Look: Cam McGuire leads Wilson past Hillcrest in pivotal district matchup

DALLAS, Texas — Dallas Wilson junior quarterback Cam McGuire delivered when his team needed it most Thursday night.

The Wildcats signal caller threw for more than 300 yards and tossed touchdown passes to three different receivers against Dallas Hillcrest in a pivotal District 6-5A DII matchup between two of three teams tied for first place.

McGuire's strong performance under center powered Wilson to a 17-0 start and a clutch fourth-quarter passing touchdown helped the Wildcats hold off a late comeback to beat Hillcrest 24-20 for their fourth straight win Thursday at Franklin Stadium.

The victory helped Wilson stay locked in a tie for first place atop the District 6-5A DII standings with South Oak Cliff as the only remaining 6-5A DII teams with unbeaten records in district play.

Wilson struck first and scored on back-to-back drives during the first quarter to kick off the contest.

On the Wildcats' first offensive possession of the night, McGuire looked deep downfield and connected on a bomb of a throw with Keitron Pearson, who took off for a 76-yard touchdown catch 25 seconds into the game.

Wilson pushed its early lead to 14-0 soon afterward when McGuire hit receiver Jamal Black on an 8-yard touchdown pass to cap off the team's second drive with 9 minutes left during the first quarter.

The rest of the first half developed into a more defensive matchup, but both Wilson and Hillcrest added late field goals during the final 3 minutes of the second quarter to make it a 17-3 Wildcats lead heading into halftime.

Hillcrest made its move during the third quarter, as the Panthers clawed their way back to tie the game by the start of the fourth.

Jaden Hodge sparked Hillcrest's rally when he made a house call on the opening kickoff of the second half, scoring on a 94-yard kickoff return touchdown to trim Wilson's lead to 17-10 just 21 seconds into the second half.

The Panthers knotted it up at 17-17 when Reggie Williams punched in a 1-yard touchdown run on a QB sneak at the 4:15 mark of the third quarter, but that was as close to taking the lead as Hillcrest got.

Instead, McGuire and the Wildcats marched down the field one more time.

Wilson's junior QB hurled his third touchdown pass of the night and the de-facto, go-ahead score for the Wildcats when he rifled a 48-yard touchdown pass to receiver Deldrick Smith, which push them ahead 24-17 with 11:40 remaining.

Hillcrest launched one more scoring drive that ended in a 37-yard field goal kick by Reed Maplhurs.

McGuire finished the night with 339 passing yards and three touchdowns on 18-of-25 passing and 21 of the Wildcats' 29 team rushing yards too.

Black led Wilson's wide receiver corps with nine catches for 136 receiving yards — both game-highs — and a touchdown catch. Pearson and Smith, who each tallied three receptions, combined for 166 receiving yards for the Wildcats.

Running back Jaden Hodge led Hillcrest offensively with 144 rushing yards on 26 carries.

Dallas Wilson (4-4, 4-0) heads into a bye week before the Wildcats will have a chance to add to their four-game winning streak against the South Oak Cliff Bears (4-3, 3-0) at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, in Dallas.

Dallas Hillcrest (5-2, 2-1), meanwhile, will look to bounce back next week when the Panthers face the Dallas Conrad Chargers (5-2, 1-2) at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, at Franklin Stadium in Dallas.

Check out SBLive's exclusive photo gallery from the game:

PHOTO GALLERY — DALLAS WILSON 24, DALLAS HILLCREST 20

All photos and video by Robbie Rakestraw