Commerce comes up short at Van Alstyne

VAN ALSTYNE — Commerce fought hard but came out on the short end of a 48-24 District 10-3A battle with Van Alstyne Friday night at Panther Stadium.

The game remained close until Van Alystyne, which remains undefeated at 8-0 and 3-0 in district play, broke it open with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Commerce, 1-7 and 1-2, came out passing their way down the field with completions by quarterback Terrance Walker of 15 and 12 yards and a 38-yard touchdown pass to Shae Gwin in the first quarter. However, Commerce could not convert the two-point conversion.

The first possession for Van Alstyne ended with an interception by the Tigers’ defensive lineman Kyle Putnam., who came out to the left side and stepped in front of the throw of the Panthers quarterback Chris Burge.

Burge finished the night completing 10 of 20 attempts for 100 yards with two interceptions.

Commerce couldn’t take advantage of the interception and turned it over on downs. The Tigers stepped up on defense again and forced Van Alstyne to punt later in the first quarter.

Commerce was marching down the field late in the quarter when Walker was intercepted by linebacker Michael Moya, which he returned for a touchdown.

Walker finished the night 4-of -11 for 97 yards and the touchdown pass.

After trading possessions in the second quarter, Comerce put a drive together to the Van Alstyne 9, but the Tigers would eventually fumble into the end zone, which the Panthers recovered for a touchback.

Van Alstyne scored late in the quarter to take a 15-6 halftime lead.

The Panthers opened the second half by driving down for a quick score. Commerce answered by riding the back of running back Jurace Brown on runs of 20 and 8 yards. Brown, who finished with a team-high 163 yards. rushing, scored on a 27-yard run.

Commerce and Van Alstyne traded punts midway through the quarter. With 5:45 showing on the clock, Brown picked up a Panther fumble and carried it to the 11-yard line. On fourth down and 3, Walker escaped from the grasp of a lineman and was able to get a Tigers first down at the Panthers’ 1.

Commerce would then line up offensive lineman Andrew Nelson in the backfield. He took the handoff and plunged into the end zone pulling the Tigers to within four, 22-18.

Van Alstyne scored at the beginning of the fourth quarter to rebuild its lead to 10, 28-18. A Commerce fumble on the next possession lead to another score by the Panthers.

Brown closed out the Commerce scoring on a 47-yard run at the 8:24 left to play, only to see Van Alstyne pad its lead with two more scores in remaining minutes.

Commerce finished the game with 311 total yards on offense, while Van Alstyne had 422 yards.

The Tigers can make the playoffs if they beat winless Anna this week and then North Lamar the following week.



— Reported by John Bryant



District Overall

Van Alstyne 3-0 8-0

Paris 3-0 5-3

North Lamar 2-1 1-7

Commerce 1-2 1-7

Bonham 0-3 0-8

Anna 0-3 0-8





Last Week

Van Alstyne 48, Commerce 24

Paris 49, Anna 14

North Lamar 21, Bonham 14



Schedule

Friday, October 30

Commerce at Anna

Bonham at Paris

Van Alstyne at North Lamar

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