The Eagles fell behind on the opening drive, then scored 49 points in a row and beat the Kaufman Lions 52-22 in the bi-district round of the Class 4A Division I playoffs at Eagle Stadium on Nov. 13.
Winning It Up Front
Head coach Chris Cochran said the game was won in the trenches. Lindale and Kaufman have played each other plenty of times, and he said it’s always a physical game. The plan was simple: run the ball and stop the run.
“We established the line of scrimmage,” Cochran said. He admitted the defense had a rough first series, but said the unit settled in after that and kept piling up tackles for loss.
He also gave a lot of credit to special teams. “Our kickoff team was awesome,” he said, and added that pinning Kaufman deep helped his defense all night.
Kaufman Strikes First
The Lions opened with a long drive. They converted twice on third down and once on fourth down, then capped the 78-yard march with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Cole Martin to freshman Youssouf Jungman. Kaufman led 6-0 with 7:07 left in the first quarter.
It was the last time the Lions would lead.
The Eagles Take Over
Lindale answered right away, going 72 yards in eight plays. Andre Foster finished the drive with an 8-yard run, and the Eagles led 7-6 with 3:33 left in the opening quarter.
Carter Hill added a 7-yard touchdown run with only 15 seconds left in the quarter. Early in the second, Hank Thurman scored from a yard out to make it 21-6 with 9:38 left before halftime.
Then the Eagles scored three touchdowns in just over three minutes.
With 1:09 left in the half, quarterback David Lindig threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Reed Carnathan for a 28-6 lead. On the next kickoff Lindale forced a fumble, and Justin Basham recovered it. Lindig then ran it in from a yard out with 18 seconds left, and the Eagles went into halftime up 35-6.
Carnathan’s 89-Yard Pick-Six
Lindig kept going after the break. His 2-yard touchdown run with 9:35 left in the third quarter made it 42-6.
Kaufman then drove to the Lindale 5-yard line, but the Eagle defense pushed them back. Two tackles for loss and an incomplete pass left the Lions facing fourth-and-goal from the 15. Kaufman tried a trick play, and Jungman threw under pressure. Carnathan intercepted it and ran it back 89 yards for a touchdown, putting Lindale up 49-6 with 5:40 left in the third.
Carnathan said his only goal was not to get caught from behind. He joked that the stadium jumbotron helped, because he could watch it to see who was chasing him and knew he was in the clear.
Kaufman Scores Late
The Lions finally scored again with 11:48 left in the game on a 3-yard run by Jungman. Martin then threw to offensive lineman Braxton Deville for the two-point conversion, making it 49-14.
Mason Malone kicked a 30-yard field goal for Lindale with 5:31 remaining. Kaufman scored once more on a 15-yard run by Martin, and Martin hit Kameron Drake for two more points with 4:16 left, which made the final 52-22.
By the Numbers
Lindale finished with 340 yards of offense, and 247 of them came in the first half. The Eagles ran for 180 yards. Thurman led the way with 56 yards on 13 carries, and Foster added 41 yards on five carries. Lindig completed 11 of 15 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown.
Carnathan had a big night on both sides of the ball. He caught four passes for 67 yards and a touchdown and also scored his first defensive touchdown of the season.
Kaufman (5-6) gained 325 yards, but much of that came late against Lindale’s backups. The Lions had only 95 yards in the first half, and 78 of those came on the opening drive. Martin ran for 54 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries and threw for 234 yards and a score. Jungman ran 12 times for 27 yards and a touchdown and caught six passes for 89 yards and another score.
Defense Lives in the Backfield
The Lindale defense made 10 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and forced two turnovers. Lincoln Laing, Judson Beeler, Eric Williams, Colton Dunn, Carnathan and James Edwards were among the standouts.
Laing has more than 100 tackles this season. He thanked his coaches, Chad Cooper and Blair Magee, for putting him in the right spots to make plays. “We prepared really hard this week,” he said.