Glen Rose nearly pulls off upset in semis, takes Carthage down to the final seconds

Glen Rose came in as heavy underdogs against 8-time state champ Carthage on Friday night.

The Tigers were having their best season with their first trip to the state semifinals and even took their first lead over the Bulldogs in the fourth quarter.

But the clock struck midnight on Glen Rose’s Cinderella story as Carthage scored twice in the final 2:32 to keep its dreams of a ninth title alive as the Bulldogs defeated the Tigers, 42-35, in a Class 4A Division 2 state semifinal game at the Ford Center.

With the game tied at 35, Glen Rose (13-2) seemed to be driving for a possible game-winning score, but a mishandled hand off was covered by Carthage’s Deiontae Marry at the Tigers’ 49 with 1:25 to play.

Carthage (15-0) moved the ball to the Glen Rose 3 on six plays. From there running back Larandion Dowen, who had tied the game with an 8-yard run with 2:32 left in the game, scored on a 3-yard run with eight seconds to play for the lead.

The clock ran out during the ensuing kickoff return giving the Bulldogs a berth in the state title game against Wimberley (15-0) at 11 a.m. next Friday Dec. 16 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Wimberley defeated Cuero 42-36 on Friday.

Carthage, which led 21-14 at halftime, went up 28-14 when Keddrick Harper returned the opening kickoff of the second half 72 yards for the score.

Glen Rose forced fumbles on the Bulldogs’ next three possessions and the Tigers turned each miscue into a touchdown. Quarterback Hudson White, who rushed for 143 yards on 30 carries and three touchdowns, scored on runs of 5 and 6 yards to tie the game at 28.

Tigers’ running back Broulio Silva, who finished the game with 133 yards on 17 attempts and a pair of scores, gave Glen Rose a 35-28 lead with 6:34 to play when he scored on a 22-yard run.

Carthage quarterback Conner Cuff led the game-tying drive as he completed 3 of 4 passes for 41 yards. Dowen capped the drive with an 8-yard run to tie things at 35. Cuff completed 16 of 22 passes for 296 yards and three scores.

After Marry’s fumble recovery, the Bulldogs turned to their running game. Dowden carried four times for 21 yards and Cuff added a 17-yard run that moved the ball to the Glen Rose 10. Two plays later, Dowden scored the go-ahead touchdown from three yards out.

In the first quarter, Glen Rose seemed to have momentum early after an interception by Canyon Costello gave the Tigers the ball at their own 40. But on the next play, Carthage’s Klayton Ingram recovered a fumble.

The Bulldogs needed two plays to take a 7-0 lead with 6:20 to play in the first quarter when Cuff hit Kydarious Matlock for a 28-yard score.

The Tigers answered with a 14-play, 75-yard scoring drive to tie things at 7 with 40 seconds left in the first quarter. White finished the march with a 5-yard run.

Carthage regained the lead on a big play when Cuff found Jakerrian Roquemore for a 48-yard score that put the Bulldogs up 14-7 at the 7:39 mark of the second quarter.

Glen Rose tied things up at 14 thanks to a 2-yard run by Silva with 2:22 to play before halftime. White did most of the damage on an 11-play, 67-yard drive as he passed for 45 yards and rushed for 19.

It took the Bulldogs just 59 seconds to regain the lead at 21-14 when Cuff converted a third-and-8 with an 80-yard catch-and-run to Roquemore.

For the night, Roquemore had six catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns.