With Class 1A, DII’s 21st-ranked Cranfills Gap remaining undefeated, Bosque County six-man squads continue strong start in Week 2
For the second straight week, three of the five Bosque County six-man squads posted non-district victories. And after the Kopperl Eagles won their first game in three seasons, all five Bosque teams have put a notch in the win column through the first two weeks of the 2022 Texas high school football season.
CRANFILLS GAP 61, MOUNT CALM 12
MOUNT CALM – Junior Blake Allen threw for four touchdowns and ran for two more as the 21st-ranked Cranfills Gap Lions mauled the Mount Calm Panthers, 61-12, in a non-district matchup Friday night that ended at halftime by virtue of the 45-point mercy rule.
Junior Adan Flores ran for three scores and four different Cranfills Gap receivers – Flores, senior Case Koehler, senior Hayden Kirby and freshman Diego Rodriguez – caught touchdown passes from Allen, who completed seven of 11 passes for 205 yards while rushing for 106 to lead the Lions (2-0).
“Offensively, we were able to get out to a hot start,” Cranfills Gap head coach Rodie Johnston said. “Mount Calm was very physical and dedicated to stopping our running game, so we were able to execute our passing offense.
Sophomore Logan Viss led the Lions with eight tackles, a sack and an interception, followed by Kirby with six tackles and a pick, Allen with six tackles and an interception, and Flores four tackles and a pick against Mount Calm (1-1).
“Defensively, we are continuing to improve,” Johnston said. “We were able to force six turnovers in a game that ended at halftime, so I am happy with our progress so far.”
MORGAN 68, GUSTINE 22
MORGAN – Bouncing back from their season opening loss, the Morgan Eagles soared past the Gustine Tigers, 68-22, Friday night at John Bryant Field, closing out the contest with 6.5 seconds remaining by virtue of the 45-point mercy rule.
Senior Adrian Vera-Rico ran for four touchdowns while rushing for a game-high 195 rushing yards as sophomore EJ Aviles scrambled for three scores and threw for two more to lead the Eagles (1-1). Aviles completed five of eight passes for 92 yards, connecting with junior Mark Garcia and sophomore Zach Mitchell for scoring strikes. Mitchell finished with three catches for 73 yards against Gustine (0-2).
“We looked good moving the ball, and we were able to correct some things from last week,” Morgan head coach Eduardo Aviles said. “We still have a long way to go, but tonight we started moving in the right direction.”
Defensively, senior Kason Sims led Morgan with 12 tackles and a 49-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, followed by Aviles with 10 takedowns, freshman Adrian Alonzo with nine tackles and a safety, Vera Rico with seven tackles, as well as Mitchell with four tackles and a fumble recovery.
KOPPERL 24, BROOKESMITH 7
BROOKESMITH – Posting their first victory in three years, the Kopperl Eagles corralled the Brookesmith Mustangs, 24-7, on the road in a non-district clash Friday night.
Freshman quarterback Cason Hammel tossed two touchdown passes as four different Eagles – sophomores Isaac Payen, Christian Falk, Aerean Patterson and Hunter Johnson – scored touchdowns.
“We have worked very hard to get where we are today,” Kopperl’s first-year head coach Darrell Wallace said. “We are very young and inexperienced, but we came together for the first win by Kopperl in three years playing with a freshman quarterback and five sophomores.”
Payen led Kopperl (1-1) in rushing with 59 yards on eight carries, followed by Falk with 38 and sophomore Anthony Johnson with 37 against Brookesmith (0-2). Defensively, Kopperl came up with three takeaways — two by Payen and another by Hunter Johnson, while freshman Bearon Brinkley, Anthony Johnson and Christian led with six tackles each.
“We have a long way to go,” Wallace said. “But as the season goes along, we hope to continue to get better and better. Our goal is to compete for the district title, this year and in years to come.”
OGLESBY 48, WALNUT SPRINGS 0
WALNUT SPRINGS – Playing most of the game without three injured starters, the Walnut Springs Hornets were unable to maintain the pace as the 20th-ranked Oglesby Tigers pounced for a 48-0 non-district victory last Thursday night at Hornet Field.
“Just last week, I had mentioned that we could be a pretty good team if we could avoid the injury bug,” Walnut Springs head coach Lonnie Flippen said. “The bug found us. The loss was disappointing as both the Oglesby coach and our coaching staff felt like the two teams were fairly well matched until the injuries began to take their toll.”
Despite not getting on the scoreboard against Oglesby (2-0), sophomore Josue Ontiveros completed 12 of 18 passes for 94 yards, while sophomore Jesse Lamb led the Hornets (1-1) with 66 rushing yards.
Defensively, junior Brenden Shuemake led Walnut Springs with five tackles, followed by Lamb, Ontiveros and sophomore Jacob Malhis with three each, while junior Luis Fraire contributed two tackles and a fumble recovery.
COVINGTON 48, IREDELL 8
IREDELL – After the Iredell Dragons grabbed an early lead, it was all the Covington Owls the rest of the way, 48-8, in a non-district showdown last Friday night.
Although Covington grabbed an early 6-0 lead, the Dragons (1-1) responded in the first quarter when freshman Cole Heutzenroeder broke loose for a 22-yard touchdown run and the Dragons nailed the two-point conversion to take a two-point lead. But then the Owls (1-1) responded by piling up 42 unanswered points.
Defensively, the Dragons were led by senior Preston Robinson and freshman Jordan Gutierrez with 10 tackles each, followed by freshman Caleb Garland with six.
“It was a tough night for us,” Iredell head coach Luis Guereca said. “Our defense kept us in it until the mistakes started mounting up. Inconsistency on offense was our main issue that kept us from scoring against Covington. I’m proud of our team for fighting the whole game. We will learn and move on to next week.”
Photos by WENDY OROZCO
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