The Little Cypress-Mauriceville football season has come to an end as the Bears lost a hard-fought bi-district playoff game to the Lindale Eagles, 49-21, Friday night at Battlin’ Bears Stadium in Orange.
The game started out with both teams exchanging possessions and trying to get a feel for the game, but it was the Eagles which struck first midway through the first quarter when quarterback David Lindig threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to receiver Reed Carnathan for a 7-0 Lindale lead.
LC-M seemed sluggish but the offense found a spark when quarterback Brayden Lewis connected with receiver Khayden Reed on a 25-yard pass to the Eagles 41-yard line. Two plays later on a flea-flicker, Reed found Evan Worster open for a 40-yard pass to tie the game, 7-7, after the Isaiah Watzlavik extra point.
The Eagles offense began to assert itself on the next possession as Lindale marched the ball 61 yards in five plays in 2:32. Caleb Hart took the direct snap and punched the ball up the middle for a 4-yard touchdown run, which put Lindale back on top, 14-7, at the end of the first quarter.
The Lindale defense kept the Bears offense contained the majority of the night, especially in the first-half. Following a Bears punt to its own 42-yard line, Lindale needed just two plays to reach the end zone. Lindig threw a 36-yard pass Chad Ward to the Bears 6-yard line, and, on the next play, A’Million Johnson carried the ball around the left end for a 6-yard touchdown and a 21-7 Eagles lead at halftime.
Lindale received the opening kickoff in the third quarter and proceeded to blow the game wide open. The Eagles moved the ball 63-yards in five plays as Ward scored on a 19-yard run for a 28-7 advantage.
Eagles defender Jett Pettway intercepted Lewis on the next LC-M possession to give Lindale the ball at the LC-M 45-yard line. Lindale capped off the 10 play drive with another touchdown by Hart, this time on a 2-yard run to extend the Lindale lead to 35-7.
Next Lindale successfully recovered the onside kick and took over again at Bears 28-yard line. Two plays later Lindig found Carnathan open as he headed to the left pylon of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown pass and a 42-7 Eagles lead late in the third quarter.
Late in the fourth quarter, it was second down and nine for LC-M at the Bears 6-yard line when Jonah Fuller took the handoff up the middle and rumbled 92-yards to the Eagles 2-yard line. On the next play Worster punched the ball into the end zone for the LC-M touchdown to cut the lead to 42-14.
LC-M attempted an onside kick, but it was unsuccessful and it gave Lindale the ball at midfield with 3:17 to play. The Eagles, which had already put back-up players into the game, reinserted its first team offense and immediately scored on a 50-yard deep pass from Lindig to Kaden Fowler for a 49-14 advantage.
LC-M would tack on one more touchdown with 40 seconds to play in the game when Keagan Cockerham hauled in a 48-yard touchdown pass.
The Bears offense finished the game with 344 total yards with nearly half of it coming in the fourth quarter.
Lewis passed for 163 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, while completing nine of 16 attempt and being sacked five times by the Eagles defense. He gained another 44 yards on the ground.
The Bears rushing attacked combined for 163 yards against the Lindale defense, with the bulk of it coming on Fuller’s fourth quarter 92-yard run. Fuller rushed for 104 yards on five carries. Morris added another 28 yards on nine totes.
Boatman caught three passes for 38 yards on the night, while Reed had two catches for 30 yards and Worster had two catches for 40 yards and a touchdown. Cockerham had the one reception for the 48 yard touchdown late in the game.
The Lindale offense gained 504 total yards with Lindig passing for 342 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Johnson carried the ball 11 times for 61 yards and one touchdowns.
Ward led all Eagles receivers with 118 yards, while Fowler had 115 yards receiving and touchdown, and Carnathan had 68 yards and two touchdowns on the night.
Lindale (6-5) moves on to the area round of the Class 4A Division 1 playoffs next week to take on the Navasota Rattlers (6-5), which defeated the Houston Yates Lions, 49-18. The Bears finish the season as District 10-4A Champions with a record of 8-3.
-Tommy Mann, KOGT-
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