Hornets sting Greyhounds with late touchdown, 42-35

Two regional heavyweights slugged it out Friday in Corpus Christi when the Greyhounds visited Flour Bluff for their 2023 season openers.

The Hornets delivered the final blow after scoring with 1:23 left in the game and then held on for the 42-35 victory to start BHS at 0-1 this year.

Boerne will look to bounce back Friday when they travel to Pleasanton.

Friday’s game had a couple of momentum swings with the Hornets jumping out to a 14-0 lead before the Hounds could get going.

T.J. Dement put Boerne on the board late in the first quarter on a 67-yard sprint to the end zone, but Flour Bluff answered with a 66-yard TD pass and the lead was 14 points again, at 21-7.

BHS scored again late in the second on a Jaxon Baize 40-yard TD pass to Brooks Perez and the Hounds had trimmed the lead to 21-14 by halftime.

Boerne had a strong third quarter and scored three touchdowns in the period for its first lead of the game.

The Hounds scored on their opening drive of the second half to tie it up at 21-21. Baize and Perez then connected on an 85-yard TD strike and the Hounds were up 28-21 after the Carson Cooper PAT.

Flour Bluff tied it three plays later at 28-28 but Dement answered by capping a Boerne drive with a 2-yard TD run and Boerne had pulled ahead, 35-28.

But early in the fourth, the Hornets tied it at 35-35 for the fifth tie or lead change of the half, on a 62-yard drive.

It stayed that way until Flour Bluff took over at its own 28 with 5:01 left. During the drive, Hornets QB Jayden Paluseo hit Jayden Johnson on a 35-yard pass to move the ball deep into Boerne territory.

Five plays later, Cameran Dickson punched it in from the 9-yard line and the Hornets pulled ahead 42-35 with just 1:23 left.

After the kickoff, Boerne took over at its own 36 and moved the ball to midfield but didn’t convert a 4th and 9 with 40 ticks on the clock, and Flour Bluff was able to run out the clock.

NOTES: Flour Bluff has gone to the fourth and fifth rounds of the playoffs the last two seasons, while the Hounds advanced six rounds last year and played for the state title, so both brought impressive credentials into the contest.

… Boerne’s defense came up with two interceptions, one from Charlie Stahl and the other from Mason Stewart. Stahl’s went for a pick-6 touchdown but was called back because of a penalty.