Thursday, May 2, 2024
Halfway through the season, the Granbury Pirates have an off night this coming Friday, before returning to play at Midlothian on Friday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m.
The Pirates took a 3-1 overall record and a 1-1 mark in District 4-5A Division I into their home game against Killeen (3-0, 1-0) last night. Midlothian (3-11, 2-0) was hosting Cleburne at press time and will face Killeen Friday, Sept. 29 before tangling with the Pirates.
The Pirates entered last night's game looking for a bounce back performance after being shocked 13-6 at Cleburne on Sept. 15.
Halston Main scored Granbury's lone touchdown on a 32-yard run - his lone carry - after Cleburne had built a 13-0 halftime lead.
On defense, linebacker Rylan Brenish led with 11 tackles, including two for a loss, while defensive end Chase Cantrell had 10 tackles.
“Hats off to Cleburne and the coaching staff for playing a good game. As for us, it comes down to penalties killing offensive momentum coupled with turnovers and missed assignments,” Granbury coach Sonny Galindo said. “Defensively, we did not get off the bus ready to play. Our second-half defense gave us several chances to win, so kudos to the staff and coach (Luke) Barnes for adjustments.
“Our kids will learn from this, rally around each other and still uphold our expectations to work hard, play for each other and treat the game with respect. This is a quality group of young men, and they will respond.”
On the season the Pirates were being led offensively through their first four games by their running game that is averaging 258 yards. Running back Tyler Rodgers had 336 yards and five touchdowns. Quarterback Hayden Meyer had 257 yards and five TD and running back Jadon Rogers had 215 yards and five TD.
Brenish and Cantrell each had 34 tackles to lead the defense, including three for a loss by Brenish. Overall, the defense was surrendering 215 yards per game, with just 73 coming through the air, while forcing nine turnovers opposite seven of their own.
Quarterback Drew Wendel leads the Midlothian offense, completing around 65% of his passes and had nine TD throws opposite a single interception through four games. Bryant Wesco (22 catches, 308 yards, 8 TD) is his top receiver and Michael Garber (62 carries, 312 yards, 4 TD) leads the running game.
The Panthers defense features linebacker Beau Wendel (20 tackles, 4 for loss, 2 sacks) and end Jack Ashley (17 tackles, 3 for loss).
TOLAR FOOTBALL
The Rattlers had a night off this week after disposing of Comanche 41-18 on Sept. 15. Now, they prepare to open defense of their District 5-2A Division I championship when they open league play at Hamilton on Friday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m.
The Rattlers (3-1) also moved back up two spots in Dave Campbell’s state rankings. They are No. 3 in Class 2A Division I.
The Rattlers made short work of Comanche as quarterback Isaac Blessing had his best game yet as the starter. He completed nine of 16 passes for 126 yards and an 88-yard touchdown pass to Garrison Nation, along with rushing 13 times for 146 yards and two more TD.
Nation also had a rushing touchdown, as did Clayton Stembridge and Kelvin Murray.
Jaxon Riddle led the defense with 13 tackles, while Hunter Michels had 12 and Drake Owens posted 10.
“Our kids and coaches did a tremendous job of responding this past week after coming up short the week prior. The guys had a great week of preparation and did a great job of carrying that over into Friday night,” Tolar coach Jeremy Mullins said. “Comanche is a good football team, and they are going to win a lot of games this year.
“It was good to see us execute well against a solid team. We've still got a lot of areas to sharpen up before we are where we want to be. We will use this open week to work on some of those smaller details as well as get our legs back under us.”
Hamilton (3-1) was opening district play last night at San Saba.
No individual statistics were available for Hamilton. Through four games the Bulldogs had outscored their opponents 124-34, with the majority of those points surrendered in a 20-7 season-opening loss to Millsap.
Entering last night, Hamilton’s defense had posted shutouts in two of the Bulldogs’ past three games. Meanwhile, the offense had outings of 55 and 42 points.
The Rattlers are led offensively by Blessing (328 yards, 3 TD passing; 334 yards, 5 TD rushing). Wide receiver Matthew Behrens has 10 of the team’s 28 receptions for 131 yards.
Defensively, Riddle leads with 42 tackles, Owens has 30 and Michels and Nation have 29 each. Stembridge has four interceptions.
GRANBURY VOLLEYBALL
After having an open date to end this past week, the Lady Pirates returned to play on Tuesday, Sept. 19 with a 3-1 win in a District 5-5A match at Brewer.
Leading Granbury (11-20, 2-1 in district) were Rachel Poirer (17 kills, 2 aces, 8 digs) and Allyson McCabe (4 aces, 43 assists).
The Lady Pirates were hosting Northwest last night and will host Azle Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 6 p.m.
TOLAR VOLLEYBALL
The Lady Rattlers swept their match at Strawn, 3-0, on Sept. 16 and followed with a 3-1 setback against visiting Trinity Valley on Sept. 19.
Abbie Soileau served six aces to lead the offense against Strawn, while Maddie Rue's play at the net was also praised by coach Misty Rhodes. Against Trinity Valley, -----.
Tolar (14-12) will return to the court when they travel to Clifton for a 7 p.m. match on Sept. 26.
GRANBURY CROSS COUNTRY
Freshman Jaxon Glenn led Granbury in the Paschal Invitational on Sept. 16, finishing eighth among 211 runners. Glenn clocked a time of 16 minutes, 46.74 seconds over the 5K course.
As a team, the Pirates were 12th, while the Lady Pirates were 11th.
Another freshman, Kambry Zschiesche, paced the Lady Pirates, finishing 23rd with a time of 21:20 over 5K.
Also, for the Granbury varsity girls, Emery Kirby, 53rd; Alexie Patrick, 58th; Aubrey Ward, 75th; Josefina Berry, 89th; Presley Davis, 107th; and Karolina Berry, 127th.
Also, for the varsity Pirates, Bryce Young, 57th; Aiden Turpin, 73rd; Alec Wilkinson, 92nd; Bryan Hailey, 102nd; Jacob Wolfe, 116th; Kolden Rand, 131; and Rylan Fleming, 168th.
Samuel Valdez had the top finish for the JV Pirates, finishing 19th with a time of 19:31.47. The JV Lady Pirates were led by Ziva Sedgwick, who finished 36th.
The Pirates and Lady Pirates were competing in the Birdville Flying Hawk Invitational at press time. They host their own Race for the Loot on Friday, Sept. 29 at the Granbury Disc Golf Course at 8:30 a.m.
LIPAN/TOLAR CROSS COUNTRY
The Lipan Lady Indians varsity finished fourth in their own 16th Annual Lipan Indian Invitational meet on Sept. 13. Meanwhile, the Indians placed ninth among varsity boys.
Jacy Bolton paced the Lady Indians, taking 13th over the 3200-meter course with a time of 12:38.07. Annslee Tarpley was 16th, clocking a 12:45.24. Also, Taylor Branson was 28th and Kinsley Robinson was 30th and Ashlyn Clark was 53rd.
Court Gaylor led the Indians, placing 14th over the 5K course with a time of 17:42. Colby Scott was 38th and Wyatt Yates was 42nd.
The Tolar varsity boys were led by Hunter Keith in 43rd place. The Lady Rattlers were led by Bailey Gammons in 60th place.
The Lipan JV girls were also fourth, topped by Addiline Lawrence, who was fourth in 13:32.87.
GRANBURY GIRLS GOLF
The Lady Pirates began the fall season by hosting their own Fall Classic at Harbor Lakes Sept. 15-16.
The Lady Pirates had a two-day total of 757 (389-368).
Akyah Ditto paced Granbury, shooting a 169 (87-82), followed by Halle Carr with a 176 (90-86). Also, Claire Jordan shot 200 (104-96), Ariel Jimenez shot 212 (108-104) and Grace Jimenez had a 225 (115-110).
The four lowest scores in each round comprise the team total.
The Lady Pirates varsity returns to competition at the Argyle Eagle Invitational at Wildhorse Golf Club at Robson Ranch in Denton Oct. 20-21.
GRANBURY BOYS GOLF
The fall portion of the Pirates' season got underway Sept. 15-16 at the Bart Granger Memorial at Pecan Valley Golf Course in Fort Worth. The tournament, named after the late Paschal High golfer who died in a car wreck in 1997, is normally 54 holes, but was shortened to 36 after inclement weather earlier in the week.
It featured 48 teams, including many of the top programs throughout the state.
The Pirates shot 662 as a team, posting a 336 on the first day and 326 on the second. They were led by Landon Womack with a 155 (77-78), followed by Brayden Thackerson (87-83 = 170), Quinn Bradley (91-80 = 171), Kolton Montoya (85-87 = 172) and Jacob Reagan (87-85 = 172).
The four lowest scores in each round comprise the team total.
The varsity Gold is in the Glen Rose Invitational this weekend. The varsity Purple and Gold will host the Briggs Berry Memorial tournament at Pecan Plantation Country Club on Oct. 2.
The tournament is named in honor of the former Pirate golfer who passed away in 2014 at the age of 18 from a rare immune deficiency disorder.
