BY KEVIN ROACH
SPECIAL TO THE HERALD DEMOCRAT
WHITEWRIGHT -- The Whitewright Tigers could not solve Callisburg's aerial attack Friday night and the two teams compiled over 800 total yards of offense as Callisburg defeated the Tigers, 49-20, in non-district action.
Thor Long, who completed 19-of-26 passes for 281 yards, threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first quarter. He connected with Bobby Dorman from 16-yards out on the opening drive and Jamie Brinlee caught a 36-yarder for a score with 1:44 left in the quarter.
Early in the second quarter Callisburg intercepted an errant Tiger pass and turned it into a six-yard touchdown catch by Quincy Hough as Callisburg led 21-0 with 4:45 remaining in the first half.
Whitewright got its initial score on a five-yard run by Cody Sherman, who was 25-of-41 for 286 yards, to cap a 79-yard drive that was sparked by a 30-yard reception by A.J. Bush and a 31-yard reception by Blake Bearden.
The Wildcats took less than a minute to counter with a touchdown pass from Long to Brinlee but Whitewright responded with a 74-yard drive centered around a key reception by Kelby Dotson that set up a six-yard touchdown pass from Sherman to Chris Bearden with one second left on the clock. The PAT failed and Callisburg had a 28-12 half-time lead.
The explosive offenses continued to produce in the third quarter. Callisburg extended their lead following a Dorman interception as Long had a one-yard touchdown run.
Whitewright's response was a 72-yard 9-play drive that ended with a Sherman to Bush 13-yard touchdown pass. Walter Smith ran in the two-point conversion to bring the Tigers within 15 points 35-20. Callisburg tacked on another touchdown on a Long one-yard run and the third quarter ended with Callisburg leading, 42-20.
Whitewright drove deep into the Wildcats end of the field early in the fourth period but turned the ball over on downs. Callisburg drove 65 yards for the final score, another one-yard Long run.