BY MIKE MONTFORT

Unbeaten, second-ranked Kilgore secured a 52-38 win Saturday over Navarro behnd the play of quarterback Malcolm Mays, running back Kenneith Lacy, a defense that defused two Navarro drives with interceptions -- plus a few 'style' points at the end of the game.

Kilgore led 45-38 with 2:51 to play as defensive back John Joseph intercepted Qua Gray's fourth-and-11 pass at the KC 10.  After NC used its final two timeouts, the Rangers chose to score again -- as Willie McCoy caught a 62-yard pass from Mays with a precious 0:05 remaining on the clock.

That style-over-substance play provided Kilgore its third touchdown of the fourth quarter and its second inside the final 8:00 when the Rangers broke from a 38-38 tie. Just in the nick of time, they were able to extend their margin of victory in an attempt to impress some NJCAA regional poll voter, perhaps for an invitation to a nationally televised championship game in June.  

The final-countdown bomb ended Kilgore's 658-yard offensive Saturday behind Mays, who ran for a third-period score and threw for two more during the final quarter.  Mays' two-yard run and two-point conversion pass five minutes into the second half lifted the Rangers' to a 17-10 lead. His 26-yard scoring pass to Anthony Isom gave KC what appeared to be an insurmountable 38-24 edge with 13:12 to go. 

Mays, an Arlington redshirt freshman, completed 18-of-27 passes for 322 yards, while explosive Lacy starred in the Rangers' 45-carry, 336-yard ground attack.

Lacy, from Kilgore, rushed for 201 yards on just 10 carries and scored on runs of 77 and 52 yards.  The 52-yarder, coming with 7:04 left, thrust Kilgore into its 45-38 lead. Lacy now has three rushing touchdown breakways of more than 50 yards in two weeks. 

Navarro held a 10-9 halftime lead, thanks to a personal season-long 46-yard field goal by Alexis Lopez.

But the teams put on a 71-point pyrotechnic display during the final 30 minutes that featured three ties and a 14-point deficit wiped out by the Bulldogs. 

Sophomore Qua Gray, in his first start, led Navarro to 509 yards offense that included 27-of-44 passing for 347 yards and two touchdowns.  He threw second-half touchdown passes of 64 to Quentin Lee and 22 to Tru Edwards. 

Gray, who sprayed passes to six different receivers, connected with Lee on the season's longest scoring pass of the season with 2:48 left in the third quarter.  Edwards' game-tying catch with 8:00 left came on a fourth-and-11 play after the Bulldogs successfully had recovered an onside kick and driven as deep as the Ranger 14-yard line in nine plays. 

Sophomore running back Isaiah Robinson keyed Navarro's 162-yard ground attack with 139 from 18 carries and tallied on runs of 57 and 12 yards.   

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Box Score: April 17, 2021 (vs. Kilgore)