Bears 'dance with one who brung you', move on to area round
By Jim Irish
Photos by Amanda Hurst
Legendary University of Texas football coach Darrell Royal is remembered for pithy sayings, including “Dance with the one who brung you.”
Bastrop High School is certainly dancing with its explosive offense.
The Bears (7-4) sped out of the gate against Victoria West for a 28-7 lead in the first quarter and turned aside the Warriors 62-43 in a bi-district contest at Memorial Stadium on Friday.
The victory marked Bastrop’s third consecutive bi-district title – a first in program history – under head coach Jake Griedl.
"Obviously, (this is) not the end goal. It the end goal for tonight."
-- Bastrop head coach Jake Griedl
“Awesome,” Griedl said after the game. “Obviously, (this is) not the end goal. It was the end goal for tonight.”
After losing ten starters to injury, the Bears dropped three consecutive games earlier this season, including two by shutout. They have now won six consecutive games following the return of all but one starter.
“We’re a really good football team,” Griedl said. “We’re starting to hit our stride.”
The offense revolves around senior quarterback Weston Nielsen, a four-year starter and an Arizona State commit. He was near perfect against Victoria West, completing 25 of 32 passes for 280 yards and six touchdowns. He suffered no interceptions or sacks.
Most of Nielsen’s passes were quick strikes to six receivers. Dallas Crescenzo, Diego Rangel, Zac Wilkinson, Dwodney Thompson, and Jahmani Jones-Watkins hauled in touchdown passes. Rangel caught two of 27 and 19 yards.
Wilkinson, who missed the previous three games with an injury, juggled a pass from Nielsen and managed to wrap his hands around it as it dropped for a 19-yard reception. It was a highlight reel moment.
“Zac makes plays like that,” Griedl said.
The Bears’ offense isn’t one-dimensional either.
Watkins, a sophomore running back, possesses breakaway speed. In the first quarter, he dashed into the secondary and raced along the sideline for a 52-yard score. He finished with 116 yards on 19 carries and three touchdowns.
The Bears scored quick touchdowns against the Warriors. As an example, Thompson raced behind a wall of teammates to score on a 92-yard kickoff return in the second quarter. A second example, Kaden Laney picked up a fumble by Victoria West quarterback Aiden DeLeon and outran opponents for 56-yard score in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, Victoria West (6-5) engineered long drives. At the conclusion, the Warriors took 96 snaps to Bastrop’s 51.
“We were scoring very quickly,” Griedl said. “So the defense went back out there. They were putting long drives together.”
"We were scoring very quickly. So the defense went back out there."
-- Griedl
Victoria displayed a run and pass offense. Wide receiver J. Leal Callis repeatedly slipped behind Bastrop defenders and caught nine passes from DeLeon for 211 yards and three touchdowns.
“People are going to knock our defense a little bit,” Griedl said.
"People are going to knock our defense a little bit."
-- Griedl
When it seemed Bastrop would stretch the lead, Victoria rallied. The Warriors scored on a Hail Mary pass into the end zone in the final second of the first half. They then scored on the opening possession of the second half to narrow the lead to 42-35.
“They were a much better first-round opponent than we want to play,” Griedl said. “It was a grind.”
"They were a much better first-round opponent than we want to play. It was a grind."
-- Griedl about Victoria West
Bastrop will face Huntsville (8-3) in the area round at Rhodes Stadium in Katy at 7 p.m. on Friday. Because LASA dropped its remaining games, Bastrop had a bye two weeks ago. The coaches watched Huntsville in person in a 38-35 loss to district opponent Montgomery.
Huntsville edged Nederland 42-39 in bi-district.
“The quarterback (Zarien Adolphe) and running back (Jakhavien Birks) are both very talented,” Griedl said. “The defense is big and aggressive. It’s the playoffs. Everybody’s good.”
Jim Irish is a freelance writer in Bastrop, Texas
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