STAYING ON PATH TO GLORY

With dominating Class 1A, DII Area playoff victory over Bynum, 10th-ranked Iredell advances to coveted rematch with fifth-ranked Oglesby in Regional III Final in Gatesville

After catching everyone by surprise last season, the Class 1A, Division II’s 10th-ranked Iredell Dragons have stormed past opponents through out the 2023 Texas high school six-man football campaign despite still fielding a young team. And as they prepare to face the long-awaited and hoped for postseason matchup, the Dragons aren’t done yet.

Posting their 11th straight win in dominating fashion, the Dragons obliterated the 19th-ranked Bynum Bulldogs, 51-6, in an Area Playoff matchup on a damp and drizzling Friday night at Meridian’s Jacket Stadium as sophomores Jordan Gutierrez and Cole Heutzenroeder ran wild.

With the convincing victory, Iredell (11-1) advances to the Class 1A, DII, Region III Finals to face the fifth-ranked and undefeated Oglesby Tigers (11-0) at 6 p.m. Friday on Tommy Davidson Field at McKamie Stadium in Gatesville. Last season, the state-ranked Tigers eliminated the surprising upstart Dragons, 60-30, in a Bi-District Playoff matchup.

“When we started this, even this year, we knew that we were young,” Iredell’s veteran head coach Luis Guereca said. “And it has shown that the experience from last year to this year has changed tremendously. But yeah, we’re young, and we see that sometimes with some of the little mistakes we make. It’s going to be huge next week for us to eliminate those mistakes.

“The good things is that we played Oglesby last year, and we know what to expect. They’re going to be a tough team and a tough task, but I know these guys will be ready. From day one, we felt like this was out path, and we’re here.”

Even though the Dragons finished off Bynum (8-4) three plays into the second half by virtue of the 45-point mercy rule, the matchup looked very different at the start. In fact, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 6-0 lead when senior Blane Mynarcik ripped through the Dragons defense for a 31-yard scoring romp. And in the meantime, the Iredell offense struggled to find their footing throughout the first quarter.

But with 51 second remaining in the opening period, Gutierrez cut through a seam and darted for an 18-yard touchdown run to finally put the Dragons on the scoreboard. And from that point on, the Iredell running game proved unstoppable as the Dragons raced to 39 unanswered points in the second quarter to run away in a rout.

“We had a bit of a slow start from maybe some nerves, they sprung one and got that score,” Guereca said. “But after that, we started doing better and gained the confidence we needed. When these guys get their confidence up, they’re dangerous.”

With the wet conditions, the Iredell offensive attack never needed to take to the air against the Bulldogs as the Dragons only threw the ball once. But once they got started, Iredell ran all over Bynum, piling up 252 yards on the ground in little more than one half of play.

Leading the Dragons by scoring three touchdowns Gutierrez finished with a game-high 134 yards rushing, while Heutzenroeder scored twice while tacking on 49 yards. Junior Walker Johnson turned the corner on an end around for a 60-yard touchdown run, freshman Gavin Vara sprinted to the pile-on from five yards out for another score, and sophomore Adan Aguilar-Diaz nailed five of seven two-point kicks to complete the scoring spree for Iredell.

“The mentality we’ve had this season of getting a little tougher and a little more physical and flying to the ball has paid off,” Guereca said. “And the concept of team, being there for your team, being accountable, six guys to the hat, makes a difference. Overall, that’s the reason out defense keeps getting better.”

And for the Dragons, the real difference in the game proved to be the dominating defensive effort. After surrendering the touchdown on Bynum’s opening possession, Iredell completely shut down the Bulldog attack the rest of the game with an aggressive, swarming assault. Sophomore Caleb Garland, Gutierrez and Heutzenroeder led the Dragons with 10 tackles apiece, followed by sophomore Caden Sweat with nine and Vara with four.

“Once again, we played some impressive defense,” Guereca said. “They did the job last week, and Coach (Shane) Gallagher is stepping up doing his thing. They guys are flying around to the ball. The biggest thing is the commitment to each other. And overall, it’s showing offensively, defensively, one guy scoring here, and another guy scoring there. I’m really proud of the commitment these guys are showing to what we’ve been talking about since the beginning.”

And a rematch with Oglesby has been one thing the Dragons have been talking about all season long. With both teams carrying 11-game winning streaks into the showdown, something has to give.

Averaging 56.2 points per game, junior Kyler Fossett leads the Tigers with 2,112 yards rushing and 42 touchdowns, followed by Morgan Eagle-transfer EJ Aviles with 642 yards and 14 scores. While the running game accounts for almost three quarters of the Oglesby offensive production, senior Hunter Walter heads the passing game by completing 30 of 56 passes for 735 yards and 11 scoring strikes, while senior primary receiver Landon Williamson has hauled in 20 catches for 546 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Giving up only 11.1 points per game defensively, Oglesby has six players flying to the ball as Williamson leads the Tigers with 79 tackles, followed by Aviles with 63, junior Jakson Tippit with 58 takedowns and seven fumble recoveries, sophomore Jack Hendricks with 56, Fossett with 55 and senior Johnny Gomez with 48 tackles and three interceptions.

“Coach (Jeb) Dixon has done a heck of a job over there,” Guereca said. “They’re a tough team, and it’s going to be a task. But the biggest deal is that they’re considered the team to beat in the East. So, if we’re going to do it, we might as well do it now. We’re going to have to play well, have a good week of practice, and see what happens.”