The Pilot Point Bearcats hosted the A+ Academy Knights at Massey Stadium for their homecoming on Oct. 10, where the Bearcats defeated the Knights to the tune of 78-0.
The Bearcats’ defense held the Knights to 60 total yards, while their offense racked up over 400 yards and 11 total touchdowns on their way to a 3-0 district record.
“We came out and played hard,” said Chad Worrell, Pilot Point athletic director and head football coach. “We’ve been playing hard consistently, and they did it again tonight. Obviously, anytime you pitch a shutout and never punt on offense, it's a good night, and I told our kids at the end of the game, ‘We played with a lot of effort, we executed really well, and we stayed healthy,’ and that's a big key in a game like this.”
After the homecoming festivities, the Knights would receive the opening kickoff but were forced to punt soon after when defensive back Drevion James sacked the quarterback on the Knights' 13-yard line.
The Bearcats would score their first touchdown of the night when fullback Caden David carried the ball into the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown.
Tight end Kade Stuckly would run for the two-point conversion, putting the Bearcats up 8-0 in the first quarter.
The Bearcats would score again when receiver Hunter Newman ran for a 48-yard touchdown, making the score 14-0 after a missed extra point attempt.
Quarterback Garrett Evans added Pilot Point’s third touchdown on the night, finding Stuckly for a 12-yard touchdown strike, extending Pilot Point’s lead to 21-0.
Evans would connect again with Stuckly a little while later for a 14-yard touchdown pass, pushing the lead to 28 points.
Pilot Point Lane Eft would punch it in from 4 yards out for a short touchdown run, and the Bearcats led 35-0 with 7:25 left in the second quarter.
The Knights showed signs of life on their ensuing drive, moving the ball down to the Bearcats' 23-yard line, but a bobbled snap would force the Knights to try a pass that was intercepted by Pilot Point linebacker Carter Lock, who would return it 76 yards for a touchdown.
“I saw the bad snap and the holder drop back, and I knew I had to stay true to what I was taught by Coach Worrell,” Lock said. “So, I fell back to cover somebody, and I saw the ball come my way, saw the sea part after I caught it, and went right up it.”
Pilot Point forced A+ Academy to punt on their next possession, and on the first play of the Bearcats’ drive, James ran for a 27yard touchdown.
The Bearcats would score one more time in the first half when Evans called his own number and ran 13 yards for a touchdown, sending the teams into the half with Pilot Point leading 56-0.
Pilot Point continued pouring on the points in the second half with touchdowns from ball carriers Jason Rangel, Hastings Fischer and Michael Marsh, sealing the win 78-0.
Evans finished the night with 125 total yards and 3 TDs, while Stuckly finished as his top target with 3 catches for 61 yards and 2 TDs.
“It felt good to get the win, but I couldn’t have done anything without my O-line blocking on the passes and rollouts,” Evans said. “It also helped a lot that I could sit in the pocket a little longer and that when I took off, I had lead blockers.”
Stuckly credited his performance to his connection with his quarterback and the work the team put in during the offseason.
“Our quarterback is my best friend, and in the summer, we worked hard, kept working going into two-adays and got better every day,” he said.
The Bearcats spread the carries around, with eight different ball carriers finding the end zone, led by Newman, who finished with 48 yards rushing, followed by 47 yards from James.
Worrell also made sure to share how much it meant to his team to get the big win in front of a packed crowd.
“Pilot Point is a special place, and there’s a lot of tradition when these people come back for homecoming,” he said. “They don’t always get to be at our games, so we want to perform well and show off a little bit and show them that we’re going to play hard, and our kids did that tonight.”
The Bearcats have a bye this week and will return to the field when they travel to Pottsboro to take on the Cardinals at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 24.
Assistant editor Martin Edwards contributed to this report.
