The Aubrey Chaparral varsity football team opened their season with an overtime thriller against Prosper Richland, with the Raiders escaping Chaparral Memorial Stadium with the 56-49 victory.
The Raiders jumped out to a firsthalf lead, only to watch the Chaparrals turn the second half into a seesaw affair that ended with the two teams combining for over 1,100 yards of offense
and 15 touchdowns.
“We were down 29-7 at halftime, and you’re not going to win many football games doing that, but I’m super proud of our effort coming out in the second half and really felt like we out- played Richland,” said Keith Ivy, Aubrey athletic director and head football coach. “Our effort was great tonight, but we just didn’t execute quite well enough to get it done in overtime.”
Richland got on the scoreboard first when quarterback Brighton Jones found a receiver in the end zone for the game’s first touchdown, taking a 7-0 lead.
The Raiders found the end zone again before the end of the first quarter, returning a fumble for their second touchdown and building their lead to 14-0.
Receiver Will Storey and quarterback Connor Murphy put the Chaps on the scoreboard when the duo connected for an 87-yard touchdown pass, making the score 14-7.
Jones helped Richland respond with two more touchdown tosses to close out the second quarter with the Raiders up 29-7 at the half.
With their backs against the wall, the Chaps came out firing in the second half with two rushing touchdowns from running backs Corbin Frazier and Jaxson Doramus that cut Richland’s lead to 29-20.
The Raiders answered with two rushing touchdowns of their own, giving Richland a three-possession lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
Murphy found receiver Luke Hellman for a 10-yard touchdown reception, but Richland powered their way back into the end zone, maintaining their three-score lead at 49-28.
Despite the lopsided score and little time left on the clock, Aubrey battled back and closed out the quarter with a 21-0 scoring run, tying the score in the waning seconds and sending the game into overtime.
Richland got the ball first in the overtime period, scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run.
The Raiders’ defense battened down the hatches, stuffing the Chaps' offense and taking the win 56-49.
Murphy led the Chaps with 397 yards through the air and 162 yards on the ground and 4 total touchdowns, followed by Frazier, who had 121 yards on 25 carries for 2 TDs.
Storey finished as the Chaps’ top receiver, with 5 catches for 168 yards and 1 TD, followed by Hellman, who added 6 catches for 87 yards and 1 TD.
Ivy spoke highly of his offense’s performance.
“Connor ran and threw the ball well, and Will had a great game outside, and our offensive line protected really well,” he said. “They gave Connor a lot of time in the pocket to throw and opened some good running lanes for Corbin and Jaxson.”
Despite the loss, Ivy said the playing quality competition early should help prepare the Chaps for the latter portion of their season.
“That’s why we scheduled good teams like this during nondistrict to get us ready for our tough district,” he said. “A lot of what went wrong for us was self-inflicted, but they’re all things that we can correct through film study, practice and hard work.”
