SAN ANTONIO – A couple of fourth-quarter turnovers by the Boerne offense late in Thursday’s season-opening game at Pieper proved to be the difference in the contest.
Boerne held a ninepoint lead early in the final period, but Pieper tallied two fourth-quarter touchdowns and pulled ahead 38-34.
Boerne had the ball twice in the final four minutes of the game, but a fumble killed one drive and an interception on their next possession turned away the Greyhounds with less than two minutes left.
After that, Pieper never gave the ball back. The Warriors drained the clock and took a late safety as time expired instead of risking a blocked punt on fourth down to hold on for the 38-36 victory over the Hounds.
Boerne High drops its opener for the second straight year and begins the season at 0-1. The Greyhounds look to get on track Thursday when they host Laredo United.
Greyhounds coach Che Hendrix said late turnovers hurt a team, especially in a close contest.
“You can’t turn the ball over in tight games,” he said. “Two turnovers in the fourth quarter pretty much did it.”
Thursday’s contest had eight lead changes as the teams went toe-to-toe and the game started as a shootout after the two teams combined for five first-quarter touchdowns.
Pieper scored two TDs on its first three plays from scrimmage and burned the Greyhounds deep a few times. After giving up three first-quarter scores, Boerne kept the Warriors off the board in the second quarter and only yielded one touchdown in the third stanza.
“We settled in, we started four new defensive backs, and Pieper is a team that throws the ball around the yard, and it was going to be a great test for us,” Hendrix said. “We started making plays and started playing better defense and making them earn it. It was a track meet early and we kind of figured it would be that way.”
An Adam Hicks rushing TD to start the fourth quarter gave Boerne the largest lead of the game at 34-25.
Immediately after the Boerne TD, it looked like the Greyhounds might have come up with a turnover on the ensuing kickoff, but an inadvertent whistle killed the play and killed Boerne’s chance to take over with a short field and add to its lead.
Instead, the Warriors scored on their next two possessions. Isaiah Champagne caught his third TD pass of the night and then a rushing touchdown gave Pieper a 38-34 lead with 4:19 left.
Boerne fumbled on its next drive, and after forcing a punt, gave the ball back to the Warriors on an interception.
Prior to the two turnovers, the Boerne offense was stopped by the Warriors after they went for it on 4th and 6 near midfield as the Pieper defense turned the Greyhounds away on its final three possessions.
Hendrix said he saw a lot of positives even though they came up short on the scoreboard.
“It was a really good football game, that’s why we play these games so we can get ready for district, that’s what matters,” he said.
Boerne mixed it up well offensively and had three rushing touchdowns and two receiving TDs.
Matthew Garrison had the first score of the year on a 42-yard pass from Hank Hendrix. Hendrix later tossed another TD pass to Brooks Perez.
Adam Hicks tallied two rushing touchdowns and Ivan Perez scored on a short run, while Diego Jimenez converted four of five extra points to account for Boerne’s offensive points.
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