NEW BRAUNFELS – Despite a 20-point halftime deficit, the Geneva School of Boerne football almost pulled off a remarkable comeback in Thursday’s district game at New Braunfels Christian Academy.
The Eagles were down 41-21 at the half and outscored the Wildcats in the second half, 27-10, but still came up short and eventually lost the game, 51-48.
Eagles coach Grant Gaston said his team will never quit.
“It’s not in our DNA, we will fight no matter what,” he said.
Geneva made a few defensive adjustments at halftime and held the Wildcats to 10 second-half points after NBCA lit up the Eagles for 41 points in the first half.
NBCA scored touchdowns on its first four drives of the game and tallied six TDs by halftime on seven possessions.
Gaston said they put their best athlete, Brady Chandler, on Wildcat receiver Crew Wright to slow him down after he had two receiving TDs in the first half and hurt them with some long runs after the catch.
“We had to make it to where if (Wright) was going to catch the ball it was going to be short and he wasn’t going to make big plays on us,” Gaston said.
What hurt Geneva offensively in the first half was two first-quarter fumbles that killed two good-looking drives. The Wildcats took advantage and turned both turnovers into points for the 21-7 lead by the end of the opening stanza.
Gaston said the turnovers were his main focus during his talk with the team after the game.
“We have had too many turnovers and we’re beating ourselves,” he said. “In every loss we’ve had multiple turnovers and when you’re in tight games like this that makes a difference.”
The Eagles were down 41-21 at halftime but climbed back into it in the third quarter after they outscored the Wildcats, 21-7.
Chandler took a pass from Bryce Hanover on the second play of the third quarter and bolted into the end zone for a 42-yard TD.
After the kickoff, Jackson Mitchell came up with an interception on NBCA’s first possession of the half and the Eagles converted after Noah Brunsvold snagged a short pass from Hanover for a score.
The extra point was missed but the lead was down to 41-34.
On its next drive, NBCA went for it on 4th and 4 near midfield and didn’t convert. The Eagles took advantage of the short field and had another quick-strike touchdown after Hanover connected with Chandler again, this time on a 56-yard TD pass.
Geneva went for two and got it and the Eagles held its first lead of the game at 42-41.
But the Wildcats responded with points on its next two drives. First, they scored on an 81-yard touchdown run by Dillan Wickham and retook the lead 48-42.
On their next possession, NBCA kicked a 29-yard field goal to make it 51-42.
The Eagles tallied one more TD after Hanover ran it in from the 3 and it was 51-48 after the Parker Eiland kick, but there was less than a minute left in the game.
Geneva tried an onside kick that the Wildcats recovered. They recorded one first down and then killed the clock.
The Eagles are 3-4 overall and slipped to 1-2 in district. They’ll host Austin Hill Country Christian Friday for homecoming.
Comment
Comments