Homecoming King Patrick Carr and Highlander Football crush La Porte Bulldogs, 49-3

SHENANDOAH, Texas- One week after a signature win over the Katy Tigers, homecoming king Patrick Carr and the Woodlands Highlanders (3-1) had no problem keeping the momentum going at home by dispatching the La Porte Bulldogs (2-2), in their first ever meeting, 49-3. Carr finished the night with eight carries and 126 yards after a big first half saw him gash the Bulldog defense for 121 yards on six carries. He also had three touchdown runs in the first half. Watch it again On Demand.

“This game was a proving point,” said Carr, alluding to the performance tonight after the emotional win against Katy last week. “It shows what kind of character we have.”

Starring alongside Carr for the night was quarterback Matt Bonaguidi, who threw for 163 yards and a touchdown. After returning to the team last week, quarterback Chris Andritsos played the fourth quarter and hit a 74-yard touchdown strike to get his numbers to 109 yards passing and a touchdown. Highlander wide receiver Chris Stewart caught two balls for 93 yards and two touchdowns, and receiver Chris Bell caught four passes for 61 yards.

After possessions netting no points for either team, the first play of the second drive provided a jolt to the game, as The Woodlands running back Patrick Carr broke an inside run to the outside, and ran away from the safety for a 73-yard touchdown run, making the score 7-0 Highlanders with 7:03 left in the first quarter. The scamper put Carr over 4,000 yards in his career, distancing himself from the second place rusher in Highlander history, Daniel Lasco, who had 3,901 yards in his career.

La Porte responded well to the Carr run, putting together a drive that took 6:54 off the clock, and after a 54-yard drive that saw La Porte complete numerous third down plays, the Bulldogs netted a 31-yard field goal by Ceasar Silva. This made the score 7-3 Highlanders with :04 seconds left in the first quarter.

Highlander quarterback Bonaguidi responded instantly on the next drive with a 10-yd pass to wide receiver Chris Bell, followed by a 5-yard jet sweep by Bell, to get the ball to the Bulldog 43-yd line. Hunter Moore then caught a pass for 21-yards to get the ball to the Bulldog 22-yard line, where once again Carr got loose to the outside to score from 22-yards out to make the score 14-3 the Woodlands with 9:42 left in the second quarter.

“The more Bonaguidi plays, the more he sees, the more comfortable he gets, the slower the game gets,” said Schmid. “I think we saw that tonight.”

The ensuing kickoff saw the Bulldogs lose control of the ball and fumble, and special-teamer Reed Barber recovered it for the Highlanders at the Bulldog 20-yard line. A 9-yd pass to Kalif Johnson put the ball at the 11-yard line, but back-back penalties negated two touchdown catches by Chris Stewart. Not being deterred, on 3rd-and-14 from the 24-yard line, Bonaguidi hit Stewart for a third time in a row, this time on a corner route, marking a 24-yard score to make the scoreboard read 21-3 The Woodlands with 8:35 left in the second quarter.

“That’s exciting to see a sophomore step up and contribute like he has,” says Schmid. “He’s been a solid player for us, to see a sophomore doing that is exciting.”

The next drive saw La Porte get the ball down to the Highlander 35-yard line but stall. On 4th-and-7 they brought out the punt unit, but the Highlanders kept their defense on the field. The play was indeed a fake and the Highlanders stopped it for no gain, getting the ball on downs at their own 35-yard line with 6:13 left in the second quarter, still leading 21-3.

The Highlanders, behind Bonaguidi, Carr, and wide receiver Trevor Disatell, trecked right down the field, but faced with 4th and 2 from the La Porte 15-yd line, returning quarterback Chris Andritsos made his first entrance of the game. Andritsos carried for 4-yards to the La Porte 11-yard line and a fresh set of downs. Two plays later Carr smashed through the line for his third touchdown of the game to make the score 28-3 Highlanders with 2:15 left in the half. Carr had 6 carries for 121 yards in the first half to go along with his three touchdowns.

While the Highlanders were in control of the game, not all the news for The Woodlands was positive in the first half. Linebacker Corey Sanders left the game with an injury, and did not return to the game. The extent of his injury is unknown at this time.

With the game progressing after the homecoming king and queen announcement at halftime, the third quarter was played quickly, and with a defensive intensity, as the teams kicked the ball back-and-forth to each other with no scoring. However, towards the end of the quarter, Antoine Winfield Jr. received a punt 72 yards away from the end zone, and appeared to be tackled several times. He would not be denied, and after beating the entire Bulldog special team unit, he crossed the goal line to make the score 35-3 Highlanders with 40 seconds left in the third quarter.

“It’s almost as if he doesn’t have any joints,” reflected Schmid. “He was bouncing away from guys that were hitting him and spinning away. He’s a pretty phenomenal player.”

The Bulldogs didn’t have a first down in the second half until there was less than one minute left in the game, as the Highlander defense suffocated La Porte all night.

A 14-yard touchdown run by Highlander running back Adam May ended the scoring for the night, and the Highlanders sat one short of 50, defeating the Bulldogs by a score of 49-3.

“The effort (was there) after that emotional win over a great football team (last week),” said Schmid. “I was real proud of how we came out tonight; how we prepared and approached this game.”

If you’d like to see this game over the weekend, it will be online to view at woodlandsonline.com/sports.

The Highlanders start district play next week on the road against Conroe at 7:30pm on Friday, September 26th.