Fast start, DB’s 3 interceptions sends Midlothian past Birdville in district opener
Midlothian rode the wave of a huge goal-line stand early in the game and four second-quarter turnovers by Birdville as the Panthers thrashed the Hawks, 49-14, in the District 4-5A Division 1 opener for both schools on Thursday night at Midlothian ISD Stadium.
Midlothian (3-0 overall, 1-0 in district) took the opening kick and drove 75 yards in four plays. De’ago Benson’s 50-yard run set up an 18-yard scoring run by Darren Greeson to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead with 10:29 left in the first quarter.
Birdville (1-1, 0-1) answered quickly when sophomore running back Gracien Anto raced 76 yards to the Midlothian 2 on the Hawks’ first play from scrimmage. A horse collar penalty put the ball at the 1, but the Hawks tried the line three times without scoring.
The Hawks ran a student-body right on fourth down, but Midlothian defensive lineman Kaleb Tompkins muscled through and dropped the Birdville quarterback for a loss.
The Hawks reached the Midlothian 5 on their next series after forcing a Panthers’ punt. This time Birdville set up for a 22-yard field goal, but Midlothian defensive back Riley Angel darted through to block the attempt.
“I felt like we moved the ball pretty well, but we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot,” said Birdville coach Lon Holbrook. “First and goal at the one and we couldn’t get it in and then we had another opportunity later. There’s two possessions early and then overcoming four turnovers in the first half...it’s hard.”
It was just the beginning of a stellar night for Angel, who picked off three Birdville passes in a six-minute span late in the second quarter.
The Panthers scored touchdowns on four of their next five series. Benson made it 21-0 at the 9:48 mark of the second quarter when he raced 79 yards for a TD on the first play following a Birdville punt.
Benson carried only four times, but picked up 163 yards to lead Midlothian and 12 different players had rushing attempts for the Panthers, who picked up 495 yards on the ground on 52 totes.
Angel’s second interception, at the Birdville 40, set up a 12-yard scoring run by Dillon Lampkins that gave Midlothian a 28-0 lead with 4:38 left in the half.
“We did a phenomenal job on defense,” said Midlothian coach Doug Wendel. “With the goal-line stand and Riley Angel, how about him, with those three interceptions in the first half and I think we got another turnover. We gave up a few yards, but I thought the defense played real strong and the goal-line stand was outstanding.”
Two plays later, a Birdville fumble was recovered by Midlothian’s Jacob Lindley at the Hawks’ 27. Two snaps after that, quarterback Nicholas De Los Santos hit David Smith with a 15-yard scoring pass and the Panthers led 35-0 with 3:23 left before intermission.
Birdville was on the move on its next possession, driving from its own 32 to the Midlothian 8 highlighted by a 28-yard catch by R.J. Davis from quarterback Aiden Dollar. But Angel killed that drive as well when he picked off a pass two yards deep in the end zone returning it to the Midlothian 40 where the Panthers ran out the half.
“Coming in we had an extra week to practice knowing that last week was our bye and our last game got canceled so we were really excited to play,” said Angel. “I didn’t know if I was going to get that many interceptions seeing on film that they ran a lot, but hey, I got three so what can I say.”
Dollar was “banged up” according to Holbrook and didn’t return in the second half, but the Hawks had little success finding any offensive rhythm after the half even with Anto rushing for 211 yards on 20 carries.
Birdville punted twice and loss the ball on downs to start the second half and even when the Midlothian subs came in on offense the Birdville defense had trouble stopping them.
Seven different players scored the seven Midlothian touchdowns.
Running backs Branton Huffman and Vincent Rabozzi capped long, second-half drives for Midlothian with a 1-yard and 18-yard scoring runs, respectively.
Birdville scored twice late against Panthers’ reserves on an 18-yard TD run by quarterback Bryson Lightfoot and a 28-yard touchdown pass from Lightfoot to Davis.
“Their running back (Gracien Anto) and their quarterback (Aiden Dollar) carrying the ball were of concern, but their tight end (Connor Welsh) is really good and they were really hurt not having several weeks of practice,” said Wendel. “They have some talented players and do some thing offensively that make it tough on you, but I just think that they’re a little bit behind because of their circumstances.”
This story was originally published October 23, 2020 at 12:04 AM.