The state ranked Mart Panthers built a 21-0 halftime lead and they shut out the Wortham Bulldogs 35-0 Friday night at Bulldog Stadium.
Wortham has clinched a playoff spot, and the seeding will settle itself out over the next two weeks. Mart and Dawson are both unbeaten in district play and will meet in Dawson on Friday night. Dawson will host Wortham on the final night of the regular season and that will determine the seeding in the postseason.
Mart took the first possession and needed only five plays to put the first points on the board. Junior quarterback DeMontrel Medlock hit Ethan Hocking for the 54-yard touchdown less than two minutes into the game. Armando Chavez kicked the extra point, and the Panthers had a 7-0 lead.
The Bulldogs could not move the chains on their first possession and lined up to punt. The rush came on punter Yancey Bean, and he dodged the defender, and the kick only went 12 yards, and the Mart offense began at the Wortham 40. Medlock and Hocking needed only one play to cover the necessary yardage and the lead to move to 14-0.
The Bulldog offense put together an impressive drive and drove inside the Mart ten-yard line. Junior quarterback Jon Ross Black passed to Bean for 43 yards to convert and third and long. They would convert a fourth later in the drive in a pass to Lance Jones to the Mart four-yard line. The Wortham offense would fumble, and the Panthers would recover.
Mart used 11 plays to travel the length of the field and Medlock scored on a six-yard run. Chavez added the point after for the 21-0 halftime lead.
Junior running back Ja’Derium Bell scored on a pair of touchdown runs in the second half to set the final score.
Mart and Dawson lead the district race with Hico two games back in third. Wortham sits in fourth place, also two games back but Hico holds the tiebreaker over the Bulldogs. Wortham is idle next Friday night before the road trip to Dawson to complete the regular season.
(Photos by Jennifer Lansford)
