China Spring's Kyle Barton goes airborne on a play against Lake Worth in the first half.
Rod Aydelotte, Tribune-Herald
China Spring's Gabe Watkins runs back an interception as Lake Worth's Jose Meza pursues him in the first half.
Rod Aydelotte, Tribune-Herald
China Spring's Kyle Barton eases into the end zone on a short touchdown run against Lake Worth in the first half.
Rod Aydelotte, Tribune-Herald
China Spring's Cash McCollum powers his way through the Lake Worth defense in the first half.
Rod Aydelotte, Tribune-Herald
China Spring's Tristan Exline pulls in a touchdown pass from quarterback Cash McCollum for his second touchdown of the game in the second quarter. Closing in on the play is Lake Worth's Cornell Avington.
China Spring walked into the regional final after a 41-7 win over Lake Worth at Waxahachie’s Lumpkins Stadium on Friday night. The Cougars (12-1) will face No. 4 Anna (13-0) in the Region II-4A Div. I final next week.
Top-ranked China Spring iced the win coming out of halftime on a 34-yard scamper by junior running back Kyle Barton. The Cougars erased a holding call on a pair of QB keepers and an 11-yard shot from junior QB Cash McCollum to senior receiver Tristan Exline to set up the run.
The bench came out to finish the second half on offense, but there was no more scoring on either side for the remainder of the game.
“I thought Lake Worth did a really good job at putting schemes together and found a way to move the football,” said China Spring head coach Tyler Beatty. “We’ve got to work on some discipline issues. We get riled up a little too easily and that’s things that we’ve got to curtail. We’ll get to work on that on Monday, but overall, I thought we came out with finished a football game. The best part is we play football again next week.”
Barton rushed for 100 yards on 11 carries and scored twice. McCollum was 11 of 17 with 182 passing yards, three touchdowns and an interception while also putting up 45 rushing yards on four carries. Exline had four receptions for 94 yards and three touchdowns.
China Spring finished with 421 yards of offense.
After forcing a Lake Worth (10-3) three-and-out deep in Bullfrog land to open the game, China Spring got right to work. It took two plays for the Cougars to put some crooked numbers on the board as Barton picked up a first down before McCollum hit Exline with a slant pass allowing the senior to swerve it in 55 yards for the score.
The Cougars were back in the end zone not even a minute later when McCollum turned a Gabe Watkins interception into a 23-yard touchdown pass to Exline.
The defense quickly forced another punt, giving China Spring the opportunity to set off on a long drive. Backed up to first-and-long thanks to a blocking foul, McCollum found Jackson Battles with a 22-yard hit. Barton then picked up a fresh set of downs on a short run.
But a few plays later the Cougars faced fourth-and-6, which they overcame on a 25-yard pass by McCollum to Tre Hafford. Barton added an 11-yard run to punch through the red zone. Lake Worth gave away five yards on a personal foul which set up a short cut for Barton.
“Kyle is one of the most selfless guys we have on the team,” Beatty said of his running back. “He knows he’s not going to get the ball every time because even when we call a run play, we have the opportunity to throw so for him to stick in there and run hard and get what he can get, he’s what makes our ground game so successful.”
The Bullfrogs seemed to pick up some gusto as they returned the kickoff to midfield, but it was a short-lived pat on the back as Hafford picked off Lake Worth quarterback Donte Reese, marking the second interception of the night.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Lake Worth’s Damion Moore was disqualified for targeting after clothes-lining Hafford, knocking his helmet off as the China Spring junior was coming down with the catch. Hafford took a break on the sideline before returning before the quarter ended.
The Cougars punted for the first time as time ran out in the first.
The Bullfrogs didn’t get past their own 27 to open the second quarter before being forced to punt again. China Spring extended its lead as Battles found space to drive a 30-yard touchdown run down the north sideline.
Lake Worth was finally able to crack the scoreboard as Reese hit Bryan Neal with a 31-yard shot. The quarterback then wove through a pair of China Spring gaps for the 23-yard keeper. The Bullfrogs continued the momentum, halting the Cougars with an interception of McCollum, but nothing came of it as they were pushed back into a three-and-out.
China Spring retaliated in three plays as Battles took off for 20 yards to set up a quick toss to Hafford, who added 16 more, hurdling over a defender and out of bounds before he reached the goal line. Exline took a pitch from McCollum and trotted in the score.
Lake Worth managed to block the extra point but only had time for one play before the half.
“We’re just looking at one game at a time,” Beatty said. “Winning builds confidence. We need to carry and use this as it catapults us forward. Need to play Anna next week and where that’s played, and what time, nobody really knows. But all we know is that they’re next on the menu for us to get to work. It’s going be a tough one for us.”
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China Spring's Tristan Exline pulls in a touchdown pass from quarterback Cash McCollum for his second touchdown of the game in the second quarter. Closing in on the play is Lake Worth's Cornell Avington.