CREAM RISES TO THE TOP

CLASS 1A SIX-MAN ROUNDUP: Established as Bosque County’s elite, Class 1A, DII fourth-ranked Iredell Dragons, Kopperl Eagles post lopsided wins; Cranfills Gap, Morgan, Walnut Springs suffer crushing losses

Given a little time, the cream always rises to the top. And such has proven to be the case with six-man football in Bosque County. But make no mistake about it, the Class 1A, Division II’s fourth-ranked Iredell Dragons have refused to take an easy path this season with a non-district schedule packed with state-ranked and Class 1A, DI squads.

In one of the state’s marquee six-man football games of the week, the Dragons (3-1) will be hosting the Class 1A, DI fifth-ranked May Tigers (4-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday as the Tigers will be coming off an impressive 72-22 victory over the Class 1A, DI ninth-ranked Newcastle Bobcats last Friday night. In the season opener for both teams, Newcastle knocked off Iredell, 50-22, but the Dragons have won three straight since.

“It’s a tough matchup, but that’s why we scheduled them,” Iredell head coach Luis Guereca said. “They will test us in every way as a traditional powerhouse football team. We are only going to get better after we play a team like May. A solid week of practice is going to be important, and we are looking forward to competing against a high-level team.”

Continuing to build momentum as they prepare for the challenge District 11-1A, DII battle that lies ahead with Iredell, the Bluff Dale Bobcats (3-1) and the Three Way Braves (4-0), the Kopperl Eagles (3-1) shook off a slow start to shoot down the Evant Elks, 77-28, last Friday night.

In the meantime, Walnut Springs, Morgan and Cranfills Gap will attempt to bounce back from decisive losses last week.

IREDELL 54, GORMAN 8

Junior Jordan Gutierrez ran for five touchdowns, while junior Cole Heutzenroeder ran for one score and threw for another to lead the Class 1A, Division II fourth-ranked Iredell Dragons to a dominating 54-8 victory over the Class 1A, DI Gorman Panthers last Friday night.

“We saw some great things in this game, and some things we need to clean up,” Guereca said. “In the end, we had the win, and we are just going to make sure we keep pushing our team to compete and get better each week.”

After taking a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, the Dragons built a 28-8 halftime advantage before scoring 26 unanswered points in the second half to end the game by virtue of the 45-point mercy rule early in the fourth quarter.

With Iredell racing to 290 yards in the ground on just 30 attempts, Gutierrez finished with 200 rushing yards on 15 carries, followed by Heutzenroeder with 89 yards on the ground, while junior Caleb Garland added a one-yard touchdown plunge.

Mixing the pass with a dominant running game by throwing to six different receivers, Heutzenroeder and Gutierrez combined for 86 passing yards as senior Zach Mitchell hauled in a 29-yard scoring strike from Heutzenroeder.

Defensively, Gutierrez led the Dragons with 10 tackles, followed by freshman Corter Sweat with eight, Mitchell with six as well as junior Caleb Garland and Heutzenroeder with five each.

“Our offense and defense are working hard to get better,” Guereca said. “We just need to keep taking it one game at a time to improve each game.”

KOPPERL 77, EVANT 28

Despite finding themselves in a 24-22 nail biter early in the game, the Kopperl Eagles took off in the second quarter to soar past the Evant Elks, 77-28, to wrap up the convincing victory at halftime be virtue of the 45-point mercy rule.

Senior Christian Falk ran for two touchdowns, passed for two more scores and nailed eight of nine two-point conversion kicks while five more Eagles scored to lead Kopperl (3-1) to their second straight win.

“We muffed the opening kickoff, got beat deep on a couple plays and dropped some passes that were catchable,” Kopperl head coach Ken Davis said. “However, we bounced back in a big way. After we settled down, all 15 Kopperl Eagle players contributed in the win, and it was a good showing for our first road trip.”

Playing a little more than a quarter, Falk ran for 48 yards and threw for another 67, connecting with senior Kevin Eilers on a 12-yard touchdown pass and senior Anthony Johnson on a 49-yard scoring strike. With the Eagles turning to younger players in the second quarter, sophomore Kaden Watts took over at quarterback and led Kopperl to two scores. Watts tossing a 27-yard touchdown pass to senior Kadin Gonzales, while sophomore Jairo Vega ran for one score and broke loose for a 46-yard kickoff return for another.

“As usual, Christian led the way offensively,” Davis said. “The defense got going after a sluggish beginning and really turned up the heat as the game wore on. After the slow start, the defense began forcing the Elks offense to commit numerous mistakes and capitalized on them.”

