Battle For The Bosque? On a Homecoming Night with a playoff game atmosphere, the Class 1A, DII Walnut Springs Hornets shock the favored Morgan Eagles in a wild shootout; state-ranked Iredell, upstart Kopperl win big
Make no mistake about it, the Battle for the Bosque remains live and well. The five Bosque County six-man squads may no longer have a district all their own, but that doesn’t keep the rivalries from carrying on through non-district games. And certainly, the favored Morgan Eagles visiting the Walnut Springs Hornets on Homecoming Night produced a wild and exciting showdown with a postseason atmosphere in The Sports Buzz Game of the Week.
In the meantime, the Iredell Dragons won for the fifth straight time and the Kopperl Eagles bounced back from a one-point loss as those two teams remain the cream of the crop.
WALNUT SPRINGS 66, MORGAN 58
In his first game back from injury, senior Diego Muniz tossed three touchdown passes and ran for two more scores as the Walnut Springs Hornets hung on to shock the favored Morgan Eagles, 66-58, on Homecoming Night Friday at Hornet Field.
“It was a much-needed win, and we did it with all of the Homecoming distractions,” Walnut Springs head coach Lonnie Flippen said. “I’m extremely proud of the effort. We looked like a football team for the first time since the first game.”
Morgan sophomore Adrian Alonzo scored four times in the losing cause, rushing for two touchdowns, catching a scoring strike and returning a kickoff for another.
“Man, did we have a game against Walnut Springs,” Morgan’s first-year head coach Chuck Wilson said. “It was a tough loss, and it all started with costly mistakes that put us behind the ball. These kids played their hearts out and almost overcame those mistakes.”
The Hornets (2-4) recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff, quickly capitalized, and never trailed the entire game. Muniz rushed for a game-high 184 yards while completing eight of 11 passes for 169 yards.
“The return of Diego Muniz was the catalyst,” Flippen said. “The guys regrouped around the senior and once again played like a team. We had several opportunities to put Morgan away, but they fought and never gave us a chance to pull away.”
Despite building a 21-point lead with 6:04 left in the game, Walnut Springs could not put the Eagles (2-3) away. Senior Mark Anthony Garcia completed 11 of 16 passes for 184 yards and a score and caught a touchdown pass, while junior Zach Mitchell caught two scoring strikes and threw for another before finishing with three receptions for 123 yards.
Defensively, Garcia led the Eagles with 10 tackles, followed by Mitchell with nine tackles and an interception, while Alonzo added eight tackles while grabbing two picks.
“We continue to show up very strongly on the offensive side of the ball,” Wilson said. “With that said, we get better every week on the defensive side. We just have to continue to get stronger and better. These boys are doing everything we ask of them and getting better every week. What more could we ask for. I am very proud of them and believe in what they are doing.”
But in the end, Morgan could not slow down the loaded Hornet offense all night. Junior Jesse Lamb ran for two touchdowns, sophomore D’Marcus Garcia tossed two scoring strikes, and four different receivers found the end zone – senior Luis Fraire twice, senior Adrian Chavez, senior Santos Pina and Lamb with one each.
Defensively, Lamb led Walnut Springs with 11 tackles, followed by freshman Jesus Rodriguez with nine, along with sophomore Cameron Mitchell and Chavez with five each.
“The game ball needs to go to Diego Sanchez. We haven’t had an opportunity to kick many PATs the last few games, but he came in and kicked six out of seven, which was the difference in the game.
“Now, we will have to prepare for the up-and-coming Kopperl Eagles, who have been playing extremely well. Coach Davis is doing a great job with them, but our kids are looking forward to the challenge.”
IREDELL 66, GHOLSON 28
Sophomore Adan Aguilar-Diaz threw a touchdown pass, ran for another score and returned a kickoff 50 yards for a third touchdown as the 14th-ranked Iredell Dragons stormed past the Class 1A, DI Gholson Wildcats, 66-28, last Friday night.
