LINDALE, Texas — In week eight of the East Texas high school football season, Lindale faced off with undefeated Chapel Hill and the Eagles made a statement.
Lindale stole the show and forced mistakes by the Bulldogs offense to ultimately take the win 35-23. The Eagles were 3-4, going into the game while Chapel Hill was 6-0, but Lindale kept their eye on the goal and not the stats.
Lindale was led by quarterback Clint Thurman who had 46 carries for 310 yards, and four touchdowns.
"The first thing that comes to mind is warrior," said Coach Chris Cochran. "He's the toughest man that I've ever coached."
Thurman has been making a statement all season and is known for his ability to run the ball. He leads East Texas in rushing stats like 213 carries, for 1,530 yards, and 22 touchdowns.
"He just keeps getting better each and every week because he wants to and he has the desire to get better," Cochran said. "He sets a great example for our team and for our program, those that would come behind him just how you handle something hard, and 46 carries is pretty tough."
Speaking of tough, Thurman was named the Built Ford Tough 4A Player of the Week for his performance.
"It felt great because my offensive line," Thurman said. "I give all the credit to my offensive linemen and tight ends, they're blocking their butt off all game long."
It's no secret that Chapel Hill was predicted to win the matchup because of their multiple dynamic playmakers such as quarterback Demetrius Brisbon, running back Rickey Stewart and wide receiver Cameron Kelley. However, every team has their weak spots and Thurman was on a mission to find theirs.
"You have to go in the locker room and study and make sure you have everything good and and a game plan," Thurman. said. "I knew that they blitz a lot, so when they blitz, I decided to fake clap to try to get them to jump offsides."
Thurman's outlook on the season is optimistic and doesn't fold to competition
. "It's kind of like, a win is a win, and nothing can be too big for us," Thurman said. "When somebody has a big play everyone's hyping them up and that leads to another good play, and another good play so by the end of the game we look at the score board and we weren't surprised."