KILGORE — William Colbert threw for two touchdowns and Kevrin Justice rushed for 164 yards and another score as Kilgore closed out the regular season with a 24-18 victory over Henderson on Friday at R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium.
Both teams came into the regular-season finale assured of playoff berths. Kilgore will face Jasper on Thursday night and Henderson will meet Silsbee on Friday. Both of those games are against District 10-4A Division I opponents and will tale place at Abe Martin Stadium in Lufkin.
This marked the first time all season Kilgore (4-6, 3-2 in District 9-4A Division I) put back-to-back wins together, while the loss snapped Henderson’s 7-game win streak.
Despite the setback, Henderson (8-2, 4-1) enters the playoffs as the top seed and Kilgore is the fourth seed. Carthage and Chapel Hill are second and third, respectively.
Kilgore outgained Henderson in total yards, 356 to 296. Colbert, starting only his third game at quarterback for the Bulldogs, was 4-of-11 for 106 passing yards and two touchdowns, one to Nick Orange for 9 yards and the other to Victor Wallace for 80.
Henderson quarterback Zane Boles was 13 of 22 for 190 yards passing with an 84-yard scoring strike to Trestan Ebner. Boles, the Lions’ standout quarterback, led Henderson in rushing with 47 yards on 11 carries.
Ebner also had a 76-yard kickoff return for the Lions’ other touchdown.
Justice led all rushers with 164 yards and a touchdown on a 5-yard run with just 1:30 left in the third quarter.
Edgar Sanchez booted a 32-yard field goal with 2:13 remaining in the first period, giving the Lions a 3-0 lead. The field goal came as the Lions’ opening possession of 55 yards in 17 plays stalled at the Kilgore 15 yard line.
Henderson dominated the first period of play and held a decisive edge in yardage, 58-5, and time of possession, 10:14 to 1:46.
The Bulldogs took the lead, though, on Colbert’s 9-yard completion to Nick Orange with just 19 seconds left in the second quarter.
Kilgore’s Caylon Williams recovered the ensuing kickoff at the Henderson 18 yard line. Colbert and Chris Toombs hooked up on a 12-yard completion to set the stage for a 22-yard Torres field goal, giving Kilgore a 10-3 halftime lead.
Kilgore 24, Henderson 18
At R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium, Kilgore
Henderson 3 0 8 7 — 18
Kilgore 0 10 14 0 — 24
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
HEN—Edgar Sanchez 32 field goal.
Second Quarter
KIL—William Colbert 9 pass to Nick Orange. Livan Torres PAT
KIL—FG Torres 22
Third Quarter
KIL—Colbert 80 pass to Victor Wallace. Torres PAT
HEN—Treston Ebner 76 kickoff return. Randy Davis pass to Zane Boles.
Fourth Quarter
KIL—Kevrin Justice 5 run. Torres PAT
HEN—Boles 84 pass to Ebner. Sanchez kick.
HEN KIL
First Downs 13 8
Rushing Yards 29-106 31-250
Passing Yards 190 106
Comp-Att-Int 13-22-0 4-11-0
Punts-Avg. 2-53.5 6-33.5
Fumble-Lost 2-1 1-1
Penalties-Yards 7-58 6-44