Fast start by Pilot Point ruins Castleberry’s comeback hopes, football season opener
Castleberry nearly erased a 25-point deficit, but Pilot Point sealed the deal late in the fourth quarter as the Bearcats crashed the party in the Lions’ season opener, 49-35, on Friday night at W.O. Barnes Stadium.
Pilot Point (2-0), which entered the season No. 14 in the Dave Campbell’s Class 3A Division 1 state rankings, built up a 25-6 lead after the first quarter. A 10-yard touchdown run by Ish Harris and a 35-yard TD pass from Max Hollar to Cade Carter gave the Bearcats a 15-6 edge with 4:14 left in the period.
The Lions scored on a 40-yard TD pass from Anthony Valadez to Diego Rivera that made it 8-6. Jacob Campbell recovered the ensuing onside kick, but Pilot Point’s Avery Smith intercepted a pass that led to Carter’s score.
Castleberry fumbled on its next play from scrimmage and Smith recovered before taking it to the Lions’ 11-yard line. The takeaway resulted in a 24-yard field goal by Joel Gainzar. Smith and Hollar also connected on a 19-yard pass to cap off the first-quarter scoring.
Pilot Point’s biggest lead of the night came at 38-13 with seven minutes left in the opening half after it got a 14-yard TD pass from Hollar to Aydon Cox and a 63-yard run by Harris, who finished with 211 yards on 18 carries.
The Bearcats led 41-25 at intermission after Gainzar’s 23-yard kick, but the break proved to pay dividends for the Lions. Castleberry held Pilot Point to just 11 points in the final 31 minutes and got as close as 41-35 in the second half.
Valadez, who finished the game for a banged-up starting quarterback Drew Aguillon, scored on a 3-yard run early in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 25-13. Aguillon was able to play until halftime and his 7-yard pass to Rivera made it 38-19 Pilot Point with 4:51 left in the second quarter.
Castleberry’s defense forced a Pilot Point punt that traveled 55 yards to the 2, but the Lions scored in three plays when Aguillon hit Lonnie Adams for a 92-yard score and 38-25 margin at the 2:23 mark.
Valadez scored from the 3 and a 25-yard field goal by Jesse Salas cut the Pilot Point lead to 41-35 with 10:47 to play. The Lions still had a chance to tie or take the lead when they forced another Bearcat punt.
However, the offense went 3-and-out.
The dagger for Pilot Point came when Jay Cox scored from 11 yards out for a 49-35 lead with 3:06 remaining, the Bearcats’ only points after halftime. The Lions had one last effort, but a fourth-and-long resulted in a sack and turnover on downs.
Pilot Point gained 589 yards of offense as Hollar rushed 18 times for 135 yards and threw for 195 yards and three TDs. Smith caught seven passes for 84 yards. The Bearcats rushed for 394 yards on 43 carries.
Castleberry gained 458 total yards, including 224 rushing on 44 carries. Valadez finished with 31 carries for 169 yards and two TDs, and 81 yards passing. Aguillon only completed four attempts, but threw for 153 yards and two TDs. Adams and Rivera combined for four catches, 190 yards and three scores.
The Lions travel to Jacksboro on Sept. 11 while the Bearcats are on a bye. They return in Week 4 with a road game on Sept. 18 against defending Class 3A Division II state champ Gunter.
This story was originally published September 5, 2020 at 2:04 AM.
