Thorndale wins 92nd ‘Battle of 79’ rivalry; focus on recovery during bye week
THRALL—After coming off a 56-54 victory over perennial power Holland the week before, the Bulldogs cruised past rival Thrall 46-14, beating the Williamson County squad for the 58th time in school history.
The ’Dawgs got off to a hot start when Coy Stutts scored his first of five touchdowns a little more than two minutes into the game on a two-yard run. THS scored more in the second quarter when Stutts crossed the goal line again at the 9:59 mark and led 21-0 at halftime when Noah Crabtree scored his second touchdown of the season on a 33-yard run.
Although Thrall was the first to score in the second half on a 19-yard pass from Jack Watson to Tyler Bonkowski, Stutts and the Bulldogs answered back 12 seconds later. He and receiver Clason Beasley linked up for a 67-yard pass at the 4:46 mark. This put Thorndale ahead of their rival, 28-7.
Stutts scored twice more on goal line pushes in the third, including a four-yard run as time expired in the quarter. Even though Bonkowksi and Watson connecting for a touchdown before that, Thorndale led 40-14 at the end of the quarter.
Jayden Clawson scored midway through the fourth on an eight-yard run and the Bulldogs went on to improve their district record to 4-1.
STATS— Stutts dominated on the ground for the Bulldogs, with 227 rushing yards on 23 carries. Beasley was the team’s top receiver with 79 yards on two catches.
THIS WEEK— THS is off this Friday but will return on Nov. 4 for their final district game to play Hearne.
The two teams battled for a chance at a district championship last season in a game in which both teams didn’t score until the second half. Hearne ended up winning 21-14, leading to the ’Dawgs finishing district with two losses after losing to Thrall the week before. Due to Hearne and Holland (who THS beat earlier that season) losing only one district game, Thorndale finished in third instead of having the tie-breaker over Holland for a district championship.
As of this week, Thorndale sits in second behind undefeated Flatonia in District record of 2-2 and is coming off a 42-19 loss to Holland, who the Bulldogs beat 56-54 effective on the ground and in the air. They are led by senior quarterback Keyshawn Langham, who has plenty of targets with more than 200 receiving yards this season including Jeremiah Gurode, Derrion Mitchell and Justavian Benford. Langham leads the team in rushing, with 422 yards on 69 carries. JeCory McGrew also gets a lot of touches, with 395 yards on 71 carries this season.
Hearne and Thorndale will play at Bulldog Stadium on Friday, Nov. 4.
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.