The Texas High Tigers battled their season opener against the Frisco Lone Star Rangers on Aug 24, 2023. The Tiger offense and defense both prevailed, resulting in a win for their first game back at Grim.
“I think, overall, we just really stuck together. We played with a lot of confidence,” Head Football Coach Gerry Stanford said. “I think we just played extremely hard and physically. They bought into each other and leaned on each other when we needed it, just kept making plays.”
Texas won the toss and chose to defer to the second half, putting our Tiger defense on the field first.
The Tigers came out hot on both sides of the ball, with defense barreling in the opening minutes of the game. Senior Trystan Powell came up with a pick-six with 10:39 left in the first quarter. The Rangers blocked the point-after-kick, leaving the score at 6-0.
The Tigers continued forcing stops for the Rangers, keeping the offense on the field.
With the ball on the 26-yard line, junior quarterback David Potter completed a pass to sophomore Tradarian Ball, moving the Tigers onto the Ranger’s 40-yard line.
Potter completed a pass to junior tight end Knox Pilgreen, who converted for a touchdown with 9:35 left in the first quarter and a lead of 13-0.
The Ranger offense responded to the Tigers’ second touchdown with one of their own, with senior quarterback Collin Blackstock breaking out of the pocket and completing a pass downfield to junior Winston Pollard with 9:17 left in the first.
After completing a long pass downfield to senior receiver TJ Gray, Potter completed another pass to Ball for the Tigers’ third touchdown of the night, making the score 20-7 with 7:22 left to go in the first.
The Ranger defense locked down after the third Tiger touchdown, forcing a few consecutive punts. Near the end of the quarter, the Lone Star offense came alive, converting first downs to move them downfield.
With 1:46 left in the quarter, sophomore Davian Groce got loose to run a touchdown in for the Rangers, closing the score gap to 20-14.
Quickly, the Tigers returned with a touchdown of their own, again from Ball, with 1:31 left in the first.
On cue of the buzzer, junior Julius George dropped Blackstock for a sack in the backfield to hold the Tigers’ 27-14 lead going into the second.
To start the second quarter, Texas continued their defensive hot streak, with junior Isaiah Dowden recovering a forced fumble with 8:40 remaining in the quarter.
The Tiger offense continued producing, with junior Javari Johnson rushing for his first touchdown of the night, making the score 34-14 with 6:53 left to go before halftime.
Texas sophomore Roman Wyatt came up big after breaking up a touchdown-saving pass and forcing a field goal. The Rangers took advantage of their field goal opportunity, making the score 34-17 with 3:17 left in the second.
After being forced into a punt situation and a bad snap, the Rangers recovered a loose ball and ran it back into the Tiger red zone. Lone Star rushed for a touchdown to close the point spread to 34-24.
The Tigers forced a fumble, recovered by sophomore defensive lineman Duncan McGhee, who ran it back for a long touchdown, putting the Tigers up 41-24 with 1:20 remaining.
“The whole time I was running, I was just hoping nobody would catch me so I could score a touchdown,” McGhee said. “I literally couldn’t believe it was happening. It was like a dream.”
In the final thirty seconds of the half, Blackstock threw the ball into the back corner of the endzone for a touchdown, putting the score at halftime at 41-31 in favor of Texas.
“I think there were a lot of mistakes made. We could’ve put them away in the first half,” head coach Gerry Stanford said. “We kind of let them hang around. More than anything, I’m really just pleased with our effort tonight.”
The third quarter proved quiet for both teams, with no big plays or momentum shifts. Both defenses played a big role throughout the game, keeping the scores close to each other. At the end of three quarters, after a field goal from the Rangers, the Tigers still led 41-34.
Potter completed yet another touchdown pass with 2:03 remaining in the game, making the score 48-34.
In the closing minute of the fourth quarter, the Rangers scratched out a touchdown. However, the point after attempt was no good, making the final score 48-40.
This win puts the Tigers’ season record at 1-0. The boys will be away at Colleyville on Friday, Sept. 1, with kickoff at 7 p.m.
