The reigning 4A Division I State Champion Celina Bobcats arrived in Aubrey to face off with the Chaparrals and handled business, defeating the Chaps 48-10 on Oct. 3.
The Bobcats dominated both sides of the ball, piling up over 400 yards of total offense and seven touchdowns, while holding the Chaps under 200 yards of total offense.
“Celina is extremely well coached, and they have outstanding athletes all the way across the board,” said Keith Ivy, Aubrey athletic director and head football coach. “We struggled to move the ball, especially in the first half, getting first downs, sustaining blocks and opening up lanes for our running backs … and then, defen- sively, we didn’t tackle very well, so all in all, we didn’t play well enough to stay with them.”
Celina controlled the game from the opening kickoff, scoring 41 unanswered points in the first half.
The first was a 38-yard touchdown pass by quarterback Bowe Bentley, putting the Bobcats up 6-0 after a failed two-point conversion.
The Bobcats added a second score with a long touchdown run, and Bentley collected three more touchdown passes to send the two teams into the halftime locker room with Celina holding a commanding 41-0 lead.
Celina rested most of its starters in the second half but picked up its final touchdown in the early part of the third quarter, taking a 48-0 lead.
Despite the lopsided margin, the Chaps continued to fight, with running back Johnnie Johnson plowing into the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown run later in the third quarter, making the score 48-7 after a successful extra point kick.
Aubrey’s kicker Peyton Campbell booted a 34-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, making the final score 48-10.
Ivy said he hopes the loss serves as a wake-up call for the young Aubrey squad.
“We have to know when you’re playing that caliber of team, you have to start fast, and you certainly at least have to match their intensity,” he said. “You also have to make more plays than you lose, and that’s where we struggled tonight in all three phases.”
He added that the Chaps had a similar start in district play last season, getting off to an 0-2 start before finding their footing, and said moving on to the next game as quickly as possible may help the young roster.
“We were in this boat last year,” Ivy said. “We lost to Sulphur Springs and Celina then, but now we’re on to Paris. We have to travel to their place, and the next three games are very important to us, and they’re teams I feel like we can certainly play with, but we just have to focus on Paris right now and try to go get our first district win next week.”
