‘We wanted to be physical’: North Crowley’s defense shuts down Hurst L.D. Bell in win

BEDFORD -- Running Back Ashton Searl ran for 165 yards and four touchdowns as the unbeaten North Crowley Panthers throttled the Hurst L.D. Bell Blue Raiders, 44-3, in a 3-6A clash Friday night at Pennington Field.

Searl, a senior, was a workhorse for North Crowley, scoring first-half TDs of 15, 5 and 9 yards as the Panthers built a 23-3 lead at the break. He also capped a 10-play 68-yard drive with a four-yard TD run with 7:11 left in the third quarter.

After North Crowley’s opening drive stalled at the L.D. Bell 45, a 30-yard punt with no return gave the Blue Raiders a first down at its 15 for its initial offensive series. But the Panther defense, thanks to a nine-yard sack by Decorien Thompson, forced the Blue Raiders to its own two-yard line.

The L.D. Bell punt snap sailed out of the end zone for a safety, giving North Crowley an early 2-0 lead.

“We started out a little sluggish,” said North Crowley Head Coach Ray Gates. “But our defense got us going. We cleaned up some things on offense. The O-Line did a great job run blocking.”

“We came into game wanting to be physical, and make some plays on defense,” said Thompson, a Lamar commit. “Great job by our defense tonight.”

With the ensuing L.D. Bell kick from its own 20, North Crowley, with excellent starting position from midfield, needed just four plays and 1:05 to score on Searl’s 15-yard scamper.

After the stout Panther defense forced a three-and-out, Searl capped a nine-play 59-yard drive with a five-yard TD run.

L.D. Bell, early in the second stanza, reached the North Crowley two-yard line -- largely thanks to a roughing-the-passer penalty on a fourth-and-two followed by a pass interference penalty against the Panthers. However, two L.D. Bell incomplete passes, sandwiched around a seven-yard sack by North Crowley’s Xavier Coleman, forced the Blue Raiders to settle for a 26-yard AJ Rosen field goal.

On the ensuing North Crowley offensive possession, the Panthers turned the ball over on downs at the L.D. Bell 41-yard line. Again, the physical Panther defense forced a three-and-out. A booming 50-yard punt by L.D. Bell left North Crowley with a first down at its own one-yard line with 5:54 remaining before intermission.

Quarterback Chris Jimerson calmly led the Panthers on a 7-play 99-yard drive, keyed by a 45-yard completion to Quentin Gibson, that culminated with Searl’s third TD of the half, a nine-yard burst, with 3:36 left before halftime.

Again, the Panther defense forced a three-and-out, getting the ball back at the Blue Raider 49 with 1:40 left to the break. North Crowley advanced to the L.D. Bell 20, but four consecutive incompletions turned the ball over on downs.

North Crowley held a 23-3 lead at halftime.

“Just a great job blocking by our offensive line,” said Searl, who had 13 rushing TDs entering this contest. “We were able to run the ball really well. Just a good win for us.”

After Searl’s fourth TD of the night, Devin Diles finished off a nine-play 52-yard march with a two-yard TD run with 1:12 left in the third period.

Dekoryian West-Davis wrapped up the scoring with a 35-yard burst with 4:15 remaining in the contest.

“To be successful in the playoffs, you have to be able to run the ball,” said Gates. “We wanted to establish the run tonight and our guys did a great job.”

No. 9 in the AP current 6A state rankings, North Crowley improved to 8-0 overall.

“Our defense was dominating,” Gates said. “We wanted to be physical and we were that.”

Standout Performances

Ashton Searl finished with a game-high 165 yards on 29 carries and four TDs.

Jimerson, a TCU commit, recorded seven completions in 17 attempts for 144 yards, and rushed for 89 yards on 12 carries.

Dekoryian West-Davis had 68 yards rushing on just three attempts and one TD.

Quentin Gibson had a game-leading 58 yards receiving on a pair of catches, while Lamarcus Davis and Louisiana Tech pledge Mason Ferguson each snagged two passes, for 39 and 29 yards, respectively.

Defensive lineman Decorien Thompson, a Lamar pledge, had a monster game for the Panther defense. His seven-yard first-period sack led to the safety, and he had three TFLs.

The swarming Panther defense held L.D. Bell to 60 yards total offense, including just 25 rushing yards on 26 carries. A 30-yard run by L.D. backup QB Aidan Garza late in the game accounted for half the Blue Raider total offense.

Up Next

North Crowley (8-0, 5-0) hosts Saginaw Chisholm Trail (1-7, 0-5) in a district contest next Friday night with a 7:30 p.m. CT scheduled kickoff at Crowley ISD Sports Complex.

Hurst L.D. Bell (5-3, 2-3) will face Fort Worth Paschal (3-5, 1-4) next Thursday night at Farrington Field with a 7 p.m. CT scheduled kickoff. L.D. Bell is scrambling for the fourth and final playoff spot.