Chargers host Rangers in key district game
Boerne Champion’s may have suffered its first loss of the season last Friday to Wagner but it hasn’t changed the Chargers hopes for a district title.
Champion can still claim a league championship, or at least a share of it, but they have to take care of business Friday when they host the Smithson Valley Rangers.
If Champion wins, then the Chargers, Rangers and Wagner would all have one loss and would have all beaten each other to force a three-way tie atop the league standings since SV beat Wagner.
Champion coach Blane Ellis said they’ve put the Wagner loss behind them because they have to get ready for the Rangers.
“We’re still playing for big things, we’re trying to win this year,” he said. “We turned the page and put it all to bed. Everybody is disappointed with a loss and it was good to see them frustrated because you can tell it means something to them. They expected to win, so it was good for us to process that.”
Champion was up 14-7 at one point early in last Friday’s game at Rutledge Stadium, but Wagner ended up taking a 21-14 lead into halftime and never trailed from there.
The Thunderbirds were leading 27-21 early in the fourth and put it away with a late TD to make it a two-possession game and seal the victory.
Wagner’s running game was the difference as three players rushed for more than 100 yards and another was nine yards shy of hitting the century mark as the T-Birds tallied 473 yards on the ground.
“That’s kind of what they do, they’re good at what they do and we had a couple of miscommunications. If we have miscommunications then it helps the other team and can lead to explosive plays,” Ellis said. “It’s a bump in the road, we had opportunities to compete in that game for a win. We made some of the big moments bigger than they were. Every moment matters and we have to make sure that in every moment we’re great.”
Hudson Simmons had a fumble recovery for the Chargers for a score, while Cole Riha and Jordan Ballin both tacked on rushing touchdowns.
Smithson Valley is the district front runner and the only team in 12-5A DI without a loss at 4-0. The Rangers are 6-1 overall and are ranked No. 6 in the state in this week’s Dave Campbell rankings.
“They’re always going to be good, they’re very disciplined and they do a great job with that,” Ellis said. “They execute really well. They do simple things but they’re simple by design. They want to establish the run and try to complete passes outside. They do a good job of that.”
Champion’s homecoming game against Seguin drew 6,400 and Ellis said he expects a similar type of crowd for this Friday’s game, especially because of the proximity of Smithson Valley and the importance of the game.
“It’s going to be a really big crowd and our community does a tremendous job of supporting us and Smithson Valley travels well,” the coach said. “It’s going to be fun and an electric atmosphere. Our kids have done well at home this year.”
Champion’s Kaleb Krause (13) reaches up for a pass during last Friday’s game against Wagner.
Star photo by Chris Tilton
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