Cream Rises To The Top: State-ranked Iredell wins fourth straight, Kopperl falls in heartbreaker to headline Bosque County six-man football action
Making quick work of the Lingleville Cardinals, the 16th-ranked Iredell Dragons won their fourth straight game to an explanation mark on their dominant position as the cream of the crop in Bosque County six-man football.
Morgan bounced back for an impressive victory as the Eagles geared up for a run at another playoff berth, but the young and surprising Kopperl Eagles dropped their second game of the season — two losses by a total of two points.
RANGER 59, KOPPERL 58
In a wild, back-and-forth shootout at Eagle Field last Friday night, the Kopperl Eagles came up just short as the Ranger Bulldogs hung on to hand Kopperl a heartbreaking 59-58 loss in THE SPORTS BUZZ Game of the Week. Senior Christian Falk tossed four touchdown passes while junior Isaac Payen scored three times for the Eagles (3-2) in the losing effort
“I am proud of the way the guys handled all the setbacks,” Kopperl head coach Ken Davis said. “They came out ready to play. And other than a two-minute stretch in the third quarter, I felt like we outplayed them. Our three freshmen stepped up and played a major role on offense, defense and special teams.”
Against Ranger (4-1), Falk completed 17 of 25 passes for 203 yards while running 20 times for a team-high 146 rushing yards. Falk connected with freshmen Jairo Vega with four catches for 77 yards and two scores, Payen caught seven passes for 29 yards and a touchdown while rushing for two more, and junior Aerian Patterson caught two passes for 28 yards and a score.
“Christian Falk once again led the way on offense,” Davis said. “He’s starting to have more confidence in his arm and not just trying to outrun everyone. Although we gave up a bunch of points, there were a couple of bright spots on defense.
Defensively, Falk also led the Eagles with 10 tackles, a 77-yard interception return for a touchdown and two fumble recoveries, followed by freshman Jairo Vega with six tackles and forced a fumble.
“We have improved each game and are learning from our mistakes,” Davis said. “Several times during the Ranger game, the team could have folded and gave up. But the players are showing some resilience that has not been there before. We battled back and fought to the end.
“Hopefully, we will keep it going over the next few games and get some momentum going as we get closer to district play.”
IREDELL 46, LINGLEVILLE 0
Cutting off their Homecoming celebration short due to a dominant performance, the 16th-ranked Iredell Dragons overwhelmed the Lingleville Cardinals in a 46-0 victory last Friday night, ending the game early in the third quarter due to the 45-point mercy rule.
“It was a solid game by our team,” Iredell head coach Luis Guereca said. “Our goals going in was to make sure we were physical, and that we played with great effort on both sides of the ball. It was nice to put on a good showing for our Homecoming crowd.”
Sophomore Jordan Gutierrez ran for three touchdowns while sophomore Cole Heutzenroader rushed for two scores and threw for another as the Dragons (4-1) built a 40-0 halftime lead before putting securing the victory over Lingleville (2-3) early in the third quarter. Heutzenroeder connected with sophomore Caleb Garland for a 43-yard scoring strike.
Defensively, Heutzenroeder, Garland, Gutierrez and sophomore Adan Aguilar-Diaz led Iredell with five tackles apiece.
MORGAN 65, MULLIN 18
Led by senior mark Anthony Garcia throwing six touchdown passes, the Morgan Eagles bounced back from a disappointing loss to shred the Mullin Bulldogs, 65-18, last Friday night.
“After last week’s loss, we went back to the drawing board,” Morgan first-year head coach Chuck Wilson said. “After several slow starts, we came came out slow again, allowing a score on their first play of the game.
“But after that, the Eagles played lights out football. They decided it was their night, and they took control. We had a great game in all areas, offense, defense and special teams.”
Garcia completed 12 of 16 passes for 280 yards, connecting with junior Zach Mitchell six times for 140 yds and a touchdown. Sophomore Adrian Alonso rushed for a team-high 53 yards and two scores.
Defensively, Alonso led the Eagles (2-2) with 11 solo tackles against Mullin (0-5), while Payton Braswell pulled down three interceptions and returned a kickoff for a touchdown.
“Overall, we were very proud of this performance,” Wilson said. The team is starting to gel, and we have one more really tough opponent in Iredell before district begins. We continue to work extremely hard, and we will be ready to defend our district title.”
SIDNEY 60, CRANFILLS GAP 14
Losing for the second straight week, the Cranfills Gap Lions (2-3) disappointed their Homecoming night crowd as the Sidney Eagles (4-1) soared to a convincing 60-14 win last Friday night.
“Effort,” Cranfills Gap head coach Adrian Benitez said. “When it came down to it, effort was the one thing we were lacking Friday night. We had a good week of preparation, and we knew what Sidney was going to bring coming into Friday. But when it came down to it, we weren’t all there as a team.
“Hopefully, we can turn things around this week against a solid Stephenville Faith team, and see if we can get back in the win column.”
COVINGTON 46, WALNUT SPRINGS 0
Totally dominated by the Covington Owls, the beat up and shorthanded Walnut Springs Hornets struggled to get anything going in an overwhelming 46-0 loss last Thursday night. The Hornets only manage two first downs and 39 yards total offense.
“It’s been a tough stretch to go through after losing some quality kids the last few weeks,” Walnut Springs head coach Lonnie Flippen said. “We’ll see if these young men can rise to the occasion this week against a local rival, the Morgan Eagles.”
In losing their fourth straight game, the Hornets (1-4) held the Owls (2-3) to two touchdowns in the first quarter before the flood gates opened and the Owls scored 30 more unanswered points to end the game at halftime by virtue of the 45-point mercy rule.
Defensively, freshman Jesus Rodriquez led the Hornets with four tackles, followed by Adrian Chavez with three, and Luis Fraire had two.
“We will have to regroup this week before hosting the Morgan Eagles for Homecoming on Saturday night,” Flippen said. “We do expect Diego Muniz to return from a knee injury that has held him out for the last four games. We also anticipate Justus Tyler to hopefully return after going through concussion protocol for the last two weeks.”
Photos by SIMONE WICHERS-VOSS & WENDY OROZCO
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