BOSQUE SIX-MAN SPOTLIGHT: Week 11

Surging into playoffs: State-ranked Iredell captures District 12-1A, DII title; surprising Kopperl, Walnut Springs secure six-man postseason appearances

As three of the five Bosque County six-man football teams advanced to the Class 1A, Division II state playoffs from two different districts, the 13th-ranked Iredell Dragons led the way by capturing the District 12-1A, DII title.

But the Walnut Springs Hornets surged into the postseason with a win over defending District 12-1A, DII champion Bluff Dale, and the young Kopperl Eagles advance to the postseason for the first time since 2018 despite losing the District 10-1A, DII title to Bynum in the regular season finale.

With Bi-District playoff matchups set, Walnut Springs (4-6) will take on second-ranked Oglesby (9-0) at 7 p.m. Friday in Valley Mills, Kopperl (7-3) will battle Oakwood (5-5) at 7 p.m. Friday in Oakwood, and Iredell (9-1) will face Calvert (4-5) at 7 p.m. Friday in Jonesboro.

“Calvert does not play like a second-place team,” Iredell veteran head coach Luis Guereca said. “They are traditionally known as a football program that is in the playoffs every year. Although a young team, they do have a couple of seniors that lead the way, and it will be key to limiting them. The young players lack experience, but the talent they have is definitely something we are going to need to focus on and make sure we can work hard to limit them.

“We do have a challenge ahead this Friday, but that’s what playoffs are about. We are excited and ready to take on the challenge of what playoff football brings.”

IREDELL 74, CRANFILLS GAP 26

Playing head-to-head for the District 12-1A, DII championship on the final Friday night of the regular season, the 13th-ranked Iredell Dragons left no doubt as they ran away with a 74-26 victory over the Cranfills Gap Lions.

Sophomore Cole Heutzeroeder ran for six touchdowns and sophomore Jordan Gutierrez added three more as the Dragons overcame some first half mistakes to post an overwhelming win.

“We ended up having a good start,” Guereca said. “But we made a couple of mistakes, and we let them back in the game going into halftime. Both sides of the ball wasn’t as clean as we wanted to be, but some of that was credited to Gap on the things they were doing. I also think we were shooting ourselves in the foot several times.

“But our guys were able to figure it out and clean it up to finish the game. We stayed a little more consistent in the second half, and we were able to pull away. Overall, it was great to see our team hold up the gold ball and finish our district as champions.”

Providing an inspired performance, Heutzenroeder finished with 216 yards rushing and 78 more yards through the air, while sophomore Caden Sweat hauled in two scoring strikes. Defensively, sophomore Caleb Garland led the Dragons with 11 tackles, followed by Gutierrez with nine.

“Our guys put up a great fight,” Cranfills Gap athletic director Josh Raulston said. “I thought we competed well against a team that was suppose to 45 us before the half. Our guys showed true grit to finish the season.”

Although Cranfills Gap struggled to run the ball the entire game, as Iredell limited senior Adan Flores to only 27 yards rushing on seven carries. But the Lions found success through the air early to jump out a 14-0 first quarter lead. As senior Blake Allen tossed two touchdown passes while completing six of 17 tosses for 79 yards, while sophomore Diego Rodriguez passed for another score. Senior Gabriel Falcon caught two passes for 40 yards and two touchdowns, while senior Jonathan Rodriguez hauled in a seven-yard scoring strike.

“I thought our defense did a great job in the first half,” Raulston said. “They were getting to the ball, doing their job and making plays. After losing a key player, our defense began to struggle and Iredell began to pull away.”

Defensively, Allen and Jonathan Rodriguez led the Lions with six tackles each, while Allen returned an interception for a touchdown. Freshman Gage Arron also came up with six tackles before leaving the game with an injury, while freshman Michael Green contributed five tackles with a deflected pass.

“This season was a roller coaster of a ride,” Raulston said. “It was led by four seniors who wanted to finish their year off on their own terms, and they led the way. Blake Allen was solid on both sides of the ball and Adan Flores gave us great strengths on offense. Jonathan and Gabriel did a lot for us on the line and each will be difficult to replace next year.

“We are losing a lot of fire power and will need to reload. But freshmen Gage Arron and Michael Green have been a great asset and really surprised us this year. As I may be disappointed in not making the playoffs, this team gave it their all through district. And we can happy with the result knowing we didn’t leave anything off the table.”

