FOLLOWING A BULLDOG TOUCHDOWN by #12 Kemontrell Jackson, teammate #7, Ryan Mao, joins the celebration in the end zone. (Photo by Jennifer Lansford)
The Wortham Bulldogs took two big losses to open district play but were in the thick of the district race but the loss to Mount Enterprise put a serious hit on the Wortham playoff chances.
The Bulldogs were dominated the entire night. Mount Enterprise fielded only 18 players and even had to forfeit the district opener to Tenaha due to lack of healthy players. The Wildcats defeated winless Overton last week to head to Wortham for an opportunity to clinch a playoff spot with a win.
After a three and out for Wortham, the Bulldogs punted, and Mount Enterprise took over at the Wortham 43. Quarterback Jase Jones sprinted off on a 13-yard run and Kendre Miller finished the drive with a three-yard touchdown run. The point after was no good and the Wildcats led 6-0.
Wortham took the kickoff and put together an impressive drive early in the game. Senior running back Stephon Ester had five carries on the drive, the last one for 25 yards to the Wildcat 11. Freshman Brevan Tobola passed to the near corner to a diving Ryan Mao for the 11-yard touchdown. The try for two was no good and the score was tied 6-6 midway through the first quarter.
Mount Enterprise wasted no time in regaining the lead. Miller ripped off a 32-yard run inside the Bulldog 20. On second down from the seven, Jones ran in for the score and the 13-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Wildcats mounted another long drive midway through the second quarter. It took 11 plays for the Wildcats to travel the 60 yards. Jones pushed through the final yard of the drive and the lead grew to 19-6.
Wortham did add a touchdown drive before the end of the half. The four-play drive featured runs by Ester and the last one was a two-yard touchdown run. The try for two failed but the Bulldogs cut the lead to 19-12.
Mount Enterprise matched that score heading into the locker room. Miller had a 17-yard run and Jones added a 13-yard run to the Bulldog 20. Miller ran through the Bulldog defense for a 13-yard gain to the seven and Jones finished with his third touchdown run of the first half and the 25-12 halftime lead.
The Wildcats took the second half kickoff and continued to shred the Bulldog defense. Jones had a 20-yard run and finished the ten-play drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass and the lead swelled to 32-12.
Wortham could keep the game to two scores with a touchdown on their next possession. Tobola connected with Braxton Whaley for a 31-yard play and completed the drive with a fade pass to Kemontrell Jackson for the touchdown. Ester added the conversion run to cut the lead to 32-20.
Mount Enterprise would add a 27-yard field goal and Jones would score two more touchdown runs, giving him five on the night and the game ended with a 48-20 final score.
Tenaha and Timpson are both 3-0 and have clinched a playoff spot and will face each other in the final week of the season. Grapeland and Mount Enterprise are 1-2 and will play each other in the final week of the season. The bottom two teams are Wortham and winless Overton.
Wortham must win out in order to put themselves in the playoff chase but the 28-point loss would not fare well in a tiebreaker scenario. Wortham hosts Grapeland on Friday night at historic Bulldog Stadium.
