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7th Heaven for Carthage

Surratt & Bulldogs add to Carthage History

The Carthage Bulldogs and Waco La Vega Pirates have had a stranglehold on the 4A Division I State Championship games for nearly a decade. In that time, this is their first meeting for the title - something had to give. Carthage walked away with their 7th state title and Surratt grabbed his 6th as their Head Coach.

Carthage (7) 7-1
1991 4A - A&M Consolidated 35, Carthage 16
2008 3A Division II Carthage 49, Celina 37
2009 3A Division II - Carthage 13, Graham 12
2010 3A Division II – Carthage 47, Coldspring-Oakhurst 22
2013 3A Division I - Carthage 34, Kilgore 23 box score
2016 4A Division I - Carthage 31, Abilene Wylie 17
2017 4A Division I - Carthage 49, Kennedale 21 (Story)
2019 4A Division I - Carthage  42, Waco La Vega 28

Waco La Vega (4) 2-3
1951 2A - Arlington 7, Waco La Vega 0
2008 3A Division I Prosper 17, Waco La Vega 10
2015 4A Division I - Waco La Vega 33, Argyle 31
2018 4A Division I - Waco La Vega 40, Liberty Hill 28 (story)
2019 4A Division I - Waco La Vega 28, Carthage  42

Carthage opened the game with a 35 yard pass on the first play. They then fumbled at the La Vega 19 and the Pirates recovered. The teams went back and forth until La Vega put together a 55 yard drive where running back Elisha Cummings ran it in from 19 yards out. La Vega took an early 7-0 lead. Carthage was deep in La Vega territory as the quarter came to an end.

Carthage running back Mason Courtney ran it in from 2 yards out on the first play of the second quarter to make it 7-7. The Pirates had a long 50 yard run by Jar'Que Walton and then a 15 yard touchdown run Cummings. The extra point put La Vega up 14-7. The Bulldogs then put together a 66 yard drive and Kai Horton hit Kelvontay Dixon with a beautiful pass for the score. That evened the score at 14. La Vega put together a nice drive but turned the ball over on downs at the Carthage 31. Carthage then drove down the field and got a 20 yard scoring pass to Dixon with 3 seconds left. Carthage took a 21-14 lead into halftime.

La Vega went 3 and out to open the 2nd half. After punting to Carthage, they went deep to Dixon who caught it on the run and took it in from 63 yards out. Carthage now led 28-14. The Pirates went three and out again and punted. Carthage's Courtney had a long run of 54 yards for the touchdown and the Bulldogs took a 35-14 lead. La Vega got back into it with a 1 yard run by Walton. That score was set up by a 68 yard run by Cummings. That brought the score to 35-21.

Carthage scored on their first possession of the 4th quarter with a 1 yard run by Courtney. That made the score 42-21. The Pirates fumbled the kickoff and the Bulldogs recovered at midfield. La Vega forced a punt and took over at their own 5 with 7:38 left in the game. The Pirates scored once more late in the game to make the final 42-28.

Defensive Player Of The Game : Cole Whitlock (Carthage)

Offensive Player Of The Game : Kelvontay Dixon (Carthage)

Attendance : 16,788

Key Stats :

Total Plays/Yards Carthage 59-496 Waco La Vega 48-372

Carthage :
Kai Horton 16 of 22 passing for 231 yards 3 Touchdowns
Mason Courtney 30 carries for 232 yards 3 Touchdowns
Kelvontay Dixon 7 catches for 120 yards 3 Touchdowns
Cole Whitloack 9.5 tackles 1.5 TFL
Mason Bobo 5.5 tackles 0.5 TFL

Waco La Vega :
Elisah Cummings 15 carries for 144 yards 2 touchdowns
La'Travius Johnson 6.5 tackles 0.5 TFL
Jordan Rogers 5.5 tackles 1 TFL

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