brother and I were
disappointed in the barbecue at Hard Eight.
It’s obvious they do a lot of business, so somebody likes what they
serve, but there is much better barbecue in the Metroplex. I think they have concentrated more on
quantity than on quality. I suspect it’s
going to be a while before I stop at one of their other four restaurants.
I rate this barbecue a shaky Hook ‘Em!
The
Game
If you only saw the final score of this game, you
might think neither team played defense.
But they did. . .
A fumble by Carthage quarterback Gunner Capps gave Heritage
the ball at midfield. Langston Anderson
picked up big yardage on a pass from Landon Ledbetter. Ledbetter threw back to Dre Washington who
then threw a jump pass to Haydon Wiginton for the first score of the game. The extra point made it 7-0. The Jaguars extended their lead to 14-0 on a
25 yard run up the middle by Washington.
The Bulldogs answered with a 46 yard touchdown pass
from Capps to Kel Williams. The extra
point was no good leaving the score 14-6.
The Jaguars roared right back.
Anderson took a direct snap and scored from 3 yards out to make it
21-6.
Kelvontay Dixon made an outstanding one handed catch
to put the Bulldogs in the Jaguar red zone.
But Carthage turned the ball over on downs when Capps dropped a sure
touchdown pass on a double reverse.
The Jaguars were on the move when Washington fumbled
near midfield. Capps threw deep to Dixon
on the sideline for a big gain. Capps connected
with Roshabrus Garrett for a six yard touchdown. The Bulldogs went for two and converted on a
carry by Dixon to make it 21-14. Later
in the second quarter, the Bulldogs scored on a 50 yard pick six by De’Aundry
Bowman. The extra point knotted the
score at 21-21.
Late in the second quarter, Ledbetter connected with
Jay Wilkerson for a 10 yard touchdown.
The Jaguars went to half time leading 28-21.
In the third quarter, Washington caught a shuffle pass
from Ledbetter, then fumbled when he was hit.
Capps found Kaden Holcomb over the middle for a big gain. But the Bulldogs turned the ball over on
downs again when Capps backwards pass fell incomplete.
Langston Anderson made a great catch for a big
gain. Dre Washington did the rest as he
scored from 37 yards out. The Jaguars
were ahead by 14 at 35-21.
Gunner Capps threw over the middle to Baylor Colle who
side stepped a defender for a 35 yard touchdown. The extra point made it 35-28.
Here come the Jaguars.
Landon Ledbetter connected with Anderson for first and goal from the
three. Brody Greeson was stripped and
the Bulldogs took possession. Capps
threw deep to a wide open Elijah Collier for a 34 yard touchdown. The extra point tied the game again at 35-35.
Deep in the fourth quarter, Heritage started from
their own 36 yard line. Ledbetter
scrambled, then threw to Jay Wilkerson for a critical first down. Ledbetter found Carter Wilkerson alone in the
end zone for a touchdown. With the extra
point, the Jaguars led 42-35 with only 4:10 left to play.
Carthage started from their own 25 yard line and moved
to the Heritage 33. Facing fourth and 3
with only one time out left, Capps threw to Kelvontay Dixon. He slipped one tackle, avoided another, and
carried the ball to the Jaguars 1. Capps
scrambled to avoid the rush and his desperation pass was intercepted. But Heritage was penalized for a horse collar
tackle and the Bulldogs retained possession with just eight seconds left.
After two incomplete passes and only 1 second
remaining, Capps threw to Kaden Holcomb.
The catch was ruled a touchdown.
The extra point sent the game to overtime.
The Jaguars took the first shot in OT. Ledbetter found Haydon Wiginton in the end
zone for six. The extra point put Heritage
ahead 49-42.
Now it’s the Bulldogs turn. Capps scrambled to avoid the rush, this time his
desperation pass was caught by Mason Courtney for a huge first down. Courtney ran it in for a three yard touchdown
to make it 49-48.
Carthage decided to go
for two and the win. Kelvontay Dixon
carried on a rocket pitch and dove into the end zone. Carthage had their first lead of the night and won the game 50-49.
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