Connor Cuff, Noah Paddie lead Carthage past Wimberley in 4A DII (UIL) Texas football state championship

Senior QB Connor Cuff and senior WR Noah Paddie — Louisiana Lafayette and Texas A&M baseball commits — were in sync early, connecting for several long touchdown passes to power Carthage to a 42-0 win over Wimberley in the UIL's Class 4A Division II Texas high school football state championship Friday morning at AT&T Stadium in Arlington

Andrew McCulloch | Dec 16, 2022

ARLINGTON, Texas — For Carthage quarterback Connor Cuff and wide receiver Noah Paddie, the start of Friday's Class 4A Division II UIL football state championship game was as straightforward as a game of catch.

The Bulldogs seniors — who also shine on the diamond for Carthage — brought their chemistry from the infield dirt to the turf at AT&T Stadium.

Facing a 4th-and-4 situation at the midfield logo on their opening drive, Cuff — a Louisiana Lafayette baseball commit — fired a 50-yard bomb of a touchdown pass to Paddie — a Texas A&M baseball commit — to push the Bulldogs ahead of the Wimberley Texans less than 5 minutes into the game.

On the first snap of Carthage's next possession, Cuff hit Paddie in stride with a deep pass over the top of the Texans' defense for an 82-yard touchdown.

Cuff and Paddie's two early touchdown connections sparked a fast start and dominant first half for the Bulldogs, who rolled to a 49-0 victory over Wimberley in a battle of undefeated teams in the UIL's 4A DII Texas high school football state championship game.

Carthage completes a perfect 16-0 season with the victory and clinches its ninth UIL state title in program history, the Bulldogs' first state championship since 2020.

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The Bulldogs continued their first-half blitz against the Texans after Cuff and Paddie's touchdowns through the air to start the game.

Carthage rounded out a dominant start when the team closed out the opening quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run by Cuff on a QB keeper to boost the Bulldogs' lead to 21-0 on the final play of the first quarter.

Cuff led the Bulldogs into the end zone two more times before halftime once the second quarter got underway.

He fired a 12-yard touchdown pass to junior running back Kydarious Matlock on a play-action, rollout pass with 5:25 remaining during the second quarter.

Cuff tossed his fourth touchdown pass of the game with 2 seconds remaining in the first half, when senior Vincent Cabada hauled in a 2-yard touchdown reception on a cross-field pass from Carthage's senior QB.

The Bulldogs were equally effective defensively as well during a dominant first half against Wimberley.

The Texans struggled to gain traction against Carthage's physical defensive front and ball-hawking secondary.

Wimberley was held to 96 total yards of offense and a 2-of-9 passing mark throughout the first half despite holding a slight edge in time of possession.

Carthage forced a critical turnover when junior cornerback Jakkerian Roquemore picked off a Texans' pass deep downfield to start the second quarter.

Roquemore struck again a few moments late when he ripped the ball away from Wimberley senior wide receiver Tru Couch, who tried to haul in a bobbled pass in stride. Carthage senior defensive back Zsema'd Williams scooped up Roquemore's stripped ball in midair at the Bulldogs' 10-yard line and returned it back midfield.

Wimberley entered the red zone for the first time after receiving the opening kickoff of the second half, but the Texans were again bit by the turnover bug before they could put points on the board.

Carthage senior defensive back Kadadriane Bell jumped on a 12-yard, second-and-goal pass into the end zone for an interception that gave the Bulldogs the ball back at their own 1-yard line and preserved their shutout defensively.

The Bulldogs responded offensively by driving the length of the field and scoring again on a 2-yard touchdown run by junior running back Larandion Dowden to cap off a -play, 99-yard drive that pushed Carthage ahead of Wimberley 42-0 with 86 seconds left during the third quarter.

Cuff was voted the Offensive MVP of the 4A DII UIL state championship, finishing the game with 299 yards and four TDs through the air on 14-of-22 passing in addition to his 1-yard rushing touchdown on the final play of the first quarter.

Paddie caught eight passes for 191 receiving yards and two touchdown catches of 82 and 50 yards. His 191 yards tied the 4A state title single-game record for receiving yardage, an all-time mark set by former Carthage receiver Mekhi Colbert against Kennedale during the 2017 postseason.

Roquemore was voted Defensive MVP after tallying two tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and pass break-up for the Bulldogs.

The loss ends Wimberley's 2022 campaign at 15-1 overall and snaps a 15-game winning streak for the Texans, who reached the 4A DII state title game for the first time since 2019.

The Bulldogs, meanwhile, extended their now 16-game winning streak with the victory and claimed the ninth Texas high school football state championship, moving Carthage into a tie with Katy and Richland Springs for schools with the second-most UIL state titles.

Aledo leads the all-time state title count with 10.

Surratt also became the second head coach in Texas high school football history to win nine UIL state championships, claiming all of those state titles during his 16-year stint at Carthage.

He tied Gordon Wood — who won seven state championships as a head coach at Brownwood and two more state titles with Stamford — for the all-time lead among high school coaches in the Lone Star State.

Check out SBLive's exclusive photo gallery from the UIL's 4A DII Texas high school football state championship game:

PHOTO GALLERY — CARTHAGE 42, WIMBERLEY 0

Photos and video by Tommy Hays