The Aubrey Chaparrals football team hit the road and secured their second district win of the season, defeating the Lake Dallas Falcons 14-11.
The Chaps went into Falcon Stadium and engaged the Falcons in a defensive duel, holding their opponent to 219 yards of total offense, and made enough plays to take the win.
“It was a big win for our program,” said Keith Ivy, Aubrey athletic director and head football coach. “… We had to go to their place to do it a day early, but I felt like our kids were ready. We pressed and pushed them all week to come out swinging, to play fast and set the tempo of the game, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Lake Dallas scored the game’s first points with a 27yard field goal, taking a 3-0 lead in the first quarter.
Aubrey answered with the game’s first touchdown when quarterback Connor Murphy connected with receiver Luke Hellman for a 32-yard touchdown toss.
Chaps kicker Peyton Campbell booted the successful point after, putting Aubrey up 7-3 as the teams headed into the second quarter.
The Falcons capitalized on a Chaps miscue to collect a safety, cutting Aubrey’s lead to 7-5, which would remain the score until Aubrey quarterback Will Storey powered his way into the end zone on a quarterback sneak, extending the Chaps lead to 14-5 in the fourth quarter.
Lake Dallas added a late touchdown, making it a 3-point game, but when the clock expired, Aubrey was still on top 14-11.
Storey shared the joy he felt in scoring the game-sealing touchdown.
“Just being able to go out there and help my team win, that’s all that was going through my mind, [but] it felt good knowing all my buddies and the people in the stands were cheering for me after I got in,” he said.
Ivy also spoke highly of Storey’s effort on the play.
“Connor’s been our starter the last couple of weeks, but when we go into that package, Will comes in,” he said. “That’s our goal line, short yardage stuff, and he does a good job of operating that. … He came in, made the score, [which] was huge and that ended up being the difference in the game in the end.”
Chaps defensive end Logan Gannon led Aubrey’s defensive performance, finishing with 10 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 sacks and 1 forced fumble.
Gannon credited his performance to his teammates and coaches.
“There were a lot of play calls that worked out well for me, and my D tackle next to me, Darey [Monreal], helped me with the stunts,” he said. “We also had a well-set game plan by Coach [Dana] Bloedel that set us all up for success, so it was more than just one guy; the whole defense played well.”
With the end of the regular season right around the corner, Ivy expressed just how proud he is of the resiliency the Chaps have demonstrated with their late-season winning streak.
“We’ve had a lot of adversity to fight through this year, but as you can see in the last two weeks, these guys believe, and they continue to compete week in and week out,” he said. “Going into the 10th game, we still have ourselves a chance to get into the playoffs, so we have a big one this week, but I’m very proud of this team.”
Renee Marler/Contributing Photographer
