Story by Derek Johnson; Photos courtesy Bryan Barrow

TYLER- Sophomore quarterback Demetrius Brisbon rushed for 208 yards and two touchdowns as Tyler Chapel Hill held off Kilgore, 24-21 at Rose Stadium to advance to the Class 4A state semifinal for the second year in a row.

Tyler Chapel Hill (12-2) received the opening kickoff and put together an impressive drive that saw them march inside the Kilgore 5 yard-line, but Kilgore forced a fumble and recovered it at the 1 yard-line. Kilgore then proceeded to go on a 99-yard scoring drive as Isiah Ross rushed for 50 yards on six carries, which led to a 29-yard touchdown by quarterback Da’Marion Van Zandt to give Kilgore a 7-0 lead.

Kilgore (10-4) had an opportunity to extend their lead early in the second quarter, but missed a 30-yard field goal wide left. Tyler Chapel Hill took advantage of the miscue on the very next play when Demetrius Brisbon launched a 50-yard pass to Deuce McGregor to give Chapel Hill a first-and-ten at the Kilgore 20 yard-line.

But Tyler Chapel Hill came up empty once again when Brisbon’s pass was intercepted in the end zone by Zaylon Stoker. The interception was Stoker’s 9^th interception of the season.

Kilgore continued to grind things out on the ground and Ross was the workhorse as he rushed for 139 yards in the first half. Kilgore moved the ball inside the Tyler Chapel Hill 20 yard-line and lined up for a 25-yard field goal only to have it blocked as the score remained, 7-0, midway through the second quarter.

Tyler Chapel Hill continued to have success moving the ball against the Kilgore defense as Brisbon and Ricky Stewart took turns moving the chains on the ground. Tyler Chapel Hill had another chance to tie the game late in the first half when they had a first-and-goal from the 2 yard-line, but back-to-back delay of game penalties moved them back to the 12 yard-line.

For an instant, it appeared they might go for (0-3) from inside the 10 yard-line, but all that changed on the next play when Brisbon tossed a 12-yard scoring pass to Cameron Kelley to tie the game, 7-7, with 30 seconds left in the first half.

Tyler Chapel Hill reached the state semifinal round of the playoffs in 2021 and they had every intention of getting there again in 2022 and they took a big step in accomplishing that when Brisbon found daylight around the right edge and out-ran everyone for a 62-yard touchdown to make the score, 14-7, midway through the second quarter.

Kilgore answered late in the third quarter when Ross scored on an 8-yard run to tie the game, 14-14 with 1:27 left in the third quarter. Ross finished the night with 185 yards rushing.

Tyler Chapel Hill went back to work on their next drive and again it was a combination of Ricky Stewart and Brisbon leading the charge as they moved deep into Kilgore territory. Kilgore’s defense but did not break as Tyler Chapel Hill had to settle for a field goal to make the score, 17-14 early in the fourth quarter.

Kilgore failed to answer on their next drive as they stalled near midfield and had to punt the ball away to Tyler Chapel Hill. It didn’t take long for Tyler Chapel Hill to move deep into Kilgore territory and Brisbon called his own number for a 1-yard touchdown on a keeper to extend the lead to 24-14 and for an instant, it appeared to be the dagger but Kilgore would not go away quietly.

Kilgore had primarily kept the ball on the ground throughout most of the game but Van Zandt quickly moved the offense down the field by completing 5 passes for 43 yards. Kilgore cut the lead to 24-21 on the very next play when Van Zandt dropped back and fired a 25-yard scoring pass to Derrick Williams in the corner of the end zone with 1:56 left in the game.

Kilgore had one last chance to try and get the ball back, but the ensuing onside kick was recovered by Tyler Chapel Hill who ran out the clock to hold on for a thrilling, 24-21 victory over their district rival.

Tyler Chapel Hill will now play the Boerne Greyhounds for a state championship berth next Friday night at the Alamodome in San Antonio with the kickoff slated for 7pm.

Game Summary

Kilgore	7	0	7	7 —-	21
TChapel Hill	0	7	7	10 —-	24

K-Da’Marion Van Zandt 29 run (PAT) 2:17 1q

CH- Cameron Kelley 12 pass from Demetrius Brisbon (Aiden Campos kick) 0:30 2Q

CH- Brisbon 62 run (Campos kick) 6:09 3Q

K- Isiah Ross 8 run (Leo Yzagguire kick) 1:27 3Q

CH- Aiden Campos 28 field goal 9:30 4Q

CH- Brisbon 1 run (Campos kick) 3:14 4Q

K- Derrick Williams 25 pass from Van Zandt (Yzaguirre kick) 1:56 4Q

TEAM STATS

Kilgore	Team Statistics	Tyler Chapel Hill
15	First Downs	17
(6-14-0-40)	Passing (Comp-Att-Int-Yards)	(6-9-1-110)
33-246	Rushing Attempts-Yards	40-284
6-40	Receptions-Yards	6-110
2-34.0	Punts-Average	1-16
1-15	Penalties-Yards	6-48
1-1	Fumbles-Lost	1-1
1	Turnovers	2

Passing

Kilgore- Da’Marion Van Zandt (6-14-0-40). Tyler Chapel Hill (6-9-1-110).

Rushing

Kilgore- Isiah Ross 25-185, Da’Marion Van Zandt 5-51, Roosevelt Rollins 2-7, Peyton Christian 1-3. Tyler Chapel Hill- Demetrius Brisbon 19-208, Ricky Stewart 19-67, Deuce McGregor 1-15, Darrius Dean 1-(-6).

Receiving

Kilgore- Derrick Williams 1-25, Jayden Sanders 1-12, Matthew Tyeskie 1-10, Zaylon Stoker 1-9, PJ Wiley 1-8, Isiah Ross 1-4, Taylor Oliver 1-(-3). Tyler Chapel Hill- Deuce McGregor 4-88, Cameron Kelley 1-12, Jayvon Mayfield 1-10.

All Photos courtesy Bryan Barrow.