CLASS 1A SIX-MAN ROUNDUP: In battle for Bosque County supremacy, state-ranked Iredell buries Walnut Springs; Kopperl, Morgan bounce back for victories
Even though Bosque County no longer has a six-man football league of its own thanks to the most recently University Interscholastic League realignment last February, all five teams – Iredell, Kopperl, Morgan, Cranfills Gap and Walnut Springs – still figure out a way to play each other almost every season, one way or the other.
With that being said, the Class 1A, Division II’s fourth-ranked Iredell Dragons claimed the driver’s seat toward Bosque County bragging rights by burning the previously undefeated Class 1A, DI Walnut Springs Hornets, 51-6, last Thursday night at Dragon Stadium.
In the meantime, both the Kopperl Eagles and the Morgan Eagles bounced back from disappointing losses to post convincing wins, establishing themselves as postseason contenders, while Cranfills Gap tries to get healthy enough to take the field again.
IREDELL 51, WALNUT SPRINGS 6
Coming together after getting off to a sluggish start to the season, the state-ranked Iredell Dragons completely dominated previously undefeated their Bosque County rival Walnut Springs Hornets, 51-6, last Thursday night at Dragon Field.
Iredell junior Jordan Gutierrez ran for four touchdowns and returned an interception for another score as the Hornets (2-1) closed out the game at halftime by virtue of the 45-point mercy rule over Walnut Springs (2-1).
“It was a solid win for our team,” Iredell head coach Luis Guereca said. “We were able to get a good start, and that momentum carried throughout the game. I challenged the team this week to kick it up a notch from the start, and they answered. I’m proud of the way they committed to that and to each other.”
After rolling to back-to-back impressive victories to open the season under new head coach Richard Dye, the Hornets received a reality check and were never a factor in the game.
“We knew going into the game that this would be the toughest team we’d seen in the five weeks of competition,” Dye said. “In the two scrimmages and two previous games, we had seen zero adversity. We talked about the possibility of seeing some, and how we might handle it. But we had it hit us in the face from the beginning. Moving forward, we’ll do better along those lines in the future.”
With Iredell scoring early and often, Gutierrez finished with a game-high 152 yards rushing on just five carries, followed by junior Cole Heutzenroder with 64 rushing yards and a score, while junior Caleb Garland powered his way to a 30-yard touchdown run.
“Offensively, we were more consistent,” Guereca said. “Our blockers did a great job for our backs, and we were able to have some big gains throughout the game.”
With the Dragons completely shutting down the potent Walnut Springs running game, Iredell jumped out to a 23-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. Led by senior running back Jesse Lamb, the Hornets were limited to only 40 yards rushing on 14 carries.
Forced to turn to the passing game, the Hornets found some success as senior Josue Ontiveros completed nine of 16 passes for 78 yards, connecting with junior Landon Chambers for the lone scoring strike. Chambers finished with three catches for 20 yards, while Lamb hauled in two passes for 26 yards.
“Being down 23-0, we had to get away from our game plan and start airing it out, which we can do, but we’d rather pound the ball down the field,” Dye said. “I think the early adversity kept us on our heels most of the game on defense. We’re still a little short-handed on defense – not an excuse, but we’ll be glad to get a couple of starters back on that side of the ball.”
Sophomore Jesus Rodriguez and Chambers led the Hornets with three tackles apiece with Lamb, Ontiveros and senior Angel Muniz collecting one takedown each.
“Iredell is a very good team,” Dye said. “Coach Guereca does a great job with his team. But, as we told our young men, that game doesn’t define our season, nor does it define us as a team. We’ll bounce back.”
Defensively, Heutzenroder led the Dragons with a game-high nine tackles, followed by Adan Aguilar-Diaz with seven takedowns, Garland wrapped up six tackles, while Caden Sweat and Zach Mitchell came up with fumble recoveries.
“Once again the defense performed well, only giving up one touchdown for the second week in a row,” Guereca said. “Team tackling and flying to the ball was great to see. I’m just really proud of our team. The commitment to playing for one another is showing more and more each week. And thank you to our cheerleaders, school, community, parents for the support we are seeing.”
With a change of locale this week, the Dragons will play their third straight home game, hosting the Class 1A, DI Gorman Panthers (1-2) this week, coming off a 51-20 loss to undefeated Zephyr at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Dragon Stadium.
“Gorman is a team that we know is going to play hard,” Guereca said. “They are relentless on both sides of the ball. We are going to have to limit mistakes and match their energy right from the beginning.”
Walnut Springs will attempt to get back on track by traveling to Waco to take on the TAIAO Division 1’s eighth-ranked and undefeated Texas Wind Skyhawks (3-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The Skyhawks come into the matchup averaging 62 points per game.
“This week will be tough, too,” Dye said. “Texas Wind has great athletes. We’ll have to take care of business this week, and I know we’ll do so.”
KOPPERL 45, LINGLEVILLE 0
Responding to a disappointing loss and shrugging of a multitude of distractions, the Class 1A, DII Kopperl Eagles soared to an overwhelming 48-0 victory over the Class 1A, DI Lingleville Cardinals to celebrate Homecoming Night last Friday at Eagle Field.
“If there has ever been a week we were ripe for a letdown, it would be this one,” Kopperl head coach Ken Davis said. “We lost a close one to Mount Calm last week, we had some things going on this past week including Homecoming and a couple of situations that were big distractions, and we were beaten in the last minute a year ago by this same Lingleville bunch. The guys pulled together and came out firing on all cylinders.”
