The Aubrey Chaparrals varsity football team hosted the Van Alstyne Panthers at home in Week 2, and both teams lit up the scoreboard at Chaparral Stadium, combining for over 700 yards of offense, with the Panthers escaping with the 4136 win.
The Panthers hit the ground running and took a lead in the first half, but the Chaparrals made a furious second-half comeback but fell short for the second week in a row.
“We played exceptionally hard, but the second week in a row, we got off to a slow start,” said Keith Ivy, Aubrey athletic director and head football coach. “That’s a big emphasis for us going into this week, trying to start fast so that we’re not facing a deficit at halftime and having to make a comeback, but we’re doing good things in all three phases of the game. We just need to be more consistent.”
Chaps running back Corbin Frazier put Aubrey on the scoreboard first with a 28-yard touchdown run, giving the Chaps a 7-0 early in the first quarter.
The Panthers responded with a 63-yard touchdown run of their own, cutting Aubrey’s lead to 1 point after a failed 2-point conversion attempt.
Aubrey kicker Peyton Campbell closed out the first quarter with a 41-yard field goal, giving the Chaps a 10-6 lead as the game entered the second quarter.
The quarter was all Van Alstyne, with the Panthers scoring 21 points unanswered, building a 27-10 lead at the half.
If the second quarter belonged to Van Alstyne, the third was owned by Aubrey, with the Chaps going on a 21-0 of their own powered by running back Marcus Julu, who found the end zone from 18 yards, 3 yards and 1 yard out.
Julu’s gridiron trifecta put the Chaps back on top 33-27, but the Panther clawed their back into the end zone, retaking the lead by 1 point as the game entered the fourth quarter.
Campbell kicked a 34-yard field goal to put Aubrey back on top, 36-34, but Van Alstyne made the final end zone trip with an 11-yard pass to take the win 41-34.
Quarterback Connor Murphy led the Chaps with 151 rushing yards on 23 carries, followed by Frazier, who had 127 rushing yards and 1 TD, and Julu, who had 71 rushing yards and 3 TDs.
“They took away some of our passing options, so we took what the defense gave us, and those three guys ran exceptionally hard,” Ivy said. “A lot of the credit goes to our offensive line too. What passing we did; they protected well, and in the run game they opened up a lot of running holes for our backs.”
Ivy added that he hopes his team can take lessons away from the loss.
“That was one of the best teams Van Alstyne has had in the 13 seasons I've been here, and I think we make each other better,” Ivy said. “… Playing good opponents like that tests us and pushes us, and ultimately is going to make us better, and we have another good one coming up Friday.”
