CARTHAGE, Texas (KTAL/KMSS) – Carthage remains undefeated after a big 35-7 victory over Van to claim the 4A-2 Region II District 8 championship. The Bulldogs have won 67 of their last 68 games.

“I’m super excited about how hard we played,” said head coach Scott Surratt. “We knew we had to match their physicality and I thought we did that.”

“[Van] was one of the most physical teams we faced. We had to coach better, and I thought we did that too,” said Surratt. “My assistant coaches are the best there are. We threw the ball around, we ran the ball, and we did what we wanted to do. We never blinked. We just kept playing and that’s what our program is all about.”

Carthage’s offense scored on almost every drive. Sophomore tailback KJ Edwards had three touchdowns, while seniors Mikel Fields and Bradan Manning also found the endzone.

The catalyst for the Bulldog’s success comes from first year starting quarterback Jett Surratt. He has watched his father coach undefeated teams and make playoff runs for years. Jett is excited to finally be leading one of those teams.

“It’s awesome,” said the sophomore. “I’ve seen it for seven years in a row now, but it’s awesome to be up here with him. We faced a very good team. We executed a lot more in the second half. Our defense played phenomenal.”

The Bulldog’s defense held the Vandals, who average 36 points per game, to only seven points.

Carthage stretches their overall win streak to 26 games.