The Blanco football team tripped up the Thrall Tigers in a 51-21 win last Friday at Panther Stadium.
The Panthers improved to 5-3 overall and 2-0 in district play with the win. Thrall is also 5-3 on the season and 0-2 in district.
“I’m very pleased with the way we played,” said Blanco coach Jamie Dixon. “We only had two penalties until that last drive of the game. We need to get perfect on the PAT and work on being consistent in everything that we do. This week I really wanted to make sure that I spread the ball around and give as many looks as possible.
“The previous two games, Atchley had 66 carries and we need him to be healthy and fresh when we get into the playoffs, and we have some other guys that can do things with the ball so I made sure to mix things up on offense. Defensively we are going to have to get ready to defend the pass.”
The Panthers kicked off to start the game and the Tigers moved across the field to the Blanco 37-yard line. The Tigers fumbled the ball and Cody Waltrip recovered the loose ball.
Blanco scored on its second play on offense with a touchdown pass from Levi Golla to Waltrip. The extra point attempt was no good and the Panthers led 6-0 with 10:03 on the clock in the first quarter.
On its next possession, Thrall looked like it would score and moved the ball to the Blanco two yard line. A bad snap ended the drive and the Panther defense pounced on the loose ball. Colten Kuebel scooped it up and returned it to the Blanco 37. The Panthers mixed up the offensive plays with rushes by Trey Atchley and Golla and a pass from Golla to Kuebel. Then, from the nine yard line, Diego Soto took the ball in for a touchdown to put Blanco up 13-0 with 4:01 remaining in the first quarter.
Thrall bounced back with a touchdown drive that started at its own 21. Seven plays later, the Tigers scored on a 10-yard pass play to cut Blanco’s lead to 13-7 with 1:46 left in the first quarter.
The Panthers fired back quickly with another scoring drive. Atchley carried the ball for 30 yards on three rushes. At the Thrall 45, Golla found Westin Walker open down the sideline for a long touchdown pass to extend the lead to 20-7.
The Tigers responded with a 72-yard drive that was capped by a two-yard rushing touchdown. The point after was good and Blanco led 20-14 with 8:09 left in the first half.
Blanco added 18 points before the half. The first score was a touchdown run by Atchley. Donovan Hector scored on a safety, set up by great kickoff coverage, then Golla ran in a score. Jones also had a field goal as Blanco led 38-14 at the intermission.
The Panthers took the second half kickoff and moved the ball to the Thrall three, where Golla angled for the right corner and scored the touchdown. Thrall added a touchdown and an extra point in the third quarter as the Panthers led 44-21.
The Panthers scored their final touchdown of the game on a toss from Atchley to Matthew Rodriguez in the end zone. With 2:42 remaining in the third quarter, Blanco led 51-21. The teams battled on defense most of the fourth quarter and the third quarter score was the final score of the game.
Golla led the Panthers with 213 yards passing with two touchdowns on 8-of-12 completions. He also had two rushing touchdowns. Atchley rushed for 220 yards on 23 carries and scored one touchdown. Walker had three catches for 81 yards and one touchdown. Kuebel had three catches for 56 yards. Rodriguez and Waltrip each had a catch for a touchdown and Soto scored on a rushing touchdown. Jones scored on a field goal and four extra point kicks. Hector got the two point safety.
Waltrip led the team with 16 tackles. Isaiah Mancha had eight tackles. Rodriguez, Hector, Justin Karnes and Kaden Elrod each had six tackles. Hector had three tackles for a loss. Mancha caused a fumble. Kuebel, Waltrip and Holden Burt each recovered fumbles.
Blanco travels to Lexington this Friday with kickoff set for 7 p.m. The Eagles are 7-0 on the season. They have scored at least 38 points in six straight games and have scored at least 50 points in four games.
“Lexington is real good and some polls have them the number one team in the state,” Dixon said. “They return everyone from last year on offense and had two move-ins that are now starting. We will have to play similar to what we did on Friday. Another thing we will have to do is help our defense out by chewing up the clock when we have the ball. This is going to be a big game and looking forward to it.”
Levi Golla throws this pass to Westin Walker for a touchdown against Thrall. (Photo by Diana Schwind)
Holden Burt, an offensive lineman, signals touchdown by Diego Soto in the game Friday. (Photo by Diana Schwind)
Hank Jones takes a long stride as he steps to boot a kickoff following a Panther touchdown in the game against Thrall Friday. (Photo by Diana Schwind)
Westin Walker makes the catch on the pass from Levi Golla in the game Friday. Walker ran the ball in for the touchdown. (Photo by Diana Schwind)
