Weather fails to slow Wildcat ride over Caldwell
By JIMMY GALVAN Managing Editor

It may have been raining Saturday evening in Jasper, but the weather was just fine for Kirbyville Head Football Coach Jack Alvarez.

His Wildcats ran away and left Caldwell as Kirbyville captured a 49- 28 victory on a rainy field at Humble's Turner Stadium Saturday, Nov. 24.

"I thought our kids handled the situation well," Alvarez said. "I was proud of them. I didn't see anybody act like they were cold or didn't want to be there. It was tough conditions to play in.

"I watched the weather and finally I started just watching Channel 4 because they were saying 80 percent chance of rain and everybody else was saying 90 percent chance," Alvarez said. "The way I looked at things, there was a 20 percent chance it was going to be nice."

Kirbyville used the passing of junior quarterback Aaron Hazelwood as he hit on five-of-12 passes for 177 yards and three touchdowns to pace the Wildcat attack. All five of Hazelwood's connections went to senior Randy Musgrove including three for touchdowns.

The Wildcats started strong as the Hazelwoodto Musgrove connection made its presence felt early in the contest. Hazelwood found Musgrove for a 51-yard scoring toss with 9:27 left in the first quarter. When the PAT failed, Kirbyville held a quick 6-0 lead.

A short time later, Hazelwood again connected with Musgrove to put points on the Kirbyville scoreboard. This time, Hazelwood and Musgrove got together on a 50-yard scoring pass with 8:52 left in the first quarter. With Hazelwood's two-point conversion run, Kirbyville held a 14-0 lead over Caldwell.

"They just executed good and didn't let the conditions bother them," Alvarez said. "We are a run-first type ball club but we have the ability to throw the ball."

The Wildcats padded their lead out to 20-0 when Barry Burley scored from 12 yards out late in the second quarter. When the PAT failed, the Wildcats held a 20-0 lead with 1:48 left in the first half.

But Caldwell came right back to cut into Kirbyville's lead before the end of the first half. Caldwell's Xavier Cantu scored from 16 yards out with 14 seconds left in the first half. The score cut Kirbyville's lead to 20-7 at the halftime break.

Cantu pulled Caldwell even closer in the second half when Caldwell scored on their first possession of the second half. The talented running back scored from 42 yards out to pull Caldwell to within 20-13 with 10:44 left in the third quarter.

But the Wildcats responded well to the challenge put forth by Caldwell.

Two touchdowns runs by Burley and senior Pierce Rhodes padded the Wildcats' lead back out to 35-13 with 3:25 left in the third quarter. Burley scored from a yard out and Rhodes from 55 yards out.

As the third quarter ticked away, Caldwell pulled to within 15 points of the lead when Kysan Woolverton scored from yard out with 21 seconds left in the third quarter.

"I thought (Caldwell) was a good ball club and we knew they could throw the ball but I think the conditions helped us," Alvarez said. "They didn't throw the ball as well as they usually do. Cantu is a great running back but that was (Pierce) Rhodes job to shadow him all night long."

Rhodes keyed on Cantu all night long and helped limit the talented running back during the contest. Not bad for a player who is thought to be an offensive player first.

"Pierce has started on defense for us since he was a freshman," Alvarez said. "That is where he first got noticed. He's a valuable commodity for us on both sides of the ball."

But Kirbyville put the contest away with two straight scores to start the final quarter. Hazelwood connected with Musgrove on a 24-yard scoring pass. With Dre Jackson's PAT, Kirbyville had pushed their lead out to 42-20 with 9:49 left in the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats scored again in the fourth quarter when Fred Rhodes scored from seven yards out and a 49-20 lead midway through the final quarter.

Caldwell's Woolverton scored a late touchdown to pull Caldwell into 49-28 but it wasn't enough as Kirbyville claimed the easy win.

"This time of the year it's a mental game anyway," Alvarez said. "Whoever has their mind made up that they are going to win, will win it. You can't worry about the conditions or who you are playing. You just have to take care of your assignments and your responsibilities."