Everman racks up over 500 yards as Bulldogs open the playoffs with rout over Seagoville
There was no denying Everman during its first-ever home playoff game on Thursday night against Seagoville.
The Bulldogs took their opening drive 82 yards and the rout was on.
Everman picked up its first football bi-district championship since beating Mesquite Poteet in 2020 with a convincing 51-7 win over Seagoville in a Class 5A D2 playoff contest to start the postseason.
Everman won its ninth game of the season (9-2), its most wins since 2015. The Bulldogs only two losses came by a point, 62-61 vs. Stephenville in Week 2 and 35-34 vs. Midlothian Heritage in Week 11.
Last week’s game with Heritage was for the district championship.
“It was a good football game as expected, but you move forward,” coach Michael Boone said. “This is Round 1 and last week’s result gets you nothing in Round 1. The kids were focused and took care of business.
“Playing at home [in the playoffs] is special for the fans and community. We’re focused on playing a football game whether it was here or anywhere else. But it is special when you’re a part of something that’s never happened.”
The Bulldogs advance to the area round where they await Terrell, which upset Texarkana Texas on Friday night.
After holding Seagoville (6-5) to a three-and-out on the opening possession, Everman set up shop at its own 18. Quarterback Jarion Basped rushed for 32 on a third-and-10 and Basped threw back-to-back first downs to Isaiah McMillan.
Basped finished off the drive with an 11-yard touchdown to Jemyri Davis with 8:27 left in the first quarter.
Kevin Allen sacked Seagoville QB Kaiden Eikelboom on the Dragons next drive which resulted in another punt. Everman started at the 15 and picked up four straight first downs to get to the Seagoville 5.
Basped it Dameon Rogers for 34 to the 5 and Ethan Smith ran in a touchdown on the next play to up the lead to 14-0 with 5:36 left in the first quarter.
Everman blocked a Seagoville punt and the ball rolled out of the end zone for a safety and 16-0 lead with 7:33 left in the second quarter. Two plays after the free kick, the Bulldogs scored again on a 52-yard run by Ethan Smith.
The Bulldogs scored one more touchdown just before half when Basped called is own number on a 15-yard run. Everman led 30-0 at the break and gained 348 yards of total offense.
Seagoville was held to 57 yards in the first half.
“We were just pushing the rock. Just doing what we do,” Basped said. “Last week was rough on us, but we just had to regain momentum. We came out here and put on a show. We had to let everyone know that this is Everman football.”
Everman would tack on three more touchdowns in the third quarter to extend the margin to 51-0. The Dragons had their deepest drive inside the red zone, but eventually missed a field goal.
On the next play, Brooks scored on an 80-yard touchdown to make it 37-0.
Then the Dragons fumbled it two straight times and the Bulldogs recovered. The second one came on the kickoff. After the first one, Basped hit Davis for a 17-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone.
Following the muffed kickoff return by the Dragons, Terry Gray would score from the 2 to give Everman 51 points. Seagoville would finally score with a touchdown under six minutes left in the game.
Basped finished with 228 yards and two TDs on 14 of 22 passing and two carries for 47 yards and one TD. Brooks had 192 yards and two TDs on just nine carries. Davis was the leading receiver with 145 yards and two TDs on seven catches. Everman gained 524 yards of total offense with 302 coming on the ground.
“We played well,” Boone said. “We made a couple of mistakes in the second half, but overall when we watch the film, we’ll be pleased on how we played.”
This story was originally published November 10, 2022 at 9:14 PM.
