FB: Eagles bite Dawgs in double OT, 35-34
Aune (2) as he goes airborn during Friday night's Class 3A D-II Region II
Semifinal at Vernon Newsom Stadium. (Photo by John Krueger)
MANSFIELD, Tx -- Argyle survived two missed field goals on the final play of regulation and in the first overtime, relying on a missed extra-point attempt in the second overtime to dethrone three-time defending Class 3A Division II state champion Carthage, 35-34, at Vernon Newsom Stadium here Friday night.
Argyle (12-1) advances to the 3A Division II Region II final against Gilmer (13-0) and avenges a 44-27 loss to Carthage in last year’s regional championship. Argyle snapped Carthage’s 20-game playoff winning streak and sends the Bulldogs home at 9-4 with all of their losses to Associated Press 3A Top 10 teams by a combined 17 points. Carthage head coach Scott Surratt ends 2011 with a 21-2 postseason record in five years at Carthage.
Argyle overcame a 21-3 first-half deficit and 28-21 fourth-quarter CHS lead win the game. The Eagles enjoyed an enormous advantage in offensive snaps as Argyle ran 85 plays to Carthage’s 48, which produced a 431-304 total yardage edge.
Argyle sophomore kicker Cole Hedlund missed a 43-yard field-goal attempt on the final play of regulation to send the game to overtime. The Eagles held Carthage on a fourth-and-1 from the 16 on the OT’s opening possession, but Hedlund pulled another kick wide left, this time a 27-yarder, to send the game to double overtime.
Argyle scored on three plays when Ian Sadler sprinted for a nine-yard, jet-sweep touchdown, but Carthage answered in one play on Tevin Pipkin’s 25-yard touchdown run. The Bulldogs called a timeout, then lined up to go for a game-winning two-point conversion. Once they were at the line, Carthage’s coaches signaled from the sideline to let the play clock run out to simply set up a 25-yard PAT, rather than the usual 20-yarder.
Carthage sophomore kicker Jimmy Gonzalez had his extra-point attempt bang the left upright and bounce wide left to end the game and send Argyle to the state quarterfinal round for the second consecutive season.
Junior Trent Jackson capped a seven-play, 64-yard Carthage drive with a one-yard touchdown run that gave the Bulldogs a 28-21 lead with 11:16 remaining. Argyle moved the ball to the Carthage 32 before two penalties eventually resulted in a third-and-12 from the Bulldogs’ 42. Argyle quarterback Austin Aune fired over the middle for tight end Chad Bossow, but Carthage strong safety Tasker Shannon cut him in half with a huge hit inside the 15-yard line, which would have forced a fourth-and-12 for the Eagles trailing by a touchdown midway through the fourth.
But a dead-ball personal foul unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the hit gave Argyle a first down, and the Eagles tied the game eight plays later on Aune’s fourth-and-2, five-yard touchdown bootleg with 3:58 remaining that capped a drive that consumed 7:18 and took 14 plays.
Argyle forced a Carthage three-and-out on the Bulldogs’ ensuing possession, then moved 26 yards in seven plays to set up Hedlund’s 43-yard miss at the end of regulation.
Aune, who is committed to TCU, was 19-of-33 for 190 yards, one touchdown and one interception and ran 15 times for 94 yards and a score. Much of his rushing yardage came on scrambles as Carthage covered Argyle down the field well the entire game.
Bossow caught 12 passes for 138 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown on the second half’s opening possession that tied the game with Sadler’s two-point run. Tyler Eveleth carried 25 times for 120 yards.
Carthage built a 21-3 first-half lead on three Argyle turnovers. Junior cornerback Dominic Collins intercepted Aune off a deflection late in the first quarter to set up Carthage’s first touchdown on sophomore quarterback Blake Bogenschutz’s one-yard run.
Shannon stripped Bossow after an 18-yard gain on Argyle’s ensuing possession and the Bulldogs scored in two plays on a 50-yard, triple-pass touchdown from Bogenschutz to senior tight end Clint Cage, back to Bogenschutz, then to senior Edward Pope for a 14-3 lead.
Junior Gabriel Villanueva recovered a fumble on the next Argyle kick return, and Carthage scored in three plays on Jackson’s first touchdown run for an 18-point lead with 10:36 left in the second.
From there, Argyle chipped away, keeping the ball away from Carthage and taking what the Bulldogs’ defense gave them, which was often Aune scrambles and passes underneath.
Bogenschutz was 11-of-21 for 162 yards and a touchdown, while Pipkin carried 18 times for 133 yards and a score. The sophomore backfield duo finished 2011 with about 2,700 passing yards and 1,700 rushing yards, respectively.
Pope, who is committed to TCU, caught four passes for 89 yards and a touchdown in his final high school game, finishing the season with 76 catches for more than 1,200 yards and 16 touchdowns, the second-highest single-season totals in all three categories in Carthage history (Jalen Claiborne, 2010).
Argyle enters next week's regional title at Gilmer with a 46-4 record since 2008. Argyle beat Gilmer 41-14 in last year's 3A Division II Region II semifinal round before losing to the eventual champion Bulldogs.
Carthage is 62-11 in five seasons under Surratt.
STATS AT A GLANCE
Argyle -- 3 10 8 7 0 7 -- 35
Carthage -- 7 14 0 7 0 6 -- 34
- - - - - - - - - -
First downs -- A: 27; C: 13
Rushing -- A: 52-241; C: 29-142
Passing -- A: 19-33-1 190; C: 11-21-0 162
Penalties -- A: 7-60; C: 6-47
Fumbles -- A: 2-2; C: 1-1
Punts -- A: 2-41.0; C: 2-27.5
INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS
Rushing
Argyle - Tyler Eveleth 25-120, Austin Aune 15-94 1 TD, Ian Sadler 6-20 1 TD, Chad Bossow 3-4 1 TD, Chance Bode 2-3, Tucker Ray 1-0. Carthage - Tevin Pipkin 18-133 1 TD, Trent Jackson 5-10 2 TDs, Blake Bogenschutz 5-1 1 TD, TEAM 1-(-2).
Passing
Argyle - Austin Aune 19-33-1 190 1 TD. Carthage - Blake Bogenschutz 11-21-0 162 1 TD.
Receiving
Argyle - Chad Bossow 12-138 1 TD, Adam Khan 4-35, Ian Sadler 2-10, Will DeSpain 1-7, Tyler Eveleth 1-5. Carthage - Edward Pope 4-89 1 TD, Tasker Shannon 3-47, Clint Cage 2-16, Tevin Pipkin 2-10.
SCORING SUMMARY
First
A - Cole Hedlund 29 field goal - 6:24
C - Blake Bogenschutz 1 run (Jimmy Gonzales kick) - 1:35
Second
C - Edward Pope 50 pass from Bogenschutz (Gonzales kick) - 11:49
C - Trent Jackson 6 run (Gonzales kick) - 10:36
A - Chad Bossow 1 run (Hedlund kick) - 7:09
A - Hedlund 24 field goal - 3:20
Third
A - Bossow 20 pass from Austin Aune (Ian Sadler run) - 7:30
Fourth
C - Jackson 1 run (Gonzales kick) - 11:16
A - Aune 5 run (Hedlund kick) - 3:58
Second OT
A - Sadler 9 run (Hedlund kick)
C - Tevin Pipkin 25 run (kick failed)