Junior Bearon Brinkley scored on a 48-yard touchdown run on Kopperl’s second play from scrimmage for an early lead before senior Christian Falk connected with senior Hunter Johnson on a 55-yard scoring strike to start the second quarter, and the Eagles never looked back against Lingleville (0-2).
With Kopperl only attempting eight passes, Falk completed six for 126 yards and two scoring strikes as sophomore Kaden Watts got the start at quarterback and directed the offense to dominating win. And in two short yardage situations inside the red zone, senior Isaac Payen powered his way for two touchdown runs.
“Our offense did a fine job of finding holes both in the passing and running game,” Davis said. “The overall offensive play was very encouraging, and I’m looking forward to seeing it continue.”
Defensively, the Eagles picked off two passes, recovered two fumbles, aggressively tallied a safety and Falk ripped off a 63-yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter to end the game by virtue of the 45-point mercy rule.
Sophomore Dalton Tidwell led Kopperl with 11 tackles, four for losses, and two sacks, followed by Brinkley with eight takedowns tackle and sophomore Jairo Vega with seven.
“It was probably our best defensive performance in my three years as a Kopperl coach,” Davis said. “It was about as good as you can possibly ask for. They pitched a shutout and came up with four turnovers. The big difference between last week and this week on defense was our pass coverage. The defense gave up no big plays and forced the Cardinals to earn every yard.”
After playing three consecutive home games, Kopperl will hit the road to take on the winless Evant Elks (0-3) at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Coming off last week’s 54-0 loss at Blanket, the Elks have been shutout twice this season.
“Hopefully, last week’s success will carry over,” Davis said. “If so, we will be focused and ready to take on the Elks.”
MORGAN 45, HILLSBORO HILL COUNTY 37
Led by a four-touchdown effort from junior Adrian Alonzo, the Morgan Eagles came from behind in the fourth quarter to rally past the Hillsboro Hill County Wolves, 45-0, on the road last Friday night.
“It was a good win by the whole team,” Morgan first-year head coach Alan Berrio said. “Anytime you can secure a win, especially falling behind in the fourth quarter, it speaks volumes about the resilience and character of our guys. We knew Hill County was coming in ready to play, and we didn’t execute well on both sides of the ball. But we battled through and came out on top.”
Leading Morgan’s electric running game, Alonzo rushed for a game-high 249 yards, followed by sophomore Rolando Monroy with another 71 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore Heath Tedder tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass, connecting with freshman Reese Frailey for his first varsity scoring strike.
“Our offense had some bright spots,” Berrio said. “Adrian Alonzo had a great game, and he really set the pace for us. We had a dominant rushing attack overall, and our passing game also showed promise. This balanced offensive effort helped us control the game with contributions from every player.”
Disrupting Hill County’s rhythm and coming up with key plays to keep the Wolves (0-3) from gaining traction, Alanzo led Morgan (2-1) with nine tackles and a sack, followed by Monroy with six tackles and an interception, Frailey with six takedowns, and freshman David Garcia with five. Freshman Phoenix Dellos came up with a forced fumble and a recovery, while Garcia grabbed an interception and sack.
“Our defense was strong and made key plays when it mattered,” Berrio said. “The defense held its own and made big plays when it mattered. One of the stats I care most about is the leading tackler was the team. We had nine plays where at least three Eagles were involved in making the stop. Those stats shows that the entire defense is swarming to the ball and making plays together.”
Getting a complete game effort, Garcia nailed a two-point conversion kick and threw for an extra point, sophomores Bryce Pounds and Jace Parker filled in to make key blocks, and center Zackery Cook contributed 13 yards receiving.
“I’m incredibly proud of how the team played, especially how they keep battling when the ball didn’t bounce our way,” Berrio said. “We don’t have a lot of depth, so we get big plays from everyone like our veteran Adrian Alonzo to our three varsity freshman players making key defensive plays. This win gives us a lot of confidence going forward.”
Playing their second straight game on the road, the Eagles will take on the Mount Calm Panthers (2-1) at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Prior to getting an unexpected week off due to Cranfills Gap forfeiting last week’s game, the Panthers upset Kopperl, 58-44.
“We know they’ll be fresh and ready,” Berrio said. “But if we maintain the focus and intensity and fix the mental mistakes we had with Hill County, I’m confident we’ll be ready for the challenge.”
CRANFILLS GAP FORFEITS TO MOUNT CALM
With injuries mounting during the first two games of the season, the Cranfills Gap Lions were forced to take the week off to regroup by forfeiting their road game against Mount Calm Panthers last Friday.
“Hopefully, we can start getting some guys healthy,” Cranfills Gap head coach Josh Raulston said. “We just have too many injuries, and we didn’t have enough to field a team. We really need a week to refocus and allow these young guys to get more comfortable before competing at a varsity level. This will give some of our guys time replenish and maybe have some injured players return to us.
“But for now, some guys who haven’t seen the field a lot must continue to grow their game and get better. It’s tough, and the character of each athlete will begin to show throughout the season.”
After getting the extra week to heal and get replacements up to speed, the Lions (0-3) plan to return to action for a road game against the Ranger Bulldogs (0-3) at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Coming off a 69-24 loss to Santa Anna last Friday night, the Bulldogs have surrendered 69.3 points per game this season.
“As of right now, we are healthy enough to play,” Raulston said. “Hopefully, we will have seven players for this week against Ranger. Our focus is to go compete and improve with the guys we have. Each week is a chance for us to get better. And eventually, all our guys will return just in time for us to make a push for a playoff spot. This week is another opportunity to get better and pursue that goal.”
Photos by SIMONE WICHERS-VOSS
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