The old saying that great football programs “don’t rebuild, they reload” appears to be true at least in the case of Smithson Valley.
Last year’s 5A-DI state champs may have graduated a lot, but the Rangers appear to be poised for another deep run this year.
Smithson Valley scored on its first five possessions and went on to defeat Boerne Champion 41-14 before 4,578 fans at Boerne ISD Stadium Friday night.
It was the district opener for both teams and the Rangers start 13-5A DI play at 1-0 (3-1 overall), while the Chargers are 0-1 in district (2-2 overall).
Chargers coach Blane Ellis said Smithson Valley is as good as advertised.
“They’re a very talented group, they don’t have any missing pieces on the field at all, offensively and defensively,” he said.
The Rangers had the ball three times in the first quarter and scored two touchdowns and a field goal.
Ty Knutson tossed a 7-yard TD pass to Luke Peace for their first score and then Hunter Haug hauled in a 61-yard pass from Knutson for the 14-0 lead.
Trent Amaya booted a 42-yard field goal that cleared with plenty of room and the Rangers were up 17-0.
Champion answered late in the opening stanza after Julian Navarette connected with Brogan Dempsey on a 40-yard bomb and the Chargers had sliced into the lead at 17-7 with 25 seconds left in the first.
Earlier in the quarter, Dempsey also burned the Rangers on a 46-yard catch from Navarette to finish the period with more than 100 receiving yards.
“He’s a tremendous player and we look to find ways to get him the ball,” Ellis said. “We’re super proud of him and excited he’s a Charger.”
Smithson Valley answered with two touchdowns in the second quarter to get some separation. Caleb Peagler punched it in on a 1-yard run and then Knutson found the end zone on a 3-yard QB draw to make it 31-7 by halftime.
The Rangers scored the next 10 points to basically put the game out of reach at 41-7 early in the fourth quarter.
Amaya split the uprights on a 26-yard field goal and then Gunnar Shoquist punched it in on a 2-yard run.
Navarette left the game with an apparent ankle injury late in the second quarter and never returned. He was replaced by freshman Roman Flugence, who played on the last drive of the first half and the entire second half.
Flugence showed some poise and found Dempsey on another big pass play after the senior wide receiver beat two defenders and bolted for paydirt on a 52-yard scoring strike with 3:41 left in the game to make it 41-14, which is where it stayed until the end.
Ellis said Flugence was thrown into the fire but did well.
“As a freshman coming in under the lights against one of the best teams in the state, that’s a lot of pressure and he handled it really well,” the coach said.
Champion is on the road Friday at Seguin. The Chargers are 2-0 on the road and 0-2 at home.
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