Improved Play Not Reflected On The

WILLS POINT—Despite winning the battle statistically, it was another frustrating night for the Wills Point Tigers Friday night.
"Three or four plays were the difference," head coach Kevin Garvin said of the outcome. "Defensively we felt like we had a good plan, and we executed it well. Kaufman has been running up and down the field on people, and we held their running game pretty well. We just had a couple of plays with errors and a couple of missed tackles and they took advantage."
The Tigers had more first downs and total yards but four interceptions, 10 penalties and a blocked field goal returned for a score were too much to overcome as Wills Point suffered a disappointing 35-7 homecoming defeat at the hands of the visiting Kaufman Lions.
"Our errors on offense were costly," the coach said. "We moved the ball really well, now we just need to finish out the execution, and finish the drive inside the red zone."
The Tigers finished their non-district schedule at 0-5 and will now concentrate on the District 14-3A campaign which opens Friday night.
The Tigers will travel to Canton to take on their Van Zandt County rival, the Canton Eagles (3-2) in a 7:30 p.m. district opening kickoff. Canton had an open date Friday night.
Against the Lions, Wills Point led in first downs (21-13) and total yards (337-222).
In the first half, the Tigers ran an astounding 40 offensive plays to just 11 for Kaufman but ended up trailing the Lions 21-0 at intermission.
Tiger quarterback Trent Jurica finished the contest with 32 completions out of 46 attempts for 313 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions.
Steven Cunigan caught 10 passes for 107 yards to lead the Tiger receiving corps.
Wills Point received the opening kickoff and appeared to be on its way to taking the early lead as they moved from its own 16 to the Kaufman 48 in seven plays including a 16-yard pass completion from Jurica to Cunigan.
On first down at the Lion 48, the scoring threat ended when Jurica’s pass was intercepted by Kaufman cornerback Kevin Dotie at the Kaufman 36.
Three plays later, the Lions lighted up the scoreboard as R. J. Turner took a reverse handoff and raced 42 yards for a TD. Austin McDaniel added the extra point to give Kaufman a 7-0 lead with 6:00 remaining in the first quarter.
Wills Point then drove from its own 24 to the Lion 26 in 13 plays including two pass completions of 14 yards each from Jurica to wide receiver Junior Hamilton.
Facing fourth down and nine at the Kaufman 26, the Tigers decided to go for the field goal when Tyler Wicks’ kick was blocked, picked up and returned 62 yards for a TD by Kaufman’s Kendall Wrenn. McDaniel added the extra point to give Kaufman a sudden 14-0 advantage with 31 seconds to play in the first quarter.
The two teams then exchanged punts before the Tigers put together another scoring threat late in the second quarter.
Wills Point moved from its own 8-yard line to the Kaufman 29 in 11 plays including pass completions from Jurica covering 14 yards to Hamilton and 16 yards to WR Austin Teel.
The Tigers suffered another turnover on first down at the Lion 29 when Jurica’s pass was intercepted and returned 57 yards by Kaufman CB Wrenn to the Tiger 23 in the final minute of the first half.
Three plays later, Lion fullback Hippo Perea powered into the end zone on a 3-yard TD run. McDaniel added the extra point to give Kaufman a 21-0 lead with 13 seconds to play before intermission. A key play in the scoring drive was a 35-yard pass completion from QB McDaniel to RB Dotie.
The two squads opened the second half with an exchange of punts before the Lions put the game out of reach with a short drive in the third quarter.
Following a short Tiger punt and a personal foul penalty against Wills Point, the Lions moved 26 yards in three plays to extend their lead.
McDaniel ended the march by connecting with split end David Miles on a 21-yard TD pass play. McDaniel also added the extra point to give Kaufman a 28-0 lead with 3:35 remaining in the third quarter.
The Tigers moved from their own 27 to the Lion 46 in six plays but on second down and 10, Jurica’s pass was intercepted by Dotie at the Lion 35 to end the third quarter.
Following a 38-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter by Dotie to give the Lions a first down at the Tiger 27, Wills Point’s defense stiffened and stopped the Kaufman scoring threat on a fourth down incomplete pass.
The Tigers put their only scoring drive of the evening at that point as they moved 76 yards in nine plays.
Jurica connected with WR Marquis Burch on a 12-yard TD pass play to end the march. Wicks added the extra point cutting Wills Point’s deficit to 28-7 with 5:30 to play in the fourth quarter. Key plays in the Wills Point scoring drive included pass completions from Jurica covering 42 yards to WR Brett Bradshaw and 10 yards to Hamilton.
Kaufman closed out the scoring by moving 49 yards on seven consecutive running plays after a failed Tiger onside kick attempt.
Lion reserve QB Jonathan Bates ended the march with a 1-yard TD run. McDaniel added the extra point to give Kaufman a 35-7 advantage with 2:23 remaining.
Wills Point had the ball for one final series as they moved from its own 23 to the Lion 36 in four plays including pass completions from Jurica to Cunigan covering 27 and 14 yards.
The scoring threat ended with a turnover as Jurica’s second down and 10 pass at the Kaufman 36 was intercepted by Lion CB McDaniel at the Kaufman 19 allowing the Lions to run out the clock.