APPLAUDING OPENING ACT

CLASS 2A ROUNDUP: In district openers for both teams, Valley Mills buries Italy; Meridian holds on to cut down Hubbard

Opening district competition offers every Texas high school football team in the state a chance to start over with a new season, no matter how difficult things might have been during their slate of non-district games.

Certainly, both Bosque County Class 2A squads made the most of the opportunity last Friday night.

MERIDIAN 10, HUBBARD 6

After struggling during their non-district schedule, the Class 2A, Division II Meridian Yellowjackets capitalized on early turnovers and then hung on for a hard-fought 10-6 road victory over the Hubbard Jaguars to open District 10-2A, DII play last Friday at Jaguar Field.

In the process, the Jackets (1-0 in district, 1-4 overall) notched their first win of the season when they needed it most over Hubbard (0-1, 2-2).

“It’s always good to win that first one,” Meridian head coach Jim Kerbow said. “More importantly, we needed that win to stay in the playoff hunt. Anytime you can win the turnover battle, it gives your team a great opportunity to win. So certainly, the turnovers played a huge role in our win Friday night.”

This week, the Jackets will play host to the Frost Polar Bears (1-0, 4-0) at 7 p.m. Friday on Homecoming Night at Frank Pollard Stadium. Frost will be coming off a 24-0 victory over the Wortham Bulldogs (0-1, 0-4).

Coming into the season, the Polar Bears were picked to challenge for a playoff spot in District 10-2A, DII. But Frost has surprisingly opened the season with four straight dominating wins, outscoring opponents, 165-55.

“Frost has several athletes that we will have to contain on offense,” Kerbow said. “Defensively, they have some size. I believe if we can work out some issues that plagued us Friday night, we can come away with a victory and keep our playoff hopes alive.”

Against Hubbard, senior Jesse Scott ran for Meridian’s only touchdown and senior Garrett Pope nailed a 23-yard field goal and an extra point to give the Jackets all the points they needed. Although the Jacket offense did not like up the scoreboard, it did enough things right to win the ball game, particularly capitalizing on the early turnover to grab the lead Meridian would never relinquish.

“Our offense moved the ball more effectively than it had all season,” Kerbow said. “So, that is a positive.”

Pope led Meridian with 86 yards rushing on 10 carries while catching two passes for 40 yards. Scott followed with 71 yards rushing on 14 totes, while junior Guillermo Ortiz completed five of eight passes for 49 yards.

After averaging 34.6 points per game in three non-district games, the Jaguars were limited to a single second half score. And the two first half turnovers set the tone for the game.

Sophomore Ezekiel Mabry led the Jackets with 10 tackles, followed by Pope with nine and senior Gunnar Chandler with six, while Ortiz pulled down two interceptions and forced a fumble.

“Our defense played very well, caused several turnovers and had several stops in the red zone,” Kerbow said. “Also, the defense stood strong after that late turnover to hang on to the win.”

VALLEY MILLS 38, ITALY 0

In a thoroughly dominating performance, the Class 2A, DI Valley Mills Eagles shut out the Italy Gladiators, 38-0, in the District 7-2A, DI opener last Friday on Homecoming Night at J. C. Larkin Athletic Complex.

“It is was big win taking the first game of district play,” Valley Mills head coach Bob Featherston said. “Our kids and coaches did a great job preparing and giving us an opportunity to play well. We know how important it was to start district play off with a win. We have a very tough district, and it will take good football every week to make it to the playoffs.”

Riding the momentum of the district opening win, Valley Mills (1-0, 4-1) will visit the Axtell Longhorns (1-0, 4-1) at 7 p.m. Friday at Ellison Field. Axtell will be coming off a 44-0 victory over the Dawson Bulldogs (0-1, 1-4).

Coming into the season, Axtell was picked to win the district title and ranked 14th in Dave Campbell’s Texas Football’s preseason rankings.

“Axtell is a very complete team, with talent on both sides of the ball,” Featherston said. “It will be a great test for our players to see if we can put together a complete game and try to win a close one in the fourth quarter.”

Completely re-establishing the running game against Italy with 297 yards on the ground, senior Ja’Sean Johnson scored five touchdowns. The Eagles also effectively threw the ball against the Gladiators (0-1, 1-4) as junior Blayne Griner completed 16 of 19 passes for 135 yards and a score, while sophomore Bryson Bell caught six passes for 55 yards and a touchdown.

“The offense had a great night,” Featherston said. “We felt like the run game had to be a priority after the Blooming Grove game, and our kids made it happen. The passing game was very effective, allowing us to keep the defense off balance.

While coming up with three turnovers, the Eagles shut down Italy, allowing only 86 yards of total offense. Senior Cooper Wolf led Valley Mills with six tackles.

“Defensively, we did a great job of reading keys and flying to the football,” Featherston said. “We will need to keep improving as the games continue to get harder.”

Photos by WENDY OROZCO & courtesy of VALERIE KENDRICK PHOTOGRAPHY