Thursday, April 25, 2024
FUMBLE: Tolar defenders scramble to recovery a Valley Mills' fumble.
RUNNING ROOM: Peyton Brown is a freshman making an impact for Tolar.
NABBED: Tolar's defense created scoring opportunities for the Rattlers.
VALLEY MILLS — Tolar was like a steamroller Friday night in Valley Mills as the Rattlers got off to a slow start before crushing the Eagles to win their District 7-2A Division 1 opener on the road 55-21.
Early on, fans wondered what was up as Valley Mills took an early lead and twice denied the Rattlers the end zone in the second quarter.
The Eagles racked up an 82-yard touchdown on their first possession, gave up a three-yard run by Joseph Arce, and made the Rattlers settle for a pair of field goals by Wyatt Jones to keep it close. Valley Mills intercepted a Jackson LeCluyse pass and then scored on another extended pass play to lead 14-13 with 8:58 remaining in the first half.
The obvious question for those watching was if the Rattlers had overlooked Valley Mills because No. 4 Crawford is headed to Tolar on Oct. 1, for a battle many people believe is for the league championship.
It wasn’t as if the Rattlers’ defense was playing poorly, but Tolar did get caught out of alignment on a couple of plays. Still, Tolar caused a muffed punt and recovered a fumble to keep Valley Mills off balance.
Junior Cade Moody had a massive night on defense as he broke up a fake punt pass, blocked a for-sure touchdown in the end zone, and intercepted two passes, returning one of them for a 35-yard pick-six.
LeCluyse made the Eagles pay for the tipped ball on Tolar’s next possession as he laced the ball to Jones, and he raced into the end zone and started an avalanche of touchdowns for the Rattlers.
Moody’s INT score made it 27-14, and the Rattlers would start pounding out the ground yards the remainder of the way as they served up steady doses of Arce and freshman running back Peyton Brown.
An Arce touchdown run would finish out the first half, and he and Brown would take turns punching the ball into the end zone.
Peyton Raines highlighted the efforts of Tolars’ defense in the second half with an interception.
SAFELY LOOKING AHEAD
It’s “put-up or shut-up” week in Tolar as the Rattlers are set to host “the game” everyone has tried not to talk about all season long.
The Oct. 1, date on the Rattlers’ 2021 football schedule has been as visible as a BBQ stain on a new white Sunday go-to-meeting shirt in Tolar.
Coach Jemery Mullins may not be paying attention to the football rankings put out by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine and MaxPreps, but you won’t find any Tolar fans who don’t know about it.
That’s because Crawford pinned a 49-17 loss on a young Tolar team last year, and the Rattlers’ fans want to even the scales.
MaxPreps has billed Crawford at No. 6 and Tolar at No. 7, while the Rattlers are not ranked in Campbell’s top 10 and the Eagles are No. 4
A SPOOKY OCTOBER
Halloween may lie 30 days away, but Tolar will start Oct. in a terrifying situation, and it comes on the Rattlers’ Homecoming night.
Crawford’s defense has been freak-like, allowing just 18 points through four games. The Eagles are no slouches on offense with 173 points. Another factor playing in the Eagles’ favor is Crawford is coming off a bye week and has had time to heal up.
The kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Russell@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066 Ext. 231
