THRALL – Friday night’s contest between the Blanco and Thrall football teams might have been referred to as a “blast from the past.”
Both teams operate out of run-heavy offenses – the Panthers run the Slot-T and the Tigers the Wing-T. Although the game took two hours and seven minutes to complete, it didn’t take long for Blanco to establish its stronghold on the outcome.
The Panthers pounded their way to 464 rushing yards in a 49-3 rout of Thrall in a District 13-3A-Division II contest at Tiger Stadium in Thrall. The Tigers were limited to 100 yards of total offense – 76 rushing, 24 passing.
Blanco (6-2, 2-0 in district) was led by running backs Trey Atchley and Colton Kuebel, both of whom rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Atchley also returned a punt for a score in the first quarter.
Thrall (2-6, 0-2 in district) was unable to establish any long-term drives. The Tigers were limited to five first downs and never moved inside the Blanco 25-yard line.
The Panthers used a Kuebel touchdown run and an Atchley punt return for a score to establish a 14-0 lead after one quarter of play.
Atchley added scoring runs of 63 and 28 yards to increase his team’s lead to 26-0 midway through the second quarter.
Thrall recovered a Blanco fumble late in the second quarter and moved to the Panthers’ 28 before Alejandro Estrada made a 45-yard field goal as time expired to give the Tigers their only points of the contest. The Panthers added three more touchdowns in the second half.
Cason Ricke scored on a 46-yard run to make it 34-3 after three quarters of play. Eli Walker scored on a six-yard run and Kuebel broke the century mark with an 80-yard touchdown run in the final quarter.
CJ Kelm led Thrall with 56 yards on 23 carries. Weston Smiley completed three of eight passes for 24 yards with Jack Gustafson catching a pass for 12 yards and Logan Heselmeyer catching two passes for 12 yards.
The Tigers hit the road against Comfort next week. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 24, at Bobcat Stadium in Comfort.
