The Fox Box: county wide sports updates

By Josie Fox

herald@mediactr.com

It was a week of action packed games across the county with high scoring football teams and tournament winning junior high volleyball sets.
Hornets sting Panthers

The Bullard Panthers felt the sting of the Athens Hornets during their homecoming game on Friday as Athens accumulated 84 points to Bullard’s 51.

Athens jumped out in the lead with a 40 yard touchdown run, followed by a successful point after with nine minutes of game play left in the first quarter.

After several possession turnovers for downs, and three minutes left in the quarter, Athens blocked a Bullard field goal attempt and ran it 94 yards downfield. A successful point after brought the score up to 14-0 in favor of the Hornets.

Bullard answered back with a 80 yard rush and successful point after, which brought the score up to 14-7 with three minutes left in the first quarter.

The action continued right up to the end of the first quarter as the Hornets found their way to the end zone for the third time with less than a minute left in game play. A successful PAT had Athens in the lead with a score of 21-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Fast and furious game play continued in the second quarter as Athens completed a 35 yard touchdown pass and successful PAT, adding another seven points to their score.

With eight minutes left in the first half, Bullard gained possession of the ball and steadily moved it downfield and enabled Panther Brayden May to complete a 14 yard rushing touchdown. An unsuccessful PAT left the score at 28-13.

A blocked punt by Bullard on the next play allowed the Panthers to regain control of the ball; however, possession was once again turned over to Athens due to Bullard failing to complete downs.

With two minutes left in the first half of the game, the Hornets rushed for 65 yards and once again crossed the plane. A good PAT brought the Athens’ score up to 35 points, a 22 point lead over Bullard.

A Hornet interception in the final minutes of the first half allowed Athens to complete a 12 yard touchdown pass. A good PAT left the score at 42-13 going into halftime.

It was a fast paced third quarter with both teams making their way across the plane and throwing points onto the board. The quarter opened up with the Panthers completing a 40 yard touchdown pass, followed by a successful two point conversion to bring the score up to 42-21, Athens lead.

The Hornets answered back with seven minutes left by completing a 36 yard run into the end zone. A good PAT brought Athens up to 49 points.

Bullard’s No. 7, May, once again fought his way to the end zone, scoring another touchdown for Bullard. The Panthers then rushed for a two-point conversion bringing their points up to 29.

With just four minutes left in the third quarter, a Bullard fumble was recovered by Athens and opened the door for them to once again add points to their score. A 29 yard rushing touchdown was followed by a successful PAT and the game went into the fourth quarter with Athens leading at 56 points to Bullard’s 29.

Neither team let up or lost momentum during the last quarter of the game, steadily adding to the ever increasing scores.

Athens started the fourth quarter running, literally, as they completed at 32 yard rushing touchdown. True to form for the game, the Hornets had a good PAT.

Bullard had possession of the ball on the next play, but an intercepted pass gave Athens an advantage and allowed them to make their way across the plane. A good PAT pushed the Hornet’s score up to 70 points.

The final minutes of the game were filled with jam packed action as Bullard completed a 18 yard touchdown pass followed by a two point conversion to bring their score up to 37 points.

A kick return touchdown and good PAT for Athens brought their score up to 77 points with just three minutes left on the game clock.

Bullard showed they were kings of the two point conversion, with just two minutes of game play left, the Panthers completed a 60 yard touchdown pass and successful two points, bringing them up to 45 points on the scoreboard.

At 10:23 p.m. Athens would score their final points of the game as they once again rushed their way in to the end zone and followed up with a successful PAT.

The Panthers proved there were not going down without a fight as a completed touchdown pass brought their score to 51 points.

Bullard will travel to take on the 2-3 Gilmer Buckeyes on Friday, Oct. 5. The Buckeyes, ranked fifth in Texas 4A-2 rankings have averaged 31 points per game so far this season with the majority of their points coming in the first quarter. Bullard is averaging 28.8 points per game with the fourth quarter being their strongest.

