The 3-6 Aubrey Chaparrals football team returns home for their final regular season game against the 7-1 Frisco Panther Creek Panthers on Friday.
The Panthers come into the contest well rested after having last week off with a bye, with their most recent wins coming against the Community Braves, 63-21, and the Lake Dallas Falcons, 31-13.
“They’re an unbelievably talented football team,” said Keith Ivy, Aubrey athletic director and head football coach. “… They have skill guys all over; their quarterback does a good job distributing the ball, in the run game and in the pass [game], so we have to be on it, and we have to play our best game of the year.”
Frisco Panther Creek’s offense rolls into Chaparral Memorial Stadium, averaging 43 points per game.
The Panthers’ offense is headlined by a talented trio in quarterback Graylyn Fry, who has thrown for 1,800 yards passing and 25 touchdowns; his top receiver, Jalen Lott, who has recorded 846 yards receiving and 16 TDs; and running back Donovan Webb, who has amassed over 900 yards of total offense and 9 TDs.
“Our tackling needs to be very good,” Ivy said. “That’s an area that we certainly need to focus on this week, making sure that we tackle well and that we rally to the ball and swarm tackle. We have to get a lot of people there because these guys are such gifted athletes and are exceptionally hard to get a hand on, much less get them down, so we have to swarm those guys and have great pursuit by our defense.”
For the Chaps, their offense found their footing in their most recent wins over Community and Lake Dallas, and Ivy said he hopes that the trend continues when they meet the Panthers’ defense, which has held their opponents to 17 or less in seven of eight games this season.
“Our confidence is growing, and it needs to continue to grow throughout the week,” he said. “We still have room for improvement, and that’s a great thing as long as we continue to get better, continue to be consistent, and do our jobs. If all 11 are executing at a high level and taking care of business, that gives us an opportunity to go in and win.”
Ivy added that he trusts his team to show up motivated in their final game of the season in front of their home crowd.
“Our kids will play hard,” he said. “It’s senior night and the last home game for the 13 seniors that we have, so we certainly want to send them out on a good note, and hopefully with the victory.”
Aubrey and Frisco Panther Creek will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Chaparral Memorial Stadium.
