Bastrop wins another blowout, faces Liberty Hill for district crown
- Jim Irish
- Nov 2
- 4 min read
By Jim Irish
Photos by Dustyn Werner
Bastrop High School football is rolling like a river.
The unbeaten Bears made quick work of Pflugerville 70-6 at Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon following the postponement of the contest on Friday night.
Bastrop improved to 9-0 overall, 6-0 in District 11-5A Division 2. These games have been a prelude to next Friday’s showdown on the road against Liberty Hill, 7-2, 6-0. Last season, the Bears rallied at home in the final two minutes to down Liberty Hill 35-31 and claim the district title.
Bastrop head coach Jake Griedl said the matchup against Liberty Hill will be decided by: "Can we be physical and play disciplined football? That’s the only way to beat Liberty Hill.”
"Can we be physical and play disciplined football? That's the only way to beat Liberty Hill."
-- Bastrop head coach Jake Griedl
Dave Campbell’s Texas Football rankings placed Bastrop 10th in the state in Class 5A last week. The Bears have won 16 of their last 17 games dating to last season to earn the recognition.
Griedl, however, does not place much emphasis on rankings.
"It’s cool to be recognized,” he said. "It’s really good for our kids and the community. But I tell our kids, ‘I can print off the rankings and go put them on the 50-yard line and let the rankings play for us. But rankings don’t win. We still have to play the game.’ “
The postponement of the game didn’t prevent Bastrop from wresting control from the outset.
Bastrop recovered a Pflugerville fumble on a punt return and capitalized two plays later on a 12-yard strike from quarterback Weston Nielsen to tight end Brent Carter at the 7:53 mark in the first quarter.
Tiki Hola, Bastrop’s gargantuan defensive tackle at 6-foot-3. 300 pounds and a University of Notre Dame verbal commit, recovered a fumble on Pflugerville’s next snap. Bastrop running back Gary Jefferson scored on a 23-yard run to the left in which he hit the pylon into the end zone. Thirty seconds after the first score, Bastrop led 14-0.
The Bears moved in front 21-0 after one quarter and extended it to 56-6 at halftime. Pflugerville was no cellar dweller either. Although the Panthers slipped to 6-3, 4-2, they remain in third place in the district.
Bastrop played sound offensive football, committing no turnovers and totaling 566 yards.
Nielsen, a junior and a DI prospect, completed 16-of-22 passes for 252 yards and six touchdowns. He threw two touchdowns each to Carter and Diego Rangel and one to Zac Wilkinson and Jefferson.
Wilkinson grabbed a 20-yard scoring pass with no time on the clock in the first half as a Pflugerville defender hugged him in the back of the end zone. Eleven of Wilkinson’s 33 receptions this season have been touchdowns; both statistics lead the team.
”That was great concentration for Zac,” Griedl said.
Nielsen even ran a run-pass option for 67 yards and a touchdown. He had the speed to outrun the Panthers’ secondary on the play.
"He can move. He eats up a lot of grass with his strides."
-- Griedl after Weston Nielsen's 67-yard touchdown scamper
”He can move,” Griedl said about Nielsen. “He eats up a lot of grass with his strides. Putting that (run) on film is good because it makes people see it.”
Jefferson, a senior, displayed cutback speed, finishing with 176 yards on only 12 carries, including a dazzling 66-yard touchdown in the second quarter. For the season, Jefferson has rushed for 1,082 yards and 20 touchdowns. He’s also a capable receiver with six touchdowns.
The Bears’ defense stopped Pflugerville’s explosive pass offense. They recovered three fumbles, two by Hola, and intercepted three Cole Taylor passes. Taylor had entered the game with 36 touchdown passes and only four interceptions.
Bastrop held Pflugerville to minus-12 yards rushing.
”We’re a pretty hard team to run the ball on,” Griedl said. “If they going to have success, they’re going to have to do it on the ground.”
Kennis Hunt, William White, and Adrian Martinez each had an interception. White appeared to return his for a 70-yard touchdown, but referees brought it back to the spot of the interception on the 30-yard line.
Griedl said a Pflugerville athlete had committed a blind-side hit on one of Bastrop’s players on the interception return. He thought it was “more egregious” than a 15-yard personal foul and raged at the referees, who rewarded him with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
”I thought it should have been targeting,” he said. “Look how far away from the play it was. It was extremely intentional.”
Bear sightings
The public address announcer said the postponement of the game was due to a lightning strike that knocked out the stadium lights. Griedl said the lightning strike occurred on Tuesday or Wednesday. If that was the case, why weren’t the lights repaired before Friday?
Dallas Crescenzo, the star wide receiver, has missed the past three games because of an injury against Pflugerville Connally. He was on the sidelines against Pflugerville in a boot. Griedl said Crescenzo may return this season.
"He’s already out of the cast,” Griedl said about Crescenzo. “If we keep playing, it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
"It gives him a goal. He’s going to work his tail off in rehab. Doctors haven’t said no yet. We’ll see."
Jim Irish is a freelance writer in Bastrop, Texas
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