LUFKIN — Using the legs of Briant Mumphrey, the Kilgore Bulldogs rumbled past the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears 49-0 in Class 4A Division I bidistrict playoff action at Abe Martin Stadium Thursday night.

Mumphrey zipped for 169 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries to spark the Bulldogs (8-3) as the Bears (4-5) simply had too many miscues despite dominating time of possession.

The Bear program has made the playoffs four times in the last five years but is still seeking their first playoff victory since they reached the Region III Finals in 1997.

Kilgore stopped the Bears on fourth down three times, forced three turnovers and took advantage of a LC-M special teams snafu to snag the victory.

The Bulldogs finished with 344 total yards.

Kilgore quarterback Patrick Jackson rushed for 91 yards on five carries and passed for 34 more with a touchdown.

The Bears finished with 241 yards.

Sophomore quarterback Ethan McCollum rushed for 122 yards on 23 carries and completed 12-of-22 passes for 100 yards.

Bear back J’Lon Douglas rushed for 56 yards on 18 totes and caught three passes for 28 yards. Receiver Katon Brown hauled in five passes for 50 yards. The Bears were playing without the services of senior tailback and leading rusher Chris Winters, who suffered a concussion last week against Navasota.

LC-M ran 69 plays on the night compared to the Bulldogs’ 37 but simply could not cash in.

Kilgore will now move on to face either El Campo or Houston Kashmere in the area round next week.

The first half saw the Bears run 45 plays to Kilgore’s 14 but LC-M was down on the scoreboard 21-0 as they had some gut-wrenching mistakes and were stopped on fourth down on two drives.

Kilgore struck first after taking advantage of a Bear miscue late in the first quarter.

After pinning the Bears at the LC-M 1 after a booming 49-yard punt by Elivan Torres the Bulldogs watched the Bears put together a drive that went all the way to midfield but the Bulldogs were able to hold to force a punt.

Unfortunately for the Bears, the punt snap sailed over punter Kooper Abernathy’s head and went all the way back to the LC-M 16.

On the next play, Mumphrey bolted through the Bear defense for a 16-yard touchdown gallop. Torres booted the extra-point as Kilgore snared a 7-0 edge with three minutes left in the first quarter.

The Bears drove from their own 25 all the way down to the Bulldog 28 on a solid 11-play drive as they mixed up the run and pass well but the Bulldogs held firm, forcing a McCollum incompletion on fourth-and-13 from the 32.

It didn’t take the Bulldogs long to hit paydirt again as they utilized Mumphrey’s legs on three straight plays that chewed up 68 yards.

Mumphrey had a gain of 13 and then found a big hole along the left side and went all the way down to the Bear 3. Mumphrey finished it with a three-yard touchdown run to push the Bulldog lead to 14-0 with 8:47 in the half.

The Bears once again put together a nice drive as they moved the leather from their own 17 and 16 plays later found themselves at the Kilgore 21. However, on second-and-15 from the 19, McCollum fumbled the ball over at the 21 as the Bulldogs took over.

The Bulldogs then chewed up 79 yards in seven plays to find the end zone again.

Jackson had a big 25-yard keeper on third down on the series that got to the Bear 39.

Jackson then hit Mumphrey with a 21-yard screen that got to the Bear 13. Tight end Jonathan Shepherd hauled in a 10-yard pass from Jackson to the 3 and Jackson capped it when he tossed a three-yard score to tight end Deundre Blanton to make it 21-0 with 0:28 left in the half.

Kilgore outgained the Bears 169-129 in the first half.

McCollum completed 7-of-14 passes for 62 yards and ran for 60 yards on 12 carries.

Receiver Katon Brown had three catches for 35 yards while fullback J’Lon Douglas had 39 yards on 14 rushes and caught two passes for 15 yards.

Mumphrey had seven rushes for 90 yards. Jackson was 3-for-4, passing for 34 yards while rushing for 36 on two carries.

The Bulldogs scored on the first series of the second half as they navigated 68 yards in nine plays, all via the ground.

Mumphrey had five carries for 52 yards on the march, including a 31-yard jaunt to the Bear 30. Bulldog back Javorie Hamilton finished it off with a two-yard touchdown run off left tackle to push the lead to 28-0 with 7:44 in the third.

The Bears found misfortune again when on their first series of the second half they drove 69 yards in 13 plays only to turn it over at the Kilgore 1.

McCollum carried six times for 36 yards on the march but he fumbled the ball over to the Bulldogs at the Kilgore 2. McCollum completed two passes to Brown for 28 yards on the drive.

Kilgore cashed in again early in the fourth quarter as they drove 83 yards in eight plays. Jackson had the big play on the march, a 52-yard scamper that got all the way down to the Bear 16. Five plays later, Hamilton scored again, reaching the end zone a three-yard run up the middle to make it 35-0.

Bulldog linebacker Sebastion Mumphrey picked off a McCollum pass and took it 60 yards for a score with 6:59 remaining.

Kilgore backup tailback Tristan Shaffer added a three-yard touchdown run with 0:55 remaining.

 

Kilgore 49

LC-M 0

Kil            7      14      7      21— 49
LC-M     0       0       0       0 —0

Scoring summary

Kilgore: Briant Mumphrey 16 run. Elivan Torres kick.

Kilgore: Mumphrey 3 run. Torres kick.

Kilgore: Deundre Blanton 3 pass from Patrick Jackson. Torres kick.

Kilgore: Javorie Hamilton 2 run. Torres kick.

Kilgore: Hamilton 3 run. Torres kick.

Kilgore: Sebastion Mumphrey 60 interception return. Torres kick.

Kilgore: Tristan Shaffer 3 run. Torres kick.

 

———
Kil                  LC-M
First downs             18              19
Rushes-yards    33-310     46-146
Passing              34            95
Total yards             344             241
Comp-Att-Int    3-4-0            12-23-1
Fumbles-Lost    0-0                4-2
Penalties-yards    6-40       8-52
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing:  LC-M, Ethan McCollum 23-122, J’Lon Douglas 18-56, Ethan McKay 4-0, Team 1-(-32); Kilgore, Briant Mumphrey 15-169, Patrick Jackson 5-91, Javorie Hamilton 5-20, Tristan Shaffer 5-11, Deandre Wheat 1-9, Jacob Stone 1-7, Greg Isaac 1-3.

Passing: LC-M, Ethan McCollum 12-22-1 95, Katon Brown 0-1-0 0; Kilgore, Patrick Jackson 3-4-0 34

Receiving: LC-M, Katon Brown 5-50, J’Lon Douglas 3-28, Adam Pope 1-11, Ty’Reke Brown 1-5, Mark Netherly 1-0; Kilgore, Briant Mumphrey 1-21, Jonathan Shepherd 1-10, Deundre Blanton 1-3