The China Spring Cougars (12-1) defeat the Lake Worth Bullfrogs (10-3) 41-7 in dominating fashion in the third round of the Class 4A DI playoffs.
Quick Strike Cougs
China Spring wasted no time getting ahead of the Bullfrogs. After three offensive plays and 3:09 off the clock in the first quarter, the Cougars held a 14-0 lead over Lake Worth. RB Kyle Barton started the Cougars first drive with a 12-yard run. On the second play, QB Cash McCollum hit a motioning WR/LB Tristian Exline in the flat and Exline did the rest finding the endzone from 55 yards out to put China Spring up by 7, just 2:11 into the game.
EXLINE STRIKES FIRST!
Tristan Exline takes a screen pass aaaalll the way up the left sideline for 55 yards and a Central Texas Athletics touchdown!
China Spring 7, Lake Worth 0, 9:49/Q1 pic.twitter.com/YZTqYxQmei
— Look! Livestreams (@LookLivestreams) November 25, 2022
The ensuing Lake Worth drive was quickly ended with an interception of QB Donte Reese by DB Gabe Watkins on the Bullfrog 23 yard line. On the next play, McCollum found Exline down the middle and placed the ball in his hands just as Exline was crossing the goal line. Exline finished with 94 yards and three touchdowns on four receptions.
On their third drive, China Spring put a sustained drive on the books, on the legs of Barton. On the 10 play drive, the ball was in Barton’s hands for six of those plays. Barton rushed the ball around two big pick ups by WR Jackson Battles and WR/DB Tre Hafford, rushing in from three yards out to make the score 21-0 with 3:03 remaining in the first quarter. Barton finished the night with 105 yards on the ground and two touchdowns.
Battles Battled
Jackson Battles made his presence felt both from the wide receiver position, and the quarterback position. For a change of pace, Battles came in at QB and used his quickness to get by the defenders on the ground. His tough running earned him 70 yards on the ground with a touchdown and 37 yards on the receiving end of McCollum passes.
Dominating Defense
As huge as the Cougar offensive stars were, the China Spring defense was just as big. The Bullfrog offense did not earn a first down until their sixth drive of the night, six minutes into the second quarter. DT Greg Salazar was a force to be reckoned with on the defensive line. Reese and RB Jose Meza were bottled up all night by the Salazar led defense. Lake Worth was held to 74 total yards in the first half, with 54 of those yards coming on two plays.
Next Up
Next for the Cougars will arguably be the toughest test of the season. China Spring will meet the Anna Coyotes (13-0) in the Class 4A DI Region 2 Final (date/location TBD). Anna comes into the game with two impressive wins over Stephenville (33-32) and Celina (27-24). Anna gave Celina the only two losses of the season. Anna and China Spring share two common opponents, Stephenville and Kaufman, with both teams earning victories over both opponents.
*All stats are unofficial
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