With Evant threatening to score, senior Isaac Payen forced a fumble as Johnson scooped and 70 yards for the score. Payen also came up with a fumble recovery, picked off a pass and collected five tackles, while Falk pulled down an interception along with five takedowns. For the second week in a row, sophomore Dalton Tidwell led Kopperl with 10 tackles followed by Johnson with seven and junior Bearon Brinkley with five.

“Kopperl kept the pressure on Evant and wore them down as the game progressed,” Davis said. “By causing turnovers and coming up with big plays, we’re just playing a brand of football that improves with each week.”

Although the Eagles were originally scheduled to play Campbell, the Indians decided to drop due to travel distance, leaving Kopperl with an open date this week.

WACO TEXAS WIND 46, WALNUT SPRINGS 0

Scoring early and often, the TAIAO Division I’s fifth-ranked Waco Texas Wind Skyhawks soared to an overwhelming 46-0 home victory over the Class 1A, DI Walnut Springs Hornets by virtue of the 45-point mercy rule early in the third quarter last Friday.

“For what it’s worth, we got whipped in every phase of the game Friday night,” Walnut Springs head coach Richard Dye said. “It started with the blocked punt for a touchdown, and just bled over into both the offense and defense. I do feel that they were on a par with Iredell.”

Texas Wind (4-0) limited the Hornets (2-2) to only 112 yards of total offense, shutting down senior running back Jesse Lamb while senior Josue Ontiveros led Walnut Springs with 45 rushing. Lamb led all receivers with three catches for 48 yards as senior Dawson Gomez completed five of 20 passes for 64 yards.

“We just really couldn’t get our running game going, so we had to rely on the pass,” Dye said. “Texas Wind was able to pin their ears back and come get us. We were just out of sync all night. We played well in short spurts, but it just wasn’t enough.”

Featuring a balanced attack, the Skyhawks compiled 238 in barely over one half of play as senior Johnny Salmans rushed for 81 yards and a touchdown, threw for 26 yards and a score, and hauled in a 44-yard scoring strike. Defensively for Walnut Springs, junior Ashton Shuemaker led with three tackles, followed by Ontiveros with two.

“The defense was out on the field all night, because of our offensive insufficiencies,” Dye said. “We had a hard time dealing with their big quarterback. We played decent pass defense at times, but it just wasn’t enough.”

Despite being depleted by injuries, Walnut Springs will hit the road for the second straight week to take on Garland Christian at 7:30 p.m. Friday as the Swordsmen (1-1) had an open week after defeating Azle Christian 40-38 during Week 3.

“I’m hoping we get a couple back this week,” Dye said. “Our guys filling in are playing hard, but we don’t have much depth when kids are out. I’m hoping we’ll go to Garland and play well.”

RANGER 50, CRANFILLS GAP 0

With the young and inexperienced Cranfills Gap squad struggling to move the ball and failing to make defensive stops, the Ranger Bulldogs powered their way to a convincing 50-0 victory over the Lions last Friday night.

“It was a tough loss,” Cranfills Gap head coach Josh Raulston said. “I was expecting more from us this week. But again, we are still growing and learning as our younger guys are getting plenty of playing time with starters missing.”

Cranfills Gap (0-4) hopes to give its faithful fans something to cheer about when the Lions host Lingleville Cardinals (0-3) on Homecoming Night at 7:30 p.m. Friday as the Cardinals will be coming off a 48-16 road loss at Zephyr.

“Not much will change against Lingleville,” Raulston said. “Our hopes are to keep improving and learn from our mistakes.”

MOUNT CALM 58, MORGAN 13

Senior Havyn Godines ran for five touchdowns, threw for two more and caught a scoring strike as the Mount Calm Panthers devoured the Morgan Eagles, 58-13, at home in a non-district game last Friday night.

Godines rushed for 116 yards on six carries, completed five of six passes for 133 yards and hauled in a 37-yard touchdown pass as the Panthers wrapped up the win early by virtue of the 45-point mercy rule. Sophomore Christian Morales caught a touchdown pass and threw for another while sophomore Colton Peterson pulled down a 35-yard scoring strike.

Leading Mount Calm (3-1) on both sides of the ball, Godines finished with a team-high nine tackles, followed by freshman Matt Childre, junior Reid Blain and senior Christian Aguirre added five takedowns each. Blain also collected a sack and a fumbler recovery, while sophomore Mason Carmean came up with a fumble recovery as well.

Morgan (2-2) hopes to get back on the winning track by hosting the Buckholts Badgers on Homecoming Night at 7:30 p.m. Friday as the winless Badgers (0-4) will be coming off a 50-38 loss to the previously winless Hillsboro Hill County Wolves last Friday night.

Photos by SIMONE WICHERS-VOSS