BHS will play on Thanksgiving weekend for the sixth time in eight seasons
LAREDO — Boerne High pounded Pioneer Thursday night in the second round of the 5A-DII playoffs and defeated the Diamondbacks at Bill Johnson Student Activity Center in Laredo, 42-17.
It’s Boerne’s 11th win in a row and pits the Greyhounds (11-1) against the winner of the Rockport- Fulton and Mission Sharyland contest on Thanksgiving weekend.
This is the sixth time in eight years for the Greyhounds to play on Thanksgiving weekend, and BHS head coach Brett Sawyer said they are truly thankful.
“The fact that we get to play on Thanksgiving weekend again is a blessing,” he said. “It’s the high expectations; these kids expect to be successful in everything they do. They’re the same in the classroom and the community.”
The Greyhounds came out swinging in Thursday’s game and scored touchdowns on all six of their first-half possessions.
Boerne received the kickoff and QB Grant Sweeney capped the opening drive with a 5-yard run into the end zone for the 7-0 lead after the Diego Jimenez extra point just four minutes into the game.
The Diamondbacks answered with a 30-yard field goal on their first possession, and it was 7-3 late in the first quarter. Pioneer’s drive was helped by two 15-yard penalties on the Greyhounds.
“They’re well coached and they have good players,” Sawyers said of the Diamondbacks. “Some penalties helped them and it’s stuff we’ve got to clean up but overall, I’m pretty happy.”
Callan Combs scored Boerne’s second TD with a 1-yard plunge on a 10-play, 77-yard march down the field, and it was 14-3 to end the quarter.
Pioneer tallied its only touchdown of the half early in the second after they converted a 4th and 7 with 11:50 left in the second quarter.
Pioneer’s quarterback William Goodloe tossed a 25-yard scoring strike to Aythan Calacuayo after Calacuayo reached back to make a great catch and fell into the end zone after he adjusted his route.
Boerne’s lead was down to 14-10, but the Hounds responded with four second-quarter touchdowns.
Greyhound Jeff Morrison sprinted into the end zone from the 5-yard line early in the second to make it 21-10, but the Diamondbacks were able to move the ball quickly down the field after the kickoff.
Pioneer’s Marcus Perales ripped off a 57-yard run and took the ball deep into BHS territory. The drive stalled and the Diamondbacks attempted a field goal on 4th and goal from the 9, but the kick was blocked by Jake Perez to keep the score at 21-10.
The tone of the game seemed to change from there as Pioneer punted on their next two possessions in the first half and then threw an interception. After the block, the Diamondbacks didn’t come close to scoring until the fourth quarter.
“Any time you get a momentum switch on special teams, those are game flippers right there,” Sawyer said. “Any time it’s special teams, it can change the trajectory of the game.”
Boerne closed out the half with three more touchdowns in the final 7:49 to basically put the game out of reach.
Will Traylor caught a 14-yard pass from Sweeney to make it 28-10 after the PAT.
Zach Freasier hauled in a 12-yard TD toss on the throw from Sweeney and Boerne bumped its lead to 35-10. BHS added one more score before the break and went into its bag of tricks.
After a Pioneer punt, Boerne took over at their own 37-yard line with 1:47 left in the quarter. Sweeney found Eli Nikolas on a 44-yard pitch and catch to move the ball to the Diamondbacks’ 19.
On 1st and 15 from the 24-yard line after a 5-yard penalty on the Hounds, Sweeney threw it to Nikolas, who then pitched the ball to lineman Jonny Waters, who then took it to the house to complete the hook and ladder play.
“We’ve probably run that over 100 times in practice. We rep it all the time and the linemen love it. We’ve just never had a situation where we felt we could call it,” Sawyer said. “Their coverage gave us a little bit of room to do it, so it was fun.”
The Waters TD gave Boerne a 42-10 lead and then CJ Smith ended the half with an interception of a Diamondbacks pass on the final play before the break.
BHS basically came out in the second half and rested most of its starters. The Greyhound coaching staff shuffled players in and out, and everybody had the chance to play.
Pioneer tallied the final touchdown of their season early in the fourth quarter for the final of 42-17.
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