Thursday, May 2, 2024
At the midpoint of the District 5-5A volleyball race, the Granbury Lady Pirates find themselves in the thick of a battle for first place.
The Lady Pirates (13-20 overall) improved to 4-1 in district with a pair of victories at home, 3-2 against defending champion Justin Northwest on Sept. 22 and 3-0 against Azle on Sept. 26.
Against Northwest, Granbury rallied from a 2-1 deficit. The Lady Texans won the first game 25-20, Granbury took the second 25-18, and Northwest won the third 26-24. In Game 4, the Lady Pirates won a thrilling 29-27 contest before carrying that momentum to a 15-12 Game 5 win.
Aledo, Northwest, and Granbury are atop the district standings. The Ladycats defeated the Lady Pirates, while Northwest defeated Aledo.
Sienna Watts (20) and Rachel Poirer (17) combined for 37 kills. In her first match back after returning from an injury, Brooke Marak posted a dozen kills with three blocks. Allyson McCabe had 53 assists and 21 digs, and Lilyan McCall had 39 digs.
“It was such a good match, one of the best I’ve ever been a part of. The girls played so amazing. They were all actively engaged and working as a team,” Granbury coach Desiree Shahan said. “It was so amazing and so much fun to be a part of. I am extremely proud of the girls.”
McCabe was also named a standout against Azle with 29 assists, three aces, and a dozen digs. Watts added 11 kills.
The Lady Pirates are at Saginaw Tuesday, Oct. 3 and return home to face Aledo on Friday, Oct. 6. Both matches are at 6 p.m.
GRANBURY CROSS COUNTRY
Led by another sterling performance by freshman Jaxon Glenn, the Granbury Pirates cross country team topped the field recently at the Birdville Flyin' Hawk Invitational at The Buff course in Haltom City.
Glenn clocked a time of 16 minutes, 51.11 seconds over the 5 kilometer course to take the individual championship.
As a team, the Pirates won convincingly with 31 points to 58 for second place Keller Central. Alec Wilkinson was fifth with a time of 17:35.03, and Aiden Lemens was sixth in 17:50, with Bryce Young taking seventh in 18:00. Bryan Hailey placed 12th, posting 18:30, Jacob Wolfe finished 25th, and Aidan Turpin was 29th.
The Lady Pirates varsity finished fifth as a team and were led by freshman Kambry Zschiesche, who was seventh with a time of 21:32. Also running for the Lady Pirates were Emery Kirby, 20th; Alexie Patrick, 22nd; Aubrey Ward, 27th; Josefina Berry, 29th; Zaeda Sedgwick, 30th; Karolina Berry, 31st; Presley Davis, 43rd.
The junior varsity Pirates placed third behind Kolden Rand's runner-up individual finish and a time of 19:45.73. Sam Valdez was with a clocking of 20:34.85; James Barber, 15th, 21:01.47; Nolan Segars, 21st; Rylan Fleming, 24th; and Pete O'Carroll, 25th.
For the JV Lady Pirates, Ziva Sedgwick placed eighth with a time of 24:45, and Kimberley Martinez was 22nd.
The Pirates and Lady Pirates travel to the Brewer Invitational at Central Park in White Settlement on Friday, Oct. 6, the same site for the District 5-5A Meet on Oct. 13.
GRANBURY FOOTBALL
After a bye week, the Pirates (3-2 overall, 1-2 in District 4-5A Division I) travel to Midlothian (4-1, 3-0 at press time) to face the Panthers on Friday, Oct. 6 for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
In their last outing the Pirates fell to Killeen (4-0, 2-0) 26-13 at home on Sept. 22. The Kangaroos and Panthers were playing last night in Killeen.
Against Killeen, the Pirates were undone by a pair of lost fumbles and a couple of long touchdown passes by the Kangaroos.
Granbury scored on a 9-yard pass from quarterback Hayden Meyer to Halston Main, along with a 4-yard run by Jadon Rogers, who was their leading rusher with 10 carries for 47 yards.
The Granbury defense limited Killeen to 35 rushing yards.
Rylan Brenish had 10 tackles for Granbury, while Hayden Burns posted seven. Chase Cantrell had six, including a sack and one for a loss, while Augie Zapata had six with a fumble recovery, and Amelio Rodriguez had an interception.
“Having a bye week is a double-edged sword. In the one hand, we can heal physical and mental wounds, but on the other hand it interrupts any flow or momentum we might have had,” Granbury coach Sonny Galindo said. “What I mean by this is our second half versus Killeen was a different story than the previous game and a half. We played well in every aspect just by playing good, sound football.”
