Big games from Adams, Aguillon help Castleberry defeat Dunbar in offensive shootout
After a sluggish start by both teams, Saturday’s District 6-4A Division 1 zone-seeding contest between Castleberry and Fort Worth Dunbar turned into a shootout. The Lions and Wildcats combined for 110 points.
Castleberry receiver Lonnie Adams had a career game and his 34-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Drew Aguillon with 26 seconds left sent the Lions past the Wildcats, 57-53, at Clark Stadium.
Adams finished with 12 catches for 262 yards and three TDs.
The district elected to turn into two four-team zones to help during the COVID-19 pandemic. After playing three zone teams, Saturday’s game was meant for a playoff spot. The Wildcats finished second in their zone while the Lions were third in theirs.
The district won’t be able to finish all their games, which means Castleberry clinches a playoff berth and will be a No. 4 seed. The Lions are headed to the playoffs in back-to-back years for the first time since 1994-95.
Kennedale, Benbrook and FW Western Hills are the other playoff teams.
Dunbar QB Dorian Carr hit Aaryn Conley on a 46-yard TD pass to put the Wildcats up 53-50 with 2:01 left in the game. The Lions got the ball back at their own 37 with 1:51 to play.
Facing a fourth-and-7 at the 40, Aguillon and Adams connected for 15 yards and a first down. The duo also hooked up for an 11-yard gain to put the Lions at the Dunbar 31 and Adams scored two plays later while being covered by three defenders.
Dunbar (3-3, 2-2 in district) got as far as the Castleberry 41, but the Wildcats were backed up for a third-and-29 before the clock ran out. Dunbar will face FW Western Hills Oct. 30.
Aguillon accounted for 399 yards and six TDs. He rushed for 150 yards and threw for 249 on 12 of 28 passing.
The Lions (2-4, 2-2) out-gained Dunbar 572-414 in total yardage.
After Dunbar turned the ball over on downs to open the game, Castleberry went three-and-out, but the Wildcats blocked the Lions’ punt attempt and the ball landed in the hands of linebacker Trevon Gray-McCoy.
Gray-McCoy took off and scored on a 48-yard return to give Dunbar a 7-0 lead with 9:05 left in the first quarter.
However, the Lions answered on the ensuing kickoff when Diego Rivera scored on a 91-yard TD and after a successful 2-point conversion, Castleberry led 8-7.
After several turnover on downs from both teams, the scoring picked up with 35 points in the second quarter. It started at the 11:11 mark of the period when Conley picked off a Castleberry pass attempt and returned it 35 yards to the end zone that gave the Wildcats a 14-8 lead.
The Lions regained the lead, 15-14, when they turned a Dunbar fumble into points.
After the Wildcats put the ball on the turf, the Lions scored four plays later as they converted a fourth-and-13 on an 18-yard TD pass from Aguillon to Adams, who had six grabs for 124 yards in the first half.
Dunbar scored two plays later when 5-foot-5 freshman Malik Montgomery scored on a 40-yard TD run to give the Wildcats a 21-15 lead with 5 1/2 minutes until halftime. Castleberry took a 22-21 lead after a 4 1/2 minute drive, spanning 79 yards in 10 plays, as Anthony Valadez scored from the 4.
With seven seconds left, the Wildcats threw a Hail Mary. Carr threw up a long pass, which was nearly intercepted. But the ball bounced off a Castleberry defender and Conley caught it and scored to complete the 72-yard TD as time expired. Dunbar led 28-22 at intermission.
Dunbar extended its lead to 40-29 late in the third quarter with touchdown runs from Dariante Hall (70 yards) and Montgomery (4 yards), but Castleberry scored 14 unanswered to grab a 43-40 lead with 8:54 left to play when Aguillon kept it on a pair of TD runs (11, 1). The latter was followed by a Rivera pass to Adams for the two.
Hall added a 6-yard scoring run for Dunbar while Aguillon scored on another 1-yard rush to make it 50-46 Lions with 3:04 to go. Castleberry will face FW Eastern Hills Oct. 30.
Valadez added 97 yards rushing on 23 attempts for the Lions. Rivera had an interception on defense.
Hall had a team-high 119 yards on 11 carries and two TDs for Dunbar. Montgomery added 95 yards on 14 carries with a pair of scores. Carr completed 7 of 14 passes for 153 yards and two TDs while Michael Banks had an interception on defense.
This story was originally published October 24, 2020 at 4:23 PM.