After the two teams exchanged early scores, the Dragons (5-1) put 30 unanswered points on the scoreboard to take control of the game before halftime on their way to a fifth straight win.
“It was a great all-around team win,” Iredell head coach Luis Guereca said. “With two starters out, we had several step up to help us get a W. It was great to see our team come together and really play for one another.”
Sophomore Cole Heutzenroeder ran for two scores while rushing for a game-high 170 yards on 15 carries. Sophomore Caden Sweat tossed two touchdown passes, connecting with junior Walker Johnson and sophomore Caleb Garland against Gholson (4-2).
Defensively, Heutzenroeder and junior Westen Chandler led the Dragons with nine tackles each, followed by Garland with seven tackles and an interception.
“We knew going in Gholson was going to be a tough game,” Guereca said. “Winning the turnover battle was big for us. Converting those turnovers into points helped us pull away.
“We have one more week to play before our open week, and then we head into district. We just plan on working hard this week, and then getting some rest and healing up to prepare for district play.”
KOPPERL 50, MULLIN 0
Coming off their second one-point loss of the season, the Kopperl Eagles made quick work of the Mullin Bulldogs, soaring to an overwhelming 50-0 victory that ended early in the third quarter by virtue of the 45-point mercy rule.
Senior Christian Falk rushed for three touchdowns as the Eagles (4-2) surpassed its win total from 2022 before district competition begins. While the Kopperl defense scored twice, junior Isaac Payen and junior Anthony Johnson rushed for touchdowns.
“It was a great win after suffering the one-point loss last week,” Kopperl first-year head coach Ken Davis said. “We knew that our offense would probably have a good game, but I challenged them to up their game on defense and special teams. They exceeded my expectations and then some. It was, in my opinion, our best-played game in the two years I have coached at Kopperl.”
Coming up with five turnovers, the Kopperl defense limited Mullin (0-6) to less than 100 yards of total offense as junior Hunter Johnson scored on a 35-yard interception return and junior Jairo Vega got into the end zone on a 14-yard fumble recovery. Sophomore Bearon Brinkly led the Eagles with nine tackles, followed by Johnson with six.
“The kicking game was also a big part of our success as Christian Falk made four of five extra point tries,” Davis said. “I have stressed the importance of our special teams, and we had a little hiccup last week, both in extra points and kickoffs in general. But on our seven kickoffs this time around, Mullin never returned it past the 30 yard line, and that is our goal.
“Hopefully, a win like this gives us some momentum going into the Walnut Springs game this week and district play down the road.”
STEPHENVILLE FAITH 71, CRANFILLS GAP 26
Handing Cranfills Gap its third straight loss, the TAIAO Division I’s third-ranked Stephenville Faith Knights cut down the Class 1A, Division II Lions, 71-26, Friday night at Lions Field as sophomore Diego Rodriguez tossed two touchdown passes in the losing effort.
“It was a tough loss for us Friday night and just a tough stretch of games for us these past three weeks,” Cranfills Gap head coach Adrian Benitez said. “We were down early, and I think the guys had their heads down. But once they saw we could hang with them, the fight was there. That was definitely a positive thing coming out from that game.”
Despite falling behind by two scores early, the Lions (2-4) refused to give up the fight, answering the Knights (5-1) until midway through the second quarter when Stephenville Faith finally broke out for 21 unanswered points to take control of the contest.
Senior Blake Allen led the Lions with 63 yards rushing while collecting five tackles and an interception defensively. Senior Gabriel Falcon and freshman Sebastian Rodriguez caught touchdown passes, while senior Adan Flores and sophomore Jake Cox ran for scores.
“There´s a lot to work on and get better at,” Benitez said. “We have one more regular season game left. So hopefully, we can clean stuff up and gain some momentum heading into the open week before district starts.”
Photos by SIMONE WICHERS-VOSS & WENDY OROZCO
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