LAREDO – It was hot in Laredo on Thursday, but the Boerne Champion football team may have been hotter after the Chargers rolled to a 60-7 victory over Laredo United South to open the 2026 season.
Champion scored in all four quarters and hit 60 points for the first time since the 2021 season when they defeated Lockhart, 64-14.
The 104 temperature that greeted the Chargers at Bill Johnson Stadium didn’t slow them down after they scored on their first five possessions and took a 41-0 lead into halftime.
Champion tacked on two more TDs in the third and opened up a 54-0 lead before they kicked two field goals in the fourth quarter on distances of 21 and 44 yards to hit 60 points.
Charger running back Caleb Farias picked up where he left off last year after the senior tallied their first two scores on runs of 3 and 7 yards to cap drives of 11 and 5 plays for the 14-0 lead less than seven minutes into the contest.
On Champion’s next drive, QB Ryder Flugence tossed a short pass to Cason Riha to make it 20-0 after the missed extra point and the game was still in the first quarter. Will Burgess had a catch of 28 yards to put the Chargers deep in Panthers’ territory to set up the Flugence to Riha TD.
Farias added his third rushing touchdown of the night early in the second quarter on a 1-yard plunge to cap a 6-play drive, and it was 27-0 after the extra point.
Flugence had Champion’s next score to make it five touchdowns on five possessions after he capped an 8-play, 43-yard drive with a 5-yard run into the end zone for the 34-0 advantage.
Champion forced a Panthers punt late in the first half and took over with less than a minute left before the break at the United South 41-yard line. Seven plays later Farias ran it in for his fourth score of the night and a 41-0 lead.
The Charger defense held the Panthers to one first down in the first half and forced six punts during that stretch.
Once the second half started, Champion’s defense kept up the pressure and ended the first two United South drives with interceptions after Roman Flugence had a pick, while Drayden Cooper returned an intercepted pass 25 yards for a Pick-6.
In between the two picks, Easton Hamel found the end zone on a 10-yard run and it was 54-0 at the end of the third quarter.
The Chargers went on a 16-play drive that ran out the clock in the third stanza, and then Will Hankins booted a 21-yard FG on the first play of the fourth quarter for the 57-0 lead. Hankins later added the 44 yarder in the final stanza to cap the Champion scoring.
United South fought to the end and punched one in late after an Esteban Davila TD run to get on the board.
Champion starts the year at 1-0 and hosts Long Creek on Thursday at Boerne ISD Stadium for their home opener, 7 p.m.
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