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HUMBLE -- Just when they thought the rain had stopped, some more fell on the Caldwell Hornets.
The Kirbyville Wildcats' response became easy to forecast. They answered a pair of second-half Caldwell scores to rein in a 49-28 victory at Turner Stadium on Saturday.
Kirbyville improved to 11-1 and will meet China Spring in the Class 3A Division II regional round next week. Caldwell's season ended with a 10-2 record.
The Hornets battled back from an early 20-point deficit to cut Kirbyville's lead to 20-13 when senior running back Xavier Canto burst 42 yards though a big hole at 10:44 of the third quarter. It was one of the best runs on a typically spectacular night from Canto, who rushed 17 times for 287 yards and scored twice. He powered away from tackles on numerous occasions with Kirbyville holding on to only an overstretched jersey.
The Wildcats' answer to any adversity was almost a sure thing, however. Quarterback Aaron Hazlewood threw to Randy Musgrove for 51 yards to the 1-yard line after Canto's big run.
It was the third reception of 50 yards or more for Musgrove, who had six catches for 200 yards and three touchdowns.
The Hazlewood-Musgrove duo, coupled with a pair of interceptions from Kirbyville linebacker Broderick Jackson, gave the Wildcats their edge and held the Hornets at bay.
"We played well, but Kirbyville's speed is something we never caught up with defensively," said Caldwell coach Dale Williams, whose team allowed 503 total yards. "We didn't play very well defensively tonight."
Trailing 20-0 with 1:48 left in the second quarter, Caldwell started its first scoring drive, moving 64 yards on nine plays. Canto converted on fourth-down with an 11-yard sweep and scored two plays later. The power-running Canto took a handoff on a delay, sped past Kirbyville linebacker Broderick Jackson and cut into the end zone at the right sideline with 14 seconds left until halftime.
Later in the second half, a 1-yard touchdown run from Caldwell's Kyson Woolverton cut Kirbyville's lead to 35-20. The Hornets then backed up Kirbyville to the Wildcat 4-yard line, but Broderick Jackson raced 62 yards to set up a 24-yard touchdown pass from Hazlewood to Musgrove.
Kirbyville's first two touchdowns came on deep passes from Hazlewood to Musgrove on significantly different plays.
The first touchdown came on the opening drive, which started at the Wildcats' 38 and feature four running plays, including a 2-yard dive on fourth down by Pierce Rhodes who lunged to the 49. A play later, Hazlewood ran a play fake and hit Musgrove in stride behind a Caldwell defender.
"They got a big play and then got an onside kick, and we never got things going offensively," Williams said. "It's awfully frustrating."
The second scoring connection came on a fake punt. Playing as the up back, Hazlewood briefly bobbled a short snap and then delivered a perfect pass against good coverage on the left sideline. Musgrove cut inside to turn the fourth-down conversion into a touchdown.
Playing through a heavy downpour during a portion of the first half, Kirbyville added another score. Reserve running back Brian Burley did the bulk of the work for the Wildcats, running six times on an 11-play march. His converted a fourth-and-1 with a 6-yard gain and scored untouched on a 12-yard sweep.
"I thought we had a good scheme defensively, but [Kirbyville] did some things and we weren't able to match it," Williams said. "Our kids really fought hard, worked hard and played hard this year. Hats off to this group of seniors for a great year. I just didn't want for it to end this way."
• David Campbell's e-mail address is david.campbell@theeagle.com.
