With a host of Class 1A, DI six-man teams facing challenges from DII squads, the big boys came out on top across the Heart of Texas
While the two Heart of Texas six-man football marquee showdowns failed to live up to its spotlighted billing, DI squads across the region met the challenge by disposing of their DII opponents.
Headlining the six-man slate last Friday night, Class 1A, Division I’s Jonesboro Eagles blanked the 2021 state finalist Blum Bobcats, 45-0, while the top-ranked and defending state champion May Tigers crushed the previously undefeated Evant Elks, 63-6.
With three of the five Bosque County six-man football teams playing up by facing DI schools, it proved to be a rough night under the lights for DII squads last Friday. But after seeing their game cancelled two weeks ago, the Iredell Dragons came back strong to post an impressive win.
LOMETA 60, CRANFILLS GAP 26
In what appeared to be an evenly matched showdown in the first half, injuries took their toll at the Class 1A, DI Lometa Hornets stung the DII’s 25th-ranked Cranfills Gap Lions, 60-26, last Friday night.
With both teams trading scores in the first half, Lometa (3-0) clung to a 30-26 advantage at intermission. But once the injuries began to pile up for the Lions (2-2), the Hornets scored 30 unanswered points in the second half to put the game away.
“We started the game with a good opening drive, and we were up in the first half,” Cranfills Gap head coach Adam Carroll said. “But the second quarter turned ugly with multiple flags and ejections. We had several kids go down with injuries, and Lometa pulled away second half.”
Elias Marques Peter led the Lions with 84 yards rushing and two touchdowns, while Cruz Flores tossed a 12-yard scoring strike to Aiden Doty.
Defensively, Blake Allen led Cranfills Gap with 13 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery, while Juan Berumen contributed 11 takedowns.
“We’re hoping all those that got banged up will get healed up for the upcoming weeks,” Carroll said. “I’m proud of the ones we had out their all the way to the end of the game that kept playing their butts off. We hope to pick up the pieces and get back on track.”
AVALON 62, WALNUT SPRINGS 14
Sophomore Erick Padron threw five touchdown passes and ran for another as the Class 1A, DI Avalon Eagles soared over the Walnut Springs Hornets, 62-14, last Friday.
“We were dominated on both offense and defense, it was just that plain and simple,” Walnut Springs head coach Lonnie Flippen said. “We did have one two-way starter that was out as Anthony Muniz was not available to play. We had some young kids that were called on to play, and they certainly gave their best effort.”
Freshman Josue Ontiveros enjoyed a big night throwing the ball, completing 11 of 15 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns. Jordan Ontiveros led the Hornets (2-2) with four receptions for 45 yards and two scores, followed by Diego Muniz with three receptions for 35 yards, and Pablo Gonzales with three catches for 27 yards. But Avalon (2-2) shut down the Hornet running game, allowing only 22 yards on the ground.
“We can’t use make any excuses” Flippen said. “We were just dominated by a better team last Friday night. We now have to put on our big boy britches and get back to work as we have another challenge this week when we host the Covington Owls for our homecoming game. Don’t let their record fool you, they are tough and we have to put the Avalon game behind us and get ready.”
LINGLEVILLE 58, MORGAN 8
Playing shorthanded, the Class 1A, DII Morgan Eagles (0-3) proved to be no match for DI Lingleville as the Cardinals (2-2) posted a dominating 58-8 road victory last Friday night.
We didn’t have anything go our way, “Morgan head coach Edward Aviles said. “We had eight boys suit up, and three were banged up. We had two starters still out with injuries.
“We made a few plays, but Lingleville is a much-improved team that had things go their way. We just need to heal up and work on us getting better.”
ABBOTT 48, BELLVILLE FAITH 0
Making quick work of their opponent, the Class 1A, DI’s 12th-ranked Abbott Panthers remained undefeated with a dominating 48-0 mercy-rule thrashing of Bellville Faith last Thursday night.
Senior Robert Munoz rushed for three touchdowns while junior Karsyn Johnson threw two scoring strikes to lead the overwhelming win for Abbott (4-0). With Abbott averaging 14.5 yards per carry on the ground, Munoz led the Panthers with 135 rushing yards on only nine attempts. In the meantime, the Panthers pounced on Bellville Faith, limiting them to only 20 yards of total offense.
IREDELL 53, BUCKHOLTS 8
Junior Preston Robinson ran for three touchdowns and threw for another while sophomore Payton Murphy added three scores on the ground to lead the Iredell Dragons to a convincing 53-8 road victory over the Buckholts Badgers last Friday night.
“Our team played well this week,” Iredell head coach Luis Guereca said. “We were able to be consistent on both sides. The team sure has improved, but they know we can be better. And we look forward to improving each week.”
Jumping out to a commanding 29-0 lead early in the second quarter, Iredell (2-1) closed out the victory over Buckholts (1-3) in the third quarter by virtue of the 45-point mercy rule.
Robinson rushed for 193 yards on only six carries to lead the Dragons, followed by Murphy with 112 yards on six totes. Robinson also completed two of three passes for 23 yards, connecting with freshman Walker Johnson for a scoring strike.
Defensively, the Dragons were led by Robinson with 19 tackles, followed by freshman Weston Chandler with 12 and Murphy with nine.
OLGESBY 70, KOPPERL 6
The Class 1A, DII’s 21st-ranked and undefeated Oglesby Tigers (4-0) pounced on the Kopperl Eagles (0-3) for a 70-6 victory last Friday night as Steven Cagle scored Kopperl’s only points on a kickoff return for a touchdown. “It was another opportunity for the boys to grow and gain some experience against a quality, veteran opponent,” Kopperl head coach Aaron Maxwell said. “We will use our off week to continue to work on the fundamentals and get ready for Mullin.”
Photos by SIMONE WICHERS-VOSS
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