Senior quarterback Chase Parker connected with senior wide receiver Landon Gregory for four touchdowns as the Thrall Tigers defeated the Rosebud-Lott Cougars 38-21. All four of Gregory’s touchdowns came in the first half.
Head Coach Aaron Vanecek praised the chemistry shared between Parker and Gregory.
“[Parker and Gregory] do it every day,” Vanececk said. “They’ve been working since last year, every day in the spring and summer, and they have great chemistry and trust each other. It was bound to happen.”
Parker threw five total touchdowns, with the fifth being caught by junior wide receiver Eric Smith. Additionally, junior kicker Alejandro Estrada converted every extra point opportunity and hit a 27-yard field goal.
The win over the Cougars marked Thrall’s second win in as many games this season. Vanecek said he admired the resiliency shown by his team in spite of injuries and coming off a highly-anticipated week one game.
“We’re pretty banged up right now,” Vanecek said. “We’re coming off a big game, so it was hard to get up as much as the Thorndale game. I’m really proud of how we were able to withstand and hold a big lead but never stopped losing focus even though we weren’t as excited as the last one.”
The Tigers point total thus far sits at 88. Vanaececk said he liked what he saw from his offense against Rosebud-Lott.
“We’re really balanced,” Vanececk said. “We have good running backs, we’re really solid up front, a dynamic quarterback and receivers that can block and catch everything.”
The Tiger defense allowed 29 points against the Thorndale Bulldogs in their first game of the season and 21 against Rosebud-Lott in their second. While the score difference isn’t substantial, Vanecek said he thought his defense did a much better job against the Cougars as opposed to the game against the Bulldogs.
“[The defense was] doing their job [and] not getting late [penalties],” Vanececk said. “We had the late hit early and that was something that hurt us last game — giving up chunk plays and penalties. We trimmed most of that outside of that one hit early.”
For Rosebud-Lott, sophomore quarterback Ryce Rabroker connected with Carson Kahlig for two touchdowns, and freshman running back Zaylon Wells rushed for one. The Cougar’s record now sits at 1-1.
The Tigers will next travel to Austin to take on the Eastside Early College Panthers on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
