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Sulphur Springs running backs Caden Davis (2) and Da’Korian Sims (3) trade high fives at the Lucas Lovejoy game on Sept. 7. The Wildcats rushed for 274 yards and two scores Friday, Sept. 13 in Terrell. Photo courtesy/Isabel Reyna
Sulphur Springs | Football
TERRELL — It was a District 8-5A football battle that came down to a kick.
Brandon Zavala’s try for a 33-yard game-winning field goal with 6.6 seconds left sailed wide allowed Terrell to claim a 15-13 win on Friday the 13th at Memorial Stadium.
Zavala, who wears uniform No. 13, was also in unlucky in the game. He was involved in what was the winning touchdown for the Tigers earlier in the fourth quarter. They scored on a fumble recovery after Zavala tried to make a play when a kick attempt went awry.
Terrell ran out the final 1.6 seconds on the game clock following the missed field goal and celebrated the thrilling win. It was the first victory of the season for the Tigers.
Terrell is now 1-2 overall, 1-0 in district.
The Wildcats remain winless on the year, dropping to 0-3 on the season, 0-1 in district play.
If it’s any consolation to the young Wildcats, they continue to improve and cut the margin of defeat.
Sulphur Springs lost by 36 points, 53-17 in the season opener.
They were edged by a touchdown, 34-27 in week two at Lucas Lovejoy, and in the third game, they were defeated by two points, 15-13.
What made the district opening loss particularly frustrating was a number of mistakes and penalties that continue to plague the inexperienced Wildcat ball club.
Sulphur Springs was unofficially flagged 10 times out of 85 yards.
Four of the penalties were for holding, and they also were flagged for a dead ball personal foul.
To open the game, Terrell momentarily scratched their Wing T ground attack and went deep with with a pass. Quarterback Trey Lunsford launched a long pass to Khalid Johnson which moved the ball to the 8-yard line of the Wildcats.
Set up by the 58-yard gain, the Tigers quickly scored on a perfectly blocked sweep with Dee Dee George trotting in untouched from 8 yards out. Terrell was unable to convert the point-after kick, due to a poor snap.
But everything was alright with Tiger fans, as they went up 6-0 with more than 10 minutes to play in the opening frame.
Sulphur Springs then put together an 81-yard scoring drive to answer the score by Terrell.
The scoring play was a bruising blast up the middle by Da’Korian “Choc” Sims of the Wildcats. The extra point by Zavala was good, and Sulphur Springs edged ahead, 7-6, with action still in the first half.
Terrell got the ball back later in the quarter on a tipped interception on a pass thrown by Wildcats signal-caller Kaden Wallace.
The Sulphur Springs defense, which played inspired ball all night, held the Tigers to a Christian Nunez field goal.
At the half, the home team had a 9-7 lead over the visiting Wildcats.
Sulphur Springs regained the lead with just 17.1 seconds left in the third period. Sims reached the end zone again on a short scoring run. The Wildcats did not get the point after kick and had to settle for the 13-9 lead, as action shifted to the final quarter.
Sulphur Springs quickly got the ball back on an onside kick and set up shop for another possession.
The Wildcats drove from the Terrell 41-yard line closer to the goal and were in field goal range. The snap for the try was off-target as Zavala tried to advance the pigskin but was hit and fumbled to the Tigers. Johnson came up with ball and tallied a touchdown on a 65-yard scoop and score.
The Wildcats blocked the point-after kick attempt by Nunez, but with 8:35 to play were on the short end of a 15-13 score.
Sulphur Springs got in scoring position late in the game.
Things went badly in the passing attack for Sulphur Springs as Wallace was sacked, and then two consecutive passes fell incomplete. That brought up the Zavala attempt at a game-winning boot that missed the mark.
The Tigers tasted victory for the first time this season, claiming the 15-13 upset win.
On the stat sheet, the Wildcats had some impressive numbers on both sides of the ball.
On offense, Sulphur Springs had 413 total yards and 22 first downs on 84 plays.
Wallace completed 14-of-31 passes for 139 yards with two interceptions. Noe Ponce and Caden Davis had three receptions each. Bryant Sanchez had two grabs for 24 yards. Zach Tiemeyer, Chase Haney and Aiden Walker also made receptions.
Sulphur Springs ran the ball 40 times of 274 yards. Leading the way was Davis with 21 attempts for 161 yards. Sims also had an impressive night, scoring twice and running 14 times for 96 yards.
Alex Brena, a senior linebacker, paced the Wildcats in tackles with 10 on the night. Fellow linebacker Ryan Carrillo turned in nine stops.
D’Andre Peoples, harassed the Tigers all night, accounted for a sack and nine tackles. Cameron Kaufert was credited with six tackles. Walker, a two-way standout, recorded five tackles with a sack and a quarterback hurry. Haney made six tackles and also came up with an interception off a tipped pass. Kylan Wade was a terror on the Tigers, recording four tackles and a sack.
In other district action on the first week of 8-5A play: North Forney hammered Forney, 57-10; Ennis clobbered Kaufman, 49-14; Corsicana defeated Greenville, 20-7.
Royse City, the next opponent for the Wildcats, was idle. The Bulldogs went 2-0 in non-district play.
The Wildcats host Royse City at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20 at Gerald Prim Stadium.
Sulphur Springs homecoming activities will begin at 7 p.m. prior to the start of the game.