BATTLE OF THE BOSQUE?

As Bosque County six-man squads battle in non-district matchups, Class 1A, DII Morgan Eagles down Iredell Dragons in wild shootout, Walnut Springs Hornets run past Kopperl Eagles on Homecoming Night

Although the 2022-24 University Interscholastic League realignment last February made the all-Bosque County six-man football district a thing of the past, the league changes did not take away the long-standing rivalries. So, when non-district schedules were filled in, the area teams arranged the annual matchups to continue.

With the 28th-ranked Cranfills Gap Lions not in action with an open date in the schedule last week, the other four Bosque six-man squads squared off for some exciting football, featuring the Kopperl Eagles visiting the Walnut Springs Hornets on Homecoming Night Saturday in THE SPORTS BUZZ Game Of The Week.

MORGAN 107, IREDELL 82

In a wild shootout last Thursday night, the Morgan Eagles outscored the Iredell Dragons, 107-82, in a non-district showdown. Sophomore AJ Aviles threw for eight touchdowns and ran for four more scores as the Eagles (4-3) piled up 567 yards of total offense.

“On the offensive side, the Eagles seemed to pass the ball around the field and really kept the ball moving toward the endzone,” Morgan head coach Eduardo Aviles said. “There was a collective effort by several of the players that made catches for first downs and touchdowns.

“As for the Eagle Defense, it was there in the first half and nonexistent in the second half. Give the young Dragons some credit, because they put up a great effort throughout the game.”

After Morgan jumped out to an early 20-0 first quarter lead, Iredell (3-4) matched the Eagles score-for-score the rest of the game.

“Unfortunately, it was one of those games where it felt like everything went wrong,” Iredell head coach Luis Guereca said. “Morgan played a heck of a game, and we couldn’t manage to not turn the ball over. We got behind early and couldn’t manage to put ourselves in a position to give ourselves a chance to get a win. A lot of learning happened which in the end will make us better. We have a bye week to clean some things up and get ready for district play.”

For Morgan, Aviles completed 15 of 21 passes for 231 yards while rushing for 167 yards. Senior Adrian Vera-Rico caught two touchdown passes, ran for two more score and tossed a scoring strike while catching eight passes for 132 yards and rushing for 98 yards. Junior Mark Garcia and sophomore Zach Mitchell also caught two touchdown passes each.

Defensively, Aviles led the Eagles with 11 tackles, followed by Vera-Rico with 10 and freshman Adrian Alonzo with eight.

WALNUT SPRINGS 74, KOPPERL 34

Junior Diego Muniz ran for four touchdowns, sophomore Jesse Lamb rushed for three scores and sophomore Josue Ontiveros tossed three touchdown passes as the Walnut Springs Hornets built a comfortable lead early then held off the young Kopperl Eagles, 74-34, in a non-district matchup on Homecoming Night Saturday in Walnut Springs.

“I was really proud of the Hornets and their effort Saturday evening,” Walnut Springs head coach Lonnie Flippen said. “It’s always good to win a game, but especially a homecoming game.

“The stats will show we played a dominating game on both sides of the ball, but did not take anything away from the Kopperl Eagles. Their boys struggled in the first half, and then came back in the second half and made a run at us. Those young men will be a team to contend with in the future.”

In the losing effort for Kopperl (3-4), sophomore Hunter Johnson and junior Logan Hammons caught two touchdown passes each, sophomore Kaden Gonzales hauled in a scoring strike, and sophomore Isaac Payen rushed for a score against the Hornets (3-4).

“We made a lot of mistakes early in the game and spotted them nearly 30 points,” Kopperl first-year head coach Darrell Wallace said. “We held on for dear life, and in the second half, we were only outscored 38-34. I am very proud of our boys for never giving up.”

Muniz finished with a game-high 199 yards rushing while catching three passes for 78 yards, Lamb ran for 108 yards, and Ontiveros completed eight of 11 passes for 188 yards. Defensively, Diego led the Hornets with 12 tackles and a fumble recovery, followed by juniors Adrian Chavez and Brenden Shuemake with nine each.

“We now have a week to try to heal a little and to begin to prepare for district competition,” Flippen said. “We open against the defending district champion Cranfills Gap Lions, who appear to be on a tear again this year. Hopefully, we can have a few players healthy and make a stand against the Lions.”