LAREDO – Boerne High’s football game with Laredo United Thursday was similar to its opener against Pieper, except this time the Greyhounds found a way to finish.
After coming close against the Warriors before getting turned away in the fourth quarter last week, the Greyhounds rallied with a late score Thursday in Laredo and then held off the Longhorns for the 35-31 victory.
It’s the first win for Greyhounds head coach Brett Sawyer, who said he’ll remember this one.
“I will remember the kids and coaches and their ability to be tough and resilient,” he said. “I wouldn’t want another kind of win. It’s special because of how we won at the end.”
The Hounds are 1-1 and host Medina Valley Friday for homecoming.
Thursday’s game was pretty much back-and-forth the whole way and was tied 14-14 at the break with four ties or lead changes in that first half.
Boerne QB Grant Sweeney tallied both Hound first-half TDs on runs of 15 and 1 yards, while United received a rushing score from quarterback Jorge Luna, who tossed another TD to Colt Lozano.
Late in the third, Cash Gatlin broke the 14-14 tie with an 82-yard scoop and score after he picked up a fumble and took it to the end zone for the 21-14 lead.
But things were just heating up as the teams combined for 31 points in the fourth quarter.
United had the first TD of the final stanza after Luna hooked up with Lozano again on the first play of the period to knot it up at 21-21, but the Hounds answered on their next drive after Eli Nikolas hauled in a short pass from Sweeney and BHS was back on top, 28-21.
The Longhorns had the next two scores after Luna tossed his third TD of the night, this time to Santiago Delgado and it was tied at 28-28.
After a Boerne punt, United marched 42 yards on 10 plays before settling for a 26-yard field goal for the 31-28 edge with only 1:29 left.
That’s when Boerne went to work and on a 1st and 10 from their own 47, Sweeney hit Zach Freasier on a 53-yard bomb to help the Greyhounds pull ahead, 35-31 with 58 ticks on the clock.
It was the 10th tie or lead change of the game, and the fifth of the fourth quarter.
United still had 58 seconds to work with and moved the ball down to the Boerne 43 before taking a sack that pushed them back to the 50.
The Longhorns burned their final timeout and tried a Hail Mary on 4th and 17 on the last play of the game that came up short, giving Sawyer his first win.
The coach said it was great to bounce back after coming up short vs. Pieper.
“I’m so proud of how we responded after last week. Getting on a bus for that long and playing in the heat in Laredo against a very good United team is a lot for our kids that haven’t made a road trip like that before,” he said. “They stayed focused and were able to overcome adversity and find a way to win.”
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