WALNUT SPRINGS 74, BLUFF DALE 26

Returning to the playoffs for the first time in three seasons, the Walnut Springs Hornets piled up over 600 yards of total offense on their way to a dominating 74-26 victory over the defending District 12-1A, DII champion Bluff Dale Bobcats last Friday night.

Senior Jesse Lamb ran for three touchdowns and senior Bryan Chavez tossed three scoring strikes to lead the balanced offense attack by the Hornets.

“It was a great team effort,” Walnut Springs head coach Lonnie Flippen said. “Our seniors wanted to go out with a win in front of their home fans and were able to do so while also earning a playoff spot. These seniors had a great 8th grade year, and I reminded them of that. Tonight, they rose to the occasion.”

After falling behind 14-0 on Bluff Dale’s first two possessions, the Hornets bounced back to a 32-20 lead into halftime before putting the game away in the second half by virtue of the 45-point mercy rule.

“Everyone played a role in the win,” Flippen said. “But I need to point out the leadership of Bryan Chavez, who returned to play the last three games of his senior year after missing two years due to injury. His efforts helped us close out on a winning note.”

Bryan Chavez completed eight of 14 passes for 241 yards and ran for a touchdown, while Lamb led the Hornets in rushing with 232 yards on just 13 carries along with four catches for 108 yards and a score. Senior Diego Muniz rushed for another 136 yards and two touchdowns, while catching three passes for 90 yards. Senior Adrian Chavez hauled in three passes 89 yards and two touchdowns while senior center Santos Pina rushed for a score, while junior Diego Murrah nailed seven of 10 conversion kicks.

Defensively, sophomore Landon Chambers and Adrian Chavez led the Hornets with eight tackles each, followed by Muniz and Lamb with seven apiece. Muniz and Bryan Chavez pulled down interceptions, while Lamb came up with two fumbles recoveries and senior Luis Fraire grabbed another.

“I’m so proud of these guys,” Flippen said. “They have overcome a great deal of adversity, but pulled together at the end of the season and accomplished something that few people gave us a chance to do.”

BYNUM 62, KOPPERL 14

After clinching their first trip to the playoffs since 2018, the Kopperl Eagles fell short of their dreams of winning the District 10-1A, DII title with a 62-14 head-to-head showdown loss to the Bynum Bulldogs.

Bynum is a very good fundamentally sound team,” Kopperl football first-year head coach Ken Davis said. “We knew going in we had to be almost perfect to stay with them. Unfortunately, things did not go so well for us.”

Getting off to a fast start, Bynum recovered two onside kicks including the opening kickoff. The Bulldogs capitalized on a interception and a fumble to take control of the game.

“The inability to shut down the Bynum offense sealed our fate,” Davis said. “Bynum came right at us and we were not up to the task on defense.”

Suffering a number of dropped passes, junior Christian Falk completed 11 of 23 passes for 82 yards while running for another 46 yards and a touchdown. Junior Isaac Payen led the Eagles in receiving with seven catches for 51 yards. Kopperl also scored on Jairo Vega’s 55-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Vega also led the defense with six tackles, followed by Johnson with four.

“Regardless of the loss, we are happy to be in the playoffs,” Davis said. “Oakwood is going to be equally as difficult because they will come right at you. I believe our offense will right the ship and do okay. But we have to have a better performance on the defensive side of the ball to be competitive. Regardless, we are happy to be in the playoffs and will do our best to win.”

MOUNT CALM 51, MORGAN 6

In a battle between District 10-1A, Division II teams already eliminated from postseason contention, the Mount Calm Panthers rolled to a dominating 51-6 victory over the defending district champion Morgan Eagles by virtue of the 45-point mercy rule to wrap up the season last Friday night.

“We faced some adversity as we dealt with injury and other stuff,” Morgan first-year head coach Chuck Wilson said. “But down the stretch, they gave their all and are ready to begin building for next season. We were very young. And even though we fell short of our goal this season, we will be back and ready to go next year, bigger and better. I say “Sometimes we win, sometimes we learn.” Well, we learned a lot this season.”

Photos by WENDY OROZCO & SIMONE WICHERS-VOSS