Bastrop hits accelerator in 70-55 win, unbeaten at 3-0

Bastrop wide receiver Dallas Crescenzo caught seven passes for 215 yards against Plano Prestonwood

By Jim Irish

Photos by Dustyn Werner

Bastrop High School looked to have the non-district game locked down, leading Plano Prestonwood 35-7 after Weston Nielsen's 31-yard touchdown pass to Gary Jefferson midway through the second quarter at Memorial Stadium on Friday.

Nielsen had riddled the Lions' defense with pinpoint passing accuracy, throwing touchdowns to Diego Rangel, Dallas Crescenzo, and Brent Carter in addition to Jefferson's.

The 6-foot-2 1/2, 180-pound junior had even called his own number on a 13-yard untouched dash to the end zone.

But not so fast.

The Lions rallied to within 56-48 in the fourth quarter on a 6-yard pass from quarterback Luke Glass to wide receiver Junior Kniffen.

"They're too big on the offensive line to not make every game (close)," Bastrop head coach Jake Griedl said about Prestonwood. "We had a defensive lineman out, so we were short in terms of subs. We knew our kids up front we're gonna get gassed.

Bastrop running back Gary Jefferson (9) looks for an opening against Prestonwood defense

"(Prestonwood) played with great tempo. This was a Foreman-Ali fight, rumble mentality. Let's get some shots early and rope-a-dope until the end. That's exactly what happened."

"...This was a Foreman-Ali fight, rumble mentality. ..."

-- Bastrop head coach Jake Griedl

The Bears (3-0) had some fuel in the tank late. The defense came up with a huge stop, denying Prestonwood on a fourth-down incomplete pass in the fourth. Bastrop then scored two touchdowns in a minute to win 70-55.

Prestonwood (0-1) rallied behind the running of William Taylor and the passing of Glass. Taylor ran inside and outside behind a behemoth frontline averaging about 300 pounds.

He ran everywhere but across the goal line, gaining 212 yards on 19 carries.

Glass, an East Texas A&M University verbal commit, completed 24-of-40 passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns and one interception.

"(Prestonwood) made our linebackers and safeties make plays," Griedl said.

Griedl was amazed that Prestonwood took 96 snaps on offense compared to Bastrop's 66.

"That's unheard of," he said.

The Bastrop defensive stop on fourth down in the fourth with the Bears up 56-48 was pivotal.

"Ultimately, it gave us the ball back to make it a two-possession game, which is big with just under two minutes left," Griedl said.

Linebacker Austin Moilan returned after missing two games because of injury.

"He was getting his legs back," Griedl said. "He had some tackles."

The defensive line, however, was without the services of stout Val Regalado, a 6-foot-1, 270-pound senior, because of injury.

Bastrop defensive lineman Tiki Hola (55) bulldogs Prestonwood running back William Taylor

Without Regalado, Bastrop used a three-man front. As a result, Tiki Hola, a Notre Dame verbal commit, was double teamed.

Nielsen, a junior with 14 DI offers, finished with 23-of-33 completions for 550 yards and eight touchdowns. He suffered two interceptions, one of which was alertly picked off in the Bastrop end zone for a touchdown by Prestonwood's Gabe Tyree.

Griedl said Nielsen thought he was near the back of the end zone and was close to a touchback if he had stepped outside the line.

Bastrop wide receiver Crescenzo, the junior transfer from Florida, continues to be a gamebreaker. After a reception, Crescenzo is lethal in open space. Against Prestonwood, he received double coverage but caught seven passes for 215 yards with touchdowns of 68 and 67 yards. He also returned a kickoff 82 yards to set up a touchdown.

Because of the double coverage on Crescenzo, other Bear receivers were undefended. Carter had six receptions for 71 yards with a 12-yard touchdown. Rangel had one catch for a 42-yard touchdown.

Jefferson snagged three passes for 108 with two touchdowns, one for 69 yards in the flats.

Returning from injury, Bastrop linebacker Austin Moilan (44) snuffs Braden Bixler

Even Nielsen caught a six-yard touchdown pass on a reverse from Zac Wilkinson in the second quarter.

Jefferson was limited to 32 yards on 21 carries by Prestonwood's run defense.

"We earned that win, (but) there's still so much we can do better. ... You can get complacent after a win. This is when we need to dial it in."

-- Griedl

Bastrop was called for a sideline interference penalty after a referee ran into a Bastrop assistant coach on the white line. Griedl was hit with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after arguing with the head referee.

"I know those refs have a hard job job and don't see everything," Griedl said. "But where I was losing my cool was the safety of our players on certain plays where major cut blocks weren't being called (on the Prestonwood defense). That's where I draw the line. When these calls are missed, I get fired up.

"It was bad timing to get a 15-yard penalty. It's definitely something I need to work on."

Griedl reeled off a number of areas for improvement.

"We earned that win, (but) there's still so much we can do better," he said. "If we want to reach our ultimate goals, these are the moments when we're going to double down on improving. You can get complacent after a win. This is when we need to dial it in."

Bastrop opens Class 5A District action against Crockett (0-3) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Memorial.

Jim Irish is a freelance writer in Bastrop, Texas