The Aubrey Chaparrals punctuated Week 6 with a come from behind 21-14 victory over the Springtown Porcupines on Oct. 2, earning their second win of the season.
It was a tale of two halves, where the Porcupines took a 14-0 lead in the first half only to watch the Chaparrals pull off a plot twist that turned the tables in the second half to take the win.
“These guys just never quit,” said Keith Ivy, Aubrey athletic director and head football coach. “… It doesn’t matter if we’re ahead in the game or behind, they just have a never quit mindset each and every week. Going 2-0 here in district to start puts us in the driver’s seat.”
Springtown got its ink on the page first, when quarterback Kaine Hill scampered through Aubrey’s defense for a 19-yard touchdown, putting the Porcupines up 7-0 in the first quarter after a successful extra point kick.
On the opposite sideline, Aubrey offense struggled to get anