Argyle nabs six turnovers as Stephenville falls 56-27

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By Russell Huffman
TheFlashToday.com
November 19, 2020

Argyle quarterback C.J. Rogers blistered Stephenville’s defense with four touchdowns, and six Yellow Jacket turnovers led to a 56-27 Class 4A area-round playoff loss to the Eagles at Arlington’s Globe Life Park Thursday.

Stephenville got the opportunity to play its area-round Class 4A playoff game at Globe Life Park. Photo by Russell Huffman

Even after spotting the Eagles (12-0) a 14-0 lead, there was still great enthusiasm on the Stephenville (6-6) sidelines, especially after considering how well the Jackets have played Argyle in the past.  Last year, the two teams were tied at 49-49 in the fourth quarter before the Eagles flew away with a 63-49 win.

Stephenville’s defense had its moments and sacked C.J. Rogers several times. Photo by Russell Huffman

Stephenville’s zeal went to a fever pitch when Trace Morrison gathered in a 15-yard from Gavin Rountree, and Corbin Poston’s PAT cut the Argyle lead in half at 14-7.

The two teams then exchanged 46-yard touchdowns, with Stephenville’s response setting the tone for its offense as senior running back Kason Philips galloped to the end zone. The Jackets hitched their hopes to Philips, and the senior responded with 39 carries, 286 yards, and three touchdowns, but in the end, it wasn’t enough to overcome Stephenville’s turnovers.

Kason Philips scored on this 46-yard romp and the senior now owns Stephenville’s single-season rushing record with 29 touchdowns. Photo by Russell Huffman

The loss overshadowed Philips’ setting the Stephenville single-season record for rushing touchdowns as he broke James “Boobie” Miles’ 2008 record on a 12-yard romp into the end zone. Philips’ accomplishment is even more impressive when considering Miles set his record over 14 games and Philips broke the record in 12 contests.

The run was the final carry of Philips’ high school career and was just one of many highlights in a year where he rushed for 1,781 yards, a rushing average of 7.26 yards per carry, and 31 total touchdowns.

The Jackets pinned their hopes on Philips because quarterback Gavin Rountree was scrambling for his night most of the night as the Eagles’ defense did what it has done to 11 other opponents – harass them into mistakes.

To Rountree’s credit, he found ways to extend plays, but the Eagles’ secondary didn’t give him many opportunities, and the senior tossed the ball out of bounds at least four times to avoid being sacked.

Gavin Rountree targets a Stephenville receiver. Photo by Russell Huffman

As he has done all season, Rountree remained calm under pressure and engineered 27 first downs and 503 yards out of the Jackets. Rountree passed for 119 yards on 17-32-3 stats and also added 54 yards on the ground.

Stephenville’s Achilles’s heel proved to be its six turnovers and twice turning the ball over on downs.

SCORING SUMMARY

ARG — Tito Byce 12 run (Caden Dodson kick)

ARG — Tito Byce 11 run (Caden Dodson kick)

ST — Trace Morrison 15 pass from Gavin Rountree (Corbin Poston kick)

ARG — Ward McCollum 46 pass from CJ Rogers (Caden Dodson kick)

ST — Kason Philips 46 run (Corbin Poston kick)

ARG — Knox Scoggins 3 run (Caden Dodson kick)

ARG — Cole Kirkpatrick 80 pass from CJ Rogers (Caden Dodson kick)

ARG — Ward McCollum 3 pass from CJ Rogers (Caden Dodson kick)

ARG — Tito Byce 78 run (Caden Dodson kick)

ARG — Cash Walker 48 pass from CJ Rogers (Caden Dodson kick)

ST — Kason Philips 7 run (kick failed)

ST — Kason Philips 12 run (Corbin Poston kick)

TEAM STATS

                                ST           ARG

First Downs        27           16

Rushing Yards    53-304   31-182

Passing Yards     199         312

Passing                 17-32-0 13-21-0

Punts-Avg           3-40.7    5-41.6

Penalties             3-35       9-67

Fumbles-Lost     3-3          2-0

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

Rushing — ST: Gavin Rountree 14-54, Kason Philips 39-286 ARG: CJ Rogers 5–2, Tito Byce 12-149, Cole Kirkpatrick 1-7, Braden Baker 4-0, Knox Scoggins 4-27, Peyton Shoemake 5-1

Passing — ST: Gavin Rountree 17-32-3-199 ARG: CJ Rogers 11-17-0-304, Ethan Depiro 1-2-0-12, Drew Snakenberg 1-2-0–4

Receiving — ST: Kason Philips 1-7, Coy Eakin 5-56, Trace Morrison 5-60, Reece Elston 3-28, Jacob Stacy 1-18, Hayden Keith 2-30 ARG: Hayden Stewart 1-44, Cash Walker 2-54, Cole Kirkpatrick 4-125, Ward McCollum 4-81, Braden Baker 1–4, Gannon Pels 1-12

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