Red Oak limits Kimball to 5 plays in first quarter, goes on to win 48-13

C.J. Palmer ran for 189 yards and two touchdowns as Red Oak put up double digits in each of the first three quarters and never punted in the game.

STEVE PATTERSON / Moving Pictures

Red Oak (5-1, 3-0 in district), No. 7 in SportsDay’s 5A area rankings, knocked off defending district champion South Oak Cliff two weeks ago. And now the 48-13 win over previously undefeated Kimball clearly establishes the Hawks as the district frontrunner.

The Hawks’ offensive trio of quarterback Joshua Ervin, running back C.J. Palmer and receiver Coby Cavil proved too much for the Knights to handle. Ervin finished 17 of 21 passing for 184 yards and three touchdowns. Cavil had seven catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns, giving him a team-high 10 TDs on the season.

Palmer couldn’t be stopped on the ground – often running through multiple tackle attempts – on his way to 189 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Zach Sanders also rushed for two touchdowns for Red Oak. The Hawks’ defense held Kimball to minus-17 yards rushing.

Kimball (5-1, 2-1), No. 16 in SportsDay’s 5A area rankings, only ran five plays in the first quarter as Red Oak dominated time of possession for an early 14-0 lead.

Red Oak took the opening kickoff and drove 91 yards on 14 plays to grab momentum. The Hawks converted a third-and-15 and thirdand-19 on their opening drive before capping it with a 13-yard touchdown run by Sanders.

On the ensuing kickoff, Kimball’s Jeremiah Payne was on his way to the end zone with one man to beat. But Red Oak kicker Dakota Santos saved a touchdown by tackling Payne after a 41-yard return. Red Oak’s defense then stopped Kimball on fourth down to get the ball back. Payne redeemed himself to start the second half, returning the kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown to cut Red Oak’s halftime lead to 27-13.

But the Hawks responded on the ensuing possession with a touchdown drive that was capped by Cavil’s 15-yard touchdown catch from Ervin on third-and-9. Red Oak then put the game away by converting a Kimball fumble into another scoring drive that ended with a 12-yard touchdown run by Palmer that gave the Hawks a 41-13 lead heading into the fourth quarter.