Hillcrest Crushes W.T. White; Rangers Get Run Over
Even if the execution sometimes felt more like first-game jitters than mid-season form, Hillcrest was able to score an easy win to open the season.
The Panthers rolled past W.T. White 37-13 on Friday at Franklin Stadium, thanks to a balanced offensive output paced by Arico Evans and Terrell Haley.
Evans ran for one touchdown and threw for another, while Haley had a game-high 137 rushing yards and a touchdown for Hillcrest. Evans found Tim Ismail on a 33-yard scoring pass in the first quarter, then capped a 12-play, 77-yard drive with a 2-yard scoring plunge to open the second half.
Meanwhile, Haley scored on a 35-yard run and averaged more than 12 yards per carry as the Panthers were efficient but not flashy.
“I didn’t think we executed nearly as well as what I wanted to,” said Hillcrest head coach Andy Todd. “It’s great to come out with a big win like this when you don’t do everything that you look to do.”
Makell Haley and Gkarri McCoy each added rushing touchdowns for the Panthers, who surged to a 34-7 advantage late in the third quarter.
In the last meeting between the neighborhood rivals separated by just more than five miles, the Longhorns demolished Hillcrest 57-3. But Friday was a different story.
White struggled in its seventh consecutive loss dating to last season. Jackson Fults tallied one rushing touchdown and one passing touchdown for the Longhorns, but he completed just eight of 22 throws for 80 yards.
Hillcrest will host Lincoln next week, while White returns home to face North Garland.
In other area games this week:
Arlington Bowie 72, Jesuit 49
Jesuit literally could not stop Bowie’s big-play offense, which rolled up an astonishing 872 yards and scored 11 touchdowns. Volunteers quarterback Tony James passed for 459 yards and six scores, and ran for another 140 yards. Bo Schneider threw six touchdown passes for Jesuit, including three to Garrett Amy, but they all came in the first half.
St. Mark’s 27, Cistercian 19
Dual-threat quarterback Walter Johnson passed for 310 yards and three scores, while William Caldwell had 126 receiving yards and two scores for the Lions. Cisterican rallied to within one point in the fourth quarter on the arm of Matthew Merrick, but Johnson’s late 19-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Patison helped seal the game.
Parish Episcopal 28, Carrollton Ranchview 19
Dominic Williams tallied 207 rushing yards and a key third-quarter touchdown as Parish rallied from a halftime deficit. The Panthers scored twice to open the second half, including a 54-yard scoring pass from Tom Stewart to Xavier Suggs, who finished with six catches for 159 yards. Raghib Ismail led the Wolves with 10 receptions for 133 yards.
Pantego Christian 28, Greenhill 12
Pantego’s Hill Alexander broke open a close game with two second-half touchdown runs, sending Greenhill to its eighth straight loss dating to last season. Ryan Bradberry provided a bright spot for the Hornets with 150 rushing yards, but the rest of the team managed just 59 yards as several Greenhill players made their varsity debut.
FW North Side 35, Thomas Jefferson 7
After leading just 7-0 at the break, North Side got its first win since the 2011 season by pulling away in the second half, thanks in part to five turnovers by the Patriots. Thomas Jefferson got its first points of the year when the game was already out of reach, on a pass from Kendrick Bright to Kendall Jackson. The Patriots had just 72 rushing yards.
