Second-half defense lifts Lindale over Pine Tree, 40-17

Published 10:25 pm Friday, September 2, 2022

LINDALE — Pine Tree scored 10 points in the final 2:31 of the first half to cut Lindale’s lead to 22-17 at halftime.

The Eagles came out of the locker room with a dominant defensive performance in the second half on the way to a 40-17 victory Friday night at Eagle Stadium.

Lindale limited the Pirates to 82 yards in the second half — 33 rushing and 49 passing.

Pine Tree started the game with the ball and went three-and-out, punting the ball to Lindale. The Eagles then moved down the field, going 77 yards on 11 plays with sophomore Colter Maya scoring on a 4-yard run. Clint Thurman threw a pass to Alex Romero for the two-point conversion.

Maya had five carries for 46 yards on the opening drive.

Pine Tree muffed the ensuing kickoff, and three Maya runs later, Lindale took a 15-0 lead as Maya scored from eight yards out with 3:56 left in the opening quarter.

The Pirates then marched 17 yards and scored 18 seconds into the second quarter with a 19-yard run by Jalynn Robinson to cut the score to 15-7.

Lindale answered as Thurman connected with Marcus Field for a 10-yard touchdown pass, giving the Eagles a 22-7 lead with 6:50 left in the half.

Pine Tree responded with a 17-yard touchdown run from Robinson to make the score 22-14 with 2:31 to play in the half. Lindale then fumbled with 1:29 remaining on the clock, and Pine Tree’s Damien Roland recovered the ball at the Pirate 38-yard line.

Devonta Davis had a 29-yard run to quickly move the ball into Lindale territory. Edgar Bocanegra kicked a 29-yard field goal with four seconds on the clock to make the score 22-17 at halftime.

Pine Tree had 222 yards in the first half — 139 rushing and 83 passing. The Pirates finished with 304 yards — 172 rushing and 132 passing. Lindale had 387 yards — 267 rushing and 120 passing. At halftime, the Eagles had 231 yards — 138 rushing and 93 passing.

Lindale got the ball first in the second half, and Seth Baggett, who kicked a game-winning field goal against Pine Tree as a freshman in a 31-29 decision in Longview in 2020, made a 28-yard field goal with 8:03 left in the third quarter to put the score at 25-17.

That score stayed the same throughout the third quarter. Pine Tree had a drive last more than five minutes that resulted in a punt, and Lindale was forced to punt on the first play of the fourth quarter.

The Eagles added touchdown runs by Thurman (seven yards with 5:06 left) and sophomore Devin Daniels (two yards with 1:03 remaining) to pull away in the fourth quarter. Thurman also had a two-point conversion run after his touchdown.

Thurman was 11 of 14 passing for 120 yards and a touchdown, and he carried the ball 17 times for 97 yards and the score. Maya had 23 carries for 150 yards and two touchdowns.

Davis carried the ball 14 times for the Pirates for 107 yards. Cale Skinner was 12 of 23 for 132 yards. Jonathon Fuller had seven grabs for 92 yards.

Lindale (1-1) will travel to rival Van (2-0) on Sept. 9. Pine Tree (0-2) will play at Kilgore.