Tigers hold off Flatonia
THRALL – Entering Friday night’s battle with the Flatonia Bulldogs (3-2 overall, 0-1 13-2A), the Thrall Tigers (4-1, 1-0) knew that to be successful, they had to stop the run and force the Bulldogs to go to the air. Thrall was able to slow the Bulldogs’ running attack and picked up a 28-21 win to open district play.
“We knew if we could make them pass, we had a good chance of winning. And, we were able to do that and make the plays on defense,” said Thrall Defensive Coordinator Ramon Fuentes.
Tigers Head Coach Aaron Vanecek echoed Fuentes’ sentiments. “We had a good game plan, and the kids executed.”
Fuentes’ defense set up the first score of the night when they forced the Flatonia punter to scramble out of bounds, giving the Tigers the ball at the Thrall 44.
Runs by Chance Parker and Braylon Hernandez, allowed the Tigers to move to the Bulldog five, where Hernandez finished off the 10-play drive. Alejandro Estrada’s point after was true and the Tigers led 7-0. Flatonia’s offense relied heavily on the running of Keegan Green and Kobe Burton on their next possession. Solid runs by Burton up the middle, along with Green’s yardage on the outside, allowed the Bulldogs to move the ball deep into Thrall territory. Burton finished the drive, bulling over from four yards out. The kick tied the game at 7-7 with 1:03 remaining in the first.
Taking the ball at their own 30 following the Bulldogs’ kickoff, the Tigers marched down the field once more to regain the lead.
Parker had runs of 19 and 11 on the drive, and he also connected with Breken Proctor on a 17-yard completion. It was Parker who rolled in from six yards out to give the Tigers a 14-7 lead.
The Bulldogs pulled even once again late in the first half. Taking over at their own 24 following a Tiger fumble, the Bulldogs went 76 yards in 13 plays. Burton picked up the final five yards, but it was two pass completions that kept their drive alive. The point after knotted the score at 14 at the half.
Thrall took back the lead on its first possession of the second half.
A 24-yard completion from Parker to Tyler Bonkowski on a secondand-20 play, moved the ball to the Flatonia 42. On the next play, Parker rolled right, side-stepped two defenders and outran the Bulldog secondary to the end zone for his second score of the night.
The point after gave the Tigers a 21-14 lead with 10:26 to play in the third.
Flatonia tied the game once again late in the third period. The Bulldogs were able to chew up yardage and move the ball 75 yards in 10 plays for the score. Burton scored his third touchdown of the night on another five-yard run, tying the score at 21 with 3:09 on the clock.
The Tigers regained the lead for good in the fourth. Parker used his legs to help Thrall reach the Flatonia 16 with 8:12 to play. On second and long, C.J. Kelm took a handoff over the right tackle, spun out of the arms of a would-be Bulldog tackler and raced into the endzone for the score. Estrada’s
