Boerne Champion will put its perfect record on the line this Friday when the Chargers visit Buda Hays.
Friday’s game starts at 7 p.m.
Champion enters the contest at 4-0 and is coming off a dramatic come-from-behind win over New Braunfels Canyon last Thursday.
Charger kicker Nathan Bell put the finishing touches on a 34-31 win over the Cougars with a walk-off field goal to complete the comeback.
At one point, the Chargers were trailing 31-14 but scored 20 unanswered points, including outscoring the Cougars in the fourth quarter, 17-0.
Champion was in a similar position two weeks before that when they were trailing Eagle Pass 19-7 at halftime, but rallied for the 27-26 win after outscoring the Eagles in the second half, 20-7.
Chargers coach Blane Ellis said they always believe they can win.
“They’re very confident, no matter the score they believe they’re in every game,” he said. “That’s a testament to our team. Our coaches are good about staying calm, we may be down but we keep coaching them.”
Buda Hays enters Friday’s contest at 3-1. They also won their district opener last week after they doubled up MacArthur, 28-14.
The Hawks defeated Champion last year in a close one, 34-29. Hays was hit hard by graduation but Ellis said they still present a challenge.
“They’re run oriented, but they’re not a true Slot-T team,” he said.
Ellis noted the team has put last week’s game behind them but added that they can lean on that experience when needed.
“It’s a fine balance,” he said. “We want to continue to focus on the Chargers and continue to get better. That’s how you find the balance. We’re looking to go 1-0 this week and aren’t looking past anybody, we’re going to respect every opponent.”
Ellis said one of the biggest differences in last week’s game was how they adjusted defensively. The Chargers shut down the Cougars in the fourth quarter and only allowed one TD in the entire second half.
“At first, we weren’t getting stops on third down, we didn’t get the stops defensively when we needed to get them off the field, but we adjusted,” he said. “They got tired, and when they got tired our kids took advantage.”
Offensively, the Chargers rushed for 236 yards and held the Cougars to 96 yards on the ground. The Cougars did pass for more yards, 233 to 153, but Champion QB Jordan Ballin was an efficient 15 for 23 with 2 TDs and also had a rushing touchdown.
Cole Riha ran for 118 yards on 26 carries and a score, while Ethan McVeigh and Sawyer Bolli both caught touchdown passes.
Bell was 2 for 2 in field goal attempts, including the game winner that was good from 33 yards. Bell also booted a 37 yarder that started Champion’s 20-0 run.
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