COMMERCE —
The Quinlan Ford Panthers, behind Taylor Sikorksy’s 171 yards rushing and Garret Whitley’s two interceptions, beat the North Lamar Panthers 33-28 in a Class 3A bi-district football playoff on Thursday night at Memorial Stadium.
James Silkey also rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns and Jon Humphries ran for another 90 yards as the 8-3 Panthers advanced to the area round to play either Van or Henderson.
North Lamar, which finished at 5-6, drove 59 yards to score in four plays on the other Panthers’ first possession. Chance Kelly ran for gains of 32, 7, 5 and then 15 yards for the touchdown. Mario Smith booted the extra point. Kelly wound up with 151 yards on 27 carries.
Quinlan Ford answered two possessions later with 76-yard, four-play drive. Sikorsky got the drive started with a 21-yard run. Then James Silkey ran for gains of four and two yards before Sikorsky broke loose on a 49-yard touchdown run with 3:28 left in the first quarter. Sikorsky’s kick tied it at 7-7.
Quinlan Ford took the lead in the second quarter after Whitley intercepted a pass at the North Lamar 35-yard line. It took the Panthers seven plays to reach the end zone before quarterback Kaden Wallace sneaked from a yard for the touchdown with 1:26 left in the second quarter. Wallace’s 16-yard completion to Sikorsky helped keep the drive alive. The conversion kick sailed wide to the right.
North Lamar grabbed a 14-13 halftime lead by driving 64 yards in four plays capped off by Austin Anthony’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Ian Dukleth with less than a minute left before halftime. Smith’s kick gave the Panthers the 14-13 lead.
Quinlan Ford took the opening kickoff of the third quarter and behind the running of Sikorksy, Silkey and Humphries drove the ball close enough for Sikorsky to run in for the touchdown two yards out with 9:05 left in the third quarter. Sikorsky’s two-point conversion run boosted Quinlan’s advantage to 21-14.
Ford’s defense set up the Panthers’ next scoring drive, stopping Kelly a yard short of the first down on fourth and two from the Quinlan 45.
Silkey got the 56-yard scoring drive started with a 27-yard run. Sikorsky also powered ahead for 16 yards before Humphries finished the drive with a 9-yard run and Quinlan’s lead was 27-14 with 5:42 left in the third quarter.
North Lamar was not finished. Anthony completed passes of 18 and 33 to Dukleth before Dukleth rushed in from the eight for the touchdown. Smith’s kick brought the other Panthers to within 27-21.
Quinlan then stretched its lead to 33-21 with an 11-play drive capped off by Silkey’s 2-yard run with 2:09 left.
North Lamar struck back one more time as Anthony fired a 36-yard completion to Dreyton McCarthy before finding Dukleth on a 13-yard touchdown pass with 44 seconds left. Smith drilled the PAT.
North Lamar recovered an onsides kick at the Quinlan 40-yard line. But Whitley stopped North Lamar’s threat with an interception near the goal line.
Sports
Quinlan Ford claims bi-district football title
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A&M-Commerce adds softball to athletic program
Coming soon, Texas A&M University-Commerce will no longer be the only school in the Lone Star Conference to not have a softball program.
A&M-Commerce President Dan Jones made the announcement during a press conference held inside the Alumni Center on Monday.
“I am thrilled about the addition of this program,” he said, mentioning that A&M-Commerce is one of the oldest universities in Texas and the only charter member left of the original LSC. “As long as we’ve been here, we’ve never had a womens softball program.” -
No. 1 Pilot Point stops Commerce
Pilot Point’s Skylar Cagle showed why she’s one of the state’s top pitchers while leading the Lady Bearcats to a sweep over Commerce in a Class 2A regional semifinal softball series on Friday night.
Cagle struck out 22 batters in 14 innings as No. 1 state-ranked Pilot Point won 1-0 and 3-2 to advance to the regional finals. Cagle improved her season record to 23-0 as Pilot Point upped its team mark to 36-2.
Commerce finished the season with a 27-7 record after advancing the farthest in the playoffs in school history.
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Commerce Lady Tigers to face No. 1 ranked team
Tonight the Commerce Lady Tigers will play Pilot Point, the No. 1 ranked softball team in the state.
But to Commerce Jeff Davidson, it’ll be just another game.
“It’s still another game,” he said. “It’s their best against our best.”
The Lady Tigers will face Pilot Point at 6 p.m. in Mount Pleasant at Northeast Texas Community College in the first game of a best-of-three Class 2A regional semifinal playoff series. Game two is set for 8:30 p.m. and if need be, game three is at 10 a.m. on Saturday. -
Northeast Texas Trail ride planned
The organizers of the new Northeast Texas Trail (NETT) have scheduled its inaugural event to introduce the multi-use trail to potential users.
On Saturday at 7 am, teams of cyclists and equestrians will begin separate relays from trailheads in New Boston and Farmersville. The meeting point will be Love Civic Center in Paris (2025 S. Collegiate Dr.). Estimated time of arrival is at 2:30 p.m. Golden spikes will be driven into the ground at various points along the route which was originally a railroad corridor. -
Wilson wins gold, silver at state track meet
Buck Wilson of Commerce won gold and silver medals this weekend at the state meet while Rains pole vaulter Charlotte Brown won over a lot of hearts.
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GHS athletics hands out awards
The Greenville Lions held their Athletic Banquet at the Greenville High School Auditorium Saturday evening.
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Storms test area athletes' patience
Patience was a necessity for local athletes competing on Friday at the University Interscholastic League State Track and Field Championships in Austin.
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Local MMA fighters set to compete
Three members of Chop Shop Mixed Martial Arts, a Greenville-based mixed martial arts gym, will compete on May 11 in Ascend Combat’s Mayhem 3 in Shreveport, La.
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Royse City runner seeks to improve at state meet
Last year Ulisses Lopez of Royse City took fifth in the Class 4A 800-meter run at the University Interscholastic League State Track and Field Championships in Austin.
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Dewayne Roach Jr. shoots 743, Susan Shelton bowls 669
Dewayne Roach Jr. led all league bowlers for the past week at DB's Sports Grill & Bowling in Greenville with a 743 series in the Guys Night Out League. His top game with a 276.
Susan Shelton led the women with a 669 series in the Mixed Up Fun league. Her top game was a 243.
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A&M-Commerce adds softball to athletic program
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