Tigers maul the Indians

The Troup Tigers traveled to face off against the Grand Saline Indians on Friday night in the first game of district play, winning 48-20.

Weslee Ross earned the title of offensive player of the game by completing 264 passing yards. Receivers Jaden Lewis and Desmon Deason led the pack with 105 and 100 receiving yards respectively.

The defensive line was on fire Friday night and kept the Indians in check and made them work for each yard gained. Four defensive players were named as players of the week, Bryce Attaway for completing 19 tackles; Trent Allen with 10 tackles, four for loss and one interception; Matt Adams with 11 tackles, three for loss and one interception; and Jaden Lewis with three tackles, two interceptions and two pass break ups.

Lewis was also named as special teams player of the week with three special teams tackles.

The 3-1 Tigers will take on the 3-1 Harmony Eagles in a home game on Oct. 5. Both teams are closely matched as Troup is ranked 17th in Texas 3A-2 rankings and Harmony is ranked 12th.

Guard locks up the Lions

Brook Hill Guard won Saturday’s home game against the Albany Lions with a final score of 50-14.

The Guard dominated the first two quarters of the game as their offense racked up the scoreboard and their defense kept Albany from reaching the end zone.

In the first quarter Khalan Griffin completed a touchdown run and put the first of Brook Hill’s points on the board. A successful three yard rushing two point conversion by Fisher Bass allowed Brook Hill to end the first quarter at 8-0.

Griffin gained 55 rushing yard as he completed three touchdowns in the second quarter. Successful PATs by Shaffer following each touchdown had the Guard going into halftime with a 29-0 lead.

Kirk Jean-Baptiste opened up the third quarter with a 47 yard touchdown, followed by a good PAT by Shaffer.

With 6:24 left in the third quarter, Griffin once again found his way to the end zone with a 57 yard run. PAT by Shaffer was good and brought the score to 43-0.

The Albany Lions got on the board in the bottom half of the third quarter with a one yard rush into the end zone. The Lion’s PAT attempt was blocked by Guard Nico Flores and the third quarter ended with a score of 43-6.

Brook Hill once again made their way across the plane in the fourth quarter as Jaeger Gowin completed a three yard touch down run, followed by another successful PAT by Shaffer.

In the final seconds of the fourth quarter, the Lions completed a 23 yard touchdown pass, followed by a successful three yard two point conversion, ending the game with a score of 50-14, Brook Hill win.

The Guard has a bye week this Friday and will hit the field again on Oct. 12 as they take on the 5-0 Dallas Christian Chargers at home.

Hornets sweep Yellowjackets

On Sept. 25 the New Summerfield Junior High Hornets took on the Laneville Yellowjackets and both New Summerfield teams came away with a clean sweep.

The boys B-Team won by four points at 35-31 to continue their strong start to the season. The B-Team currently has a 3-0 record.

The boys A-Team beat Laneville 38-26, giving them a 3-2 record for the season.

Both teams hit the court again on Oct. 2 as they travel to take on LaPoynor.

The season will end for the A-Team with the All Zone Tournament made up of 14 teams. The tournament will be played in Wells Oct. 18-20.

The teams are coached by David Sanders and Seth Gibson.

Lady Eagles win Huntington tournament

The eighth grade Rusk Lady Eagles A –Team traveled to Huntington on Saturday, Sept. 29 and won the Devilette Middle School volleyball tournament.

The Lady Eagles defeated the Warren and Woodville teams early on in pool play, then took on the Devilettes for the championship.

Although the Lady Eagles lost the first game, they came back full force to win games two and three, making the first tournament win for the team.

“These girls have been playing so well for the past few weeks and it really showed this weekend,” said coach Corinna Ford. “They are really playing good volleyball.”

The seventh grade Lady Eagles team finished second in the same tournament, beating Warren and Woodville before falling to Huntington.

Both teams are coached by Corinna Ford and Ashton Bouline.