Through five games the Pirates led on offense by running back Tyler Rodgers (370 yards, 5 TD rushing) and receiver Carter Wiley (6 catches, 189 yards, 1 TD). Defensively, Brenish has 44 tackles, and Cantrell has 40,
Granbury is outgaining its opponents by an average of 313 yards (239 rushing, 74 passing) to 240 (121 rushing, 199 passing). The defense has forced 11 turnovers while the offense has surrendered just eight.
Through its first four games, the Midlothian offense was being led by quarterback Drew Wendel (13 TD, 1 interception) and running back Michael Garber (495 yards, 5 TD). Wendel’s favorite target is wide receiver Bryant Wesco (26 catches, 389 yards, 10 TD).
The Panthers’ defense is paced by linebacker Beau Wendel (21 tackles, 4 for loss, 2 sacks).
TOLAR FOOTBALL
After a bye week, the Rattlers (3-1 at press time) began play in District 5-2A Division I at Hamilton last night. This coming Friday, Oct. 6, they return home to face Coleman at 7:30 p.m.
The Rattlers remained No. 3 in Class 2A Division I in this week’s Dave Campbell’s Texas Football state rankings.
The Rattlers entered last night's game having won 14 consecutive regular-season road games. Tolar also came into last night with a 10-game district winning streak dating to 2021.
Through the first four games, quarterback Isaac Blessing (328 yards, 3 TD passing; 334 yards, 5 TD rushing) was pacing the Tolar offense. Garrison Nation has 204 yards and three touchdowns rushing in the absence of all-everything running back Peyton Brown, who is out with an ankle injury.
On defense, entering this weekend, tackle Cash Clark had posted 26 tackles, with three for a loss and two sacks.
Nation is also a threat on special teams as he was averaging 36.5 yards on a pair of kick returns.
Since dropping their season opener 29-20 to 5-0 Mason, Coleman (4-1, 1-0) has won four straight, outscoring their opponents by an average of 37-17.
TOLAR VOLLEYBALL
The Lady Rattlers (15-12) defeated Clifton 3-1 on Sept. 26. They begin District 8-2A at Hamilton on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 11 a.m.
The Lady Rattlers will next play at home on Tuesday, Oct. 10 against Hico at 4 p.m.
In the win over Clifton, Ally Dobbs (blocking), Allie Terrell and Maddie Rue (both hitters) and Senne Imel (served several aces) were lauded for their play.
TOLAR CROSS COUNTRY
The Lady Rattlers finished third in the varsity girls division of the Battle of the Back 40 in Poolville on Sept. 20. Bailey Gammons finished fifth individually with a time of 14:25.43 over the 3200-meter course, while Olivia McClain was seventh in 14:36.21.
The Rattlers were eighth, running a 5K course. Hunter Keith led Tolar, finishing 13th individually with a 19:24.88.
In the JV girls division, Lipan placed second as Addaline Lawrence took the top individual spot overall, posting a time of 14:04.68.
GRANBURY TENNIS
The Pirates/Lady Pirates (2-7 overall, 1-4 in District 5-5A) dropped a 14-5 match at home to Azle on Tuesday, Sept. 26.
Granbury highlights included:
Boys doubles - Tyler St. Don and Colten Whitefield won 6-4, 6-3.
Mixed doubles - Chase Bohney and Shelby Beech won 8-6.
Boys singles - Roland Krause won 8-3, Braxton Bailey won 8-0 (did not count in team score).
Girls singles - Allie Kazmier won 0-6, 7-6, 10-8; Kyleigh Ledesma won 6-3, 6-4.
Granbury ends the season Tuesday, Oct. 3 at Brewer at 4:30 p.m.
GRANBURY BOYS GOLF
The Pirates Gold Team competed in the Dinosaur Classic at Squaw Valley in Glen Rose this past weekend and finished 12th. The team shot 658 (334-324).
The Pirates were led by Caden Davis shooting 156 (78-78), Jaxson Vaughn had a 163 (85-78), Parker Jones came in at 173 (84-89), Braxton Pugh at 176 (87-89), and Andrew Haynes had a no score and 82. The four lowest scores each round comprise the team score.
Next for the Gold Team, along with the Purple Team, will be the Briggs Berry Invitational at Pecan Plantation on Monday, Oct. 2. The tournament is named in memory of the former Pirate golfer who passed away in 2014.
