Thorndale’s smash mouth, plow forward style allowed Luke Leschber to shine in the Bulldog’s Bi-District 55-24 victory over Center Point last Friday. Leschber ran for 275 yards and scored five touchdowns in Marble Falls. “Honestly, we were going to do our base stuff,” said Thorndale Head Football Coach Scott Hawkins. “We’re not super fancy and had no plans to try to be fancy with (Center Point). We were going to run our base offense and see what we could do.”
“We changed our defense a little bit since we hadn’t really seen a team that ran an offense like that before. Early on we did pretty good and they tried some different things themselves, then they went back to what they’re good at,” he said. “We didn’t play well against that.”
Thorndale is now 8-1 on the season, and Center Point ended its season with a 6-6 mark. The Bulldogs will meet Refugio at 6 p.m. Friday in Converse at D.W. Rutledge Stadium.
The Bulldogs led 14-0 after the first quarter and then added 21 in the fourth, as the Pirates played like a team that did not want a first-round exit from the playoffs. The Pirates also played like a team whose game was within reach, as opposed to trailing by 31 points.
“A win is great,” said Hawkins. “We’re always happy to get a win, especially in the playoffs.
“Our defensive coach told his players they’ll get their tails ripped (Saturday) while watching film. You can’t make mental errors, especially in the playoffs, and we did. We’ll see Refugio next week in San Antonio, and a team like that will take advantage of mental errors, for sure. We have to bear down and stay focused.”
Refugio, that same night, blanked Yorktown 75-0. In their past six games, the 9-2 Bobcats have given up seven total points.
Both Thorndale and Center Point ran the ball. Both teams caught each other off guard in the rare times they threw.
Following a Center Point blocked punt in the first quarter, the Bulldogs threw a pass into the Pirates’ red zone. Though incomplete, it caught the Pirate cornerback off-guard; he was cited for pass interference. Thorn-dale scored soon afterwards.
“This was the first time ever that we traded films with a team, where we threw the ball more than they did,” Hawkins said.
Likewise, Center Point at the end of the first half threw a 35-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass to make the score as close as they’d get: Thorn-dale 27-12.
“It was a concern, only because it was a mental error by our player,” Hawkins said. “With two seconds left and the ball on the 35-yard line, obviously they have to try for the end zone. You don’t want to let someone get behind you, but it happens.”
The Bulldogs kept to the ground game as Leschber’s rushing touchdowns included long gallops of 75, 46, and 33 yards.
Jagger Rubio ran for 32 yards and two touchdowns. Michael Herzog ran for 28 yards, while Mason Lindig ran for seven.
Cayden Wilson ran for four yards and a touchdown, as the Bulldogs combined for approximately 350 rushing yards.
When Center Point scored touchdowns, the Bulldog defense made sure the scores were hard-earned and came when Thorndale already had the lead.
“At first it seemed like a blowout, but then Center Point came back,” Hawkins said. “We had to execute to take control back.”
Refugio—Next week’s game will be a rematch of sorts. In 2017, during the bi-district playoffs Refugio faced Thorndale and won, 47-13. The Bobcats, three-time state champions, later lost in the state finals to Mart, 34-21.
“We’re a completely different team this year,” Hawkins said. “Last year we had a lot of standout kids. I was telling one of our coaches, we don’t have a lot of superstars, just a lot of kids who do their job and get things done — especially defensively. We have to, since Refugio is always talented. It’ll be like when we played Hearne: we have to bear down and stay on.”
Hawkins added that practicing during Thanksgiving week doesn’t bother him at all.
“That’s my favorite thing in the world, playing on Thanksgiving,” he said. “I love my family and all, but I love practicing on Thanksgiving morning.”
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