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Ryan Carrillo (44) of Sulphur Springs wraps up Kaufman’s Daylon Dickerson (2) during district football action at Kaufman, Friday, Nov. 1. The Wildcats lost 28-24. Courtesy/Cathy Bryan -
Chase Haney (with ball) of Sulphur Springs raced 99 yards with an interception return on a 2-point conversion play against Kaufman. Courtesy/Cathy Bryan
Sulphur Springs | Football
KAUFMAN — The Sulphur Springs Wildcats saw their season record drop to 1-8, 1-6 in district with a 28-24 loss to the Kaufman Lions.
Kaufman, with the Friday, Nov. 1 win, advanced to 2-7 on the year, 2-5 in district.
The Wildcats saw an early lead slip away to the Lions who were inspired and celebrating Senior Night.
The Wildcats built a first-half advantage only to be outscored 21-9 in the final half of the District 8-5A contest.
Sulphur Springs saw a 24-13 second half lead evaporate into the cool November night as the Lions came roaring back to score 15 points in the final frame to claim the 28-24 home victory.
In the early going, the Wildcats started with good field position when Kaufman’s kickoff went out-of-bounds.
Set up at their own 40, Sulphur Springs reached into their bag of tricks with a half back option pass. The deep-aching throw by Da’Korian Sims was too far for the Wildcat receiver to catch, but it put fear into the Kaufman defense.
The Wildcats, operating again with Noe Ponce, due to the injury of junior quarterback Kaden Wallace, quickly moved down the field.
Ponce found Chase Haney open for a 37-yard gain. The Wildcats advanced to the 16-yard line of the Lions. They had to settle for a 33-yard field goal. The kick was good, and with 9:07 left in the opening half, the Wildcats took a 3-0 advantage.
Sulphur Springs stopped the Lions’ initial drive, and the Lions went back in punt formation. Punter Yael Sandoval was trapped at the 2-yard line following a bad snap.
The Wildcats quickly took advantage of the situation, scoring on a 2-yard burst up the middle by Caden Davis. The point after was no good. Sulphur Springs took a 9-0 first quarter lead and appeared to have the momentum as well.
Action moved to the second period with each team was forced to punt as defensive units dominated processing.
The Wildcats got the ball back with Dominique Sims intercepting a pass by Lions’ quarterback Billy Pullen.
Sulphur Springs got on the scoreboard again when Davis scored on a spirited 20-yard run, where he ran through and over several Lions defenders. The Wildcats took a 15-0 advantage.
The Wildcats tried to get a drive going, but the Lions snatched an interception and soon had the ball and a score.
Pullen threw to Charleston Miller for a 24-yard touchdown. The extra point was good and cut the Sulphur Springs lead to 15-7.
The first moments of the second half saw a flurry of points as the Lions showed they were up for the fight.
Lions’ upback Mason Ashton scooped up the onside kick by Sulphur Springs and jetted in for quick score in the opening seconds of the third period. Now the Wildcat advantage was sliced to 15-13.
The Lions went for the 2-point conversion. The Pullen pass was picked off by Haney and returned 99 yards for 2 points for the Wildcats to make it a 17-13 game.
Sulphur Springs scored their only touchdown of the second half in the third frame. With 9:02 left in the quarter, Sims capped a 51-yard drive with a 1-yard scoring burst. Now it was a 24-13 game with the Wildcats in the lead.
Kaufman did not back up and soon were dancing in the end zone with a score of their own. Raikyvuin Shaw, a work horse who totaled 155 yards in the game for the Lions, picked up 58 of those yards on just one carry. The long scoring explosion put Kaufman closer, cutting the Wildcats advantage to 24-21.
Sulphur Springs then drove deep in Lion country and appeared headed for another score, until disaster struck. A Noe pass in the end zone was picked off by Darius McGee and returned 24 yards.
The Lions send up a 6-minute scoring drive, as they kept the Wildcat defense at bay with Shaw runs and Pullen passes. Pullen connected with Kyndall Trudeau on a 45-yard scoring heave. The ball fluttered in the night sky, but the Wildcat defender could neither catch nor knock down the pigskin, and it drifted over his team into the waiting arms of Trudeau for the final score of the game.
The Lions took the 28-24 lead with 10:27 left in the fourth frame, which score they would hold to win by that margin.
Shaw was the top rusher for either team with over 150 yards on his win for the Lions.
For Sulphur Springs, Davis rambled 14 times for 93 yards, and Sims raced 13 times, picking up 73 yards. The Wildcats averaged 5.6 yards per carry, picking up 167 ground yards. Ponce compiled 9-of-17 passes for 102 yards. Haney was the top receiver and scored on the interception return for the 2-point conversion.
Top tacklers on the Wildcats were Kylan Wade and Eleazar Brena with 13 each, Ryan Carrillo picked up 12 stops, Cameron Kaufert recorded six tackles, two tackles for losses, and Detrick Clayton and Koderrian Turner turned in five tackles each.
The Wildcats return home to end the football season Friday, Nov. 8 at Gerald Prim Stadium against North Forney. Kick-off is slated at 7:30 p.m., Senior Night activities will be held before the game.
“We are highly disappointed we let the Kaufman game slip away. There were four critical plays in the game, and if one could have gone our way, we [could have won]. I’m proud of how hard our kids played and fought to the end — they gave great effort. We have one more opportunity to finish this season on a positive note as we host North Forney this week,” said Greg Owens, Wildcats head football coach.