By Van Wade

The Orange Leader

BRIDGE CITY – “How ‘Bout them Cardinals.”

Those were the words Bridge City coach Dwayne Dubois echoed to the Cardinals after Friday night’s District 10-4A Division I showdown with the Silsbee Tigers.

In a game that will go down as one of the best victories in the history of Bridge City, quarterback Byron Trahan connected with Hunter Denton on a 37-yard touchdown strike with 0:35 remaining and the Cardinals saw a 35-yard field goal go astray by Silsbee kicker Brady Carter as time expired as Bridge City muscled their way to a 42-41 victory to gain sole possession of first-place in 10-4A at Larry Ward Stadium.

Trailing 41-35 and taking over at their own 26 with 2:03 left the Cardinals powered their way to the Tiger 37 thanks to a pair of Denton 10-yard runs.

On first-and-10 from the 37, Trahan rolled slightly to the right and threw a perfect pass to Denton along the right side just before the end zone. Denton, who was covered well, made an outstanding catch for the score. Kicker Alferedo Heraldez then put the Cardinals ahead.

Silsbee moved the ball from its own 39 all the way down to the Cardinal 18 thanks to big efforts from All-State running back Calvin Tyler and quarterback Willie Jones.

With 0:02 remaining, Carter attempted the possible game-winning field goal but it went wide left and the Cardinals (5-2, 3-0) erupted in celebration.

Carter previously missed two extra-points as that haunted the Tigers (4-4, 2-1).

How fitting was it that the Cardinals outgained by one yard. Bridge City rolled up 504 total yards while the Tigers had 503.

“Phew, what a game,” said Dubois. “Our kids, what more can you say, battled and battled and battled against a darn good football team tonight. We’re a good ballclub too. What a tremendous win, we, as a staff, couldn’t be prouder of our kids.”

Bridge City used its typical power running game behind their potent offensive line.

Fullback Cayce Draper bruised the Silsbee interior for 161 yards on 20 carries. Denton finished with 92 yards on just seven carries. Max Baker had 90 yards on nine totes and Patrick Morris had 53 yards on 13 carries. Trahan had a rushing touchdown and completed 3-of-5 passes for 75 yards, none bigger than the one to Denton.

“When you have one of the fastest guys in the district (Denton) you know you have a chance,” said Trahan. “When I let go of it, it felt really good and Hunter went up and snagged it over the Silsbee defender and into the end zone. What a thrill, we went out and earned it tonight, just a great team win.”

Denton was thrilled as well.

“Hold on to the rope, that’s what Coach Dubois says to us all the time and we did that tonight,” said Denton. “We’re truly a ‘Band of Brothers’. We believe so much in each other as a team and it paid off tonight. What a win.”

“Offensively, we were able to do some things that worked well,” said Dubois. “Our big guys up front, what another great job they did. We were able to sustain some long drives and we also had some big gains too.”

The Cardinal win offset another superb performance by Tyler. The Silsbee back rushed for 242 yards on 23 carries and now has 1,778 yards on the campaign.

Jones rushed for 114 yards on 10 carries and completed 7-of-11 passes for 78 yards. Kalon Barnes had four catches for 51 yards.

“Defensively, we’ve improved the last few weeks but you’re not going to just contain Silsbee, they have so many weapons,” said Dubois. “We made some stops when it counted, got a big turnover in the first half and our kicking game was good.”
Behind the legs of Tyler, the Tigers navigated 78 yards in nine plays to snag the lead with 2:11 left.
Tyler carried six times for 44 yards including a 15-yard touchdown run up the middle. However Carter missed the point-after as the Tigers led 41-35.
The Cardinals tied the game at 35 with a seven-play, 49-yard drive.
Morris finished it with a hard-nosed 14-yard run around the right side with 6:27 remaining.
The Cardinals drove from their own 33 all the way to the Tiger 13 in 12 plays but Morris was stripped of the ball and Silsbee’s Adam Carrell fell on it at the 13 with 10:55 remaining.
Tyler got busy in a hurry as he carried three times for 83 yards. He got loose on a 60-yard run down the left sideline that got down to the Cardinal 15 and then he scored with a 15-yard jaunt up the middle.
Jones scored the two-point conversion run giving the Tigers a 35-28 lead with 9:24 left.
In typical Cardinal fashion, Bridge City took the first series of the second half and ate 6:06 off the clock on a 12-play, 66-yard scoring drive.
Draper toted the leather five times for 48 yards and picked up a big first down on fourth-and-1 from the Tiger 36. He had a big 15-yard bull run to the 1 and Trahan capped it with a one-yard sneak to give the Cardinals a 28-21 edge with 5:54 in the third.
Silsbee retaliated with a four-play, 70-yard drive with Tre Lowe stunning the Cardinals on the fourth play with a 51-yard dart for a touchdown. Kicker Brady Carter missed the point-after as the Tigers trailed 28-27 with 4:02 in the third.
A lot of offensive fireworks took place in the first half as the teams went into intermission tied at 21.
The Tigers motored 64 yards in nine plays to find the end zone on the first series of the night.
Tyler carried five times for 35 yards on the march and Jones had a 21-yard keeper and completed two passes for 18 yards, including a four-yard touchdown pass to Bruce Newton in the left side of the end zone. The Tigers missed the point-after kick and led 6-0 with 9:09 left in the first quarter.
The Cardinals got the Tigers to cough it up late in the first quarter when Silsbee receiver Barnes hauled in a 19-yard reception to the Bridge City 26 but he coughed it up to linebacker Brennon Tregre with 2:46 in the first.
The Cardinals then came up with a huge 11-play, 74-yard scoring march converting three big third down conversions.
On third-and-12 from the BC 24 Trahan found tight end Chase Boneau on a 27-yard dart over the middle.
Then on third-and-12 from the BC 49, Baker darted for a 14-yard jaunt to the Tiger 37.
On third-and-18 from the Tiger 46, Trahan found Boneau over the middle for a 11-yard pass. Facing a fourth-and-7 from the 35 the Cardinals elected to go for it and it paid off when Baker took a pitch left and blazed his way through a pair of Tiger defenders on his way to a 35-yard touchdown gallop. Alfredo Heraldez booted the extra-point to make it 7-6 Cardinals with 10:24 in the half.
The Tigers retaliated with a quick four-play, 52-yard drive.
Tyler broke loose for a 37-yard scamper to the Cardinal 12 and carried two more times and scoring from five yards out up the middle to make it 13-7 with 9:06 in the half.
The Cardinals countered with a quick trip of their own by rolling up 60 yards in just three plays. Draper bolted for a 15-yard gain followed by a Patrick Morris five-yard trip to the Tiger 40. Bridge City then caught the Tiger defense leaning when Draper took a great-called trap play off right tackle and zipped 40 yards untouched for the touchdown, putting the Cardinals up 14-13 with 7:48 in the half.
Silsbee came right back with a seven-play, 69-yard touchdown drive.
Jones connected with receiver Cameron White on a 18-yard strike to the Cardinal 25 on a third-and-11 play and Jones capped it with a 25-yard keeper down the right sideline. Tyler ran in the two-point as the Tigers held a 21-14 edge with 5:08 in the half.
The Cardinals remained relaxed on offense as they tied things up with a nine-play, 67-yard drive that took a little less than four minutes.
Draper carried four times for 25 yards and speed-burner Denton finished it as he took it along the right side and outran the Tiger secondary for a 34-yard touchdown to make it 21-21 with 1:10 in the half.
The Cardinals will be back at home for Senior Night next week when
they host the Navasota Rattlers while Silsbee will take on Huffman.
BC 42,

Silsbee 41

BC      0       21      7       14— 42
Sils    6       15      6       14 —41

Scoring summary
Silsbee: Bruce Newton 4 pass from Willie Jones. Kick failed.
BC: Max Baker 35 run. Alfredo Heraldez kick.
Silsbee: Calvin Tyler 5 run. Kick good.
BC: Cayce Draper 40 run. Heraldez kick.
Silsbee: Willie Jones 25 run. Tyler run.
BC: Hunter Denton 34 run. Heraldez kick.
BC: Trahan 1 run. Heraldez kick.
Silsbee: Tre Lowe 51 run. Kick failed.
Silsbee: Tyler 15 run. Jones run.
BC: Patrick Morris 14 run. Heraldez kick.
Silsbee: Tyler 15 run. Kick failed.

———
BC              Sils
First downs             24               25
Rushes-yards    61-429  38-425
Passing         75               78
Comp-Att-Int    3-5-0            7-11-0
Fumbles-Lost    3-1             1-1

Penalties-yards         9-95            12-95
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing:  Bridge City, Cayce Draper 20-161, Hunter Denton 7-92, Max Baker 9-90, Patrick Morris 13-53, Byron Trahan 12-33; Silsbee, Calvin
Tyler 23-242, Willie Jones 10-114, Tre Lowe 2-54, Joshua Buse 1-8, Dylan Caldwell 2-7.

Passing: Bridge City, Byron Trahan 3-5-0 75; Silsbee, Willie Jones 7-11-0 78
Receiving: Bridge City, Chase Boneau 2-38, Hunter Denton 1-37; Silsbee, Kalon Barnes Kalon Barnes 4-51, Cameron White 2-23, Bruce Newton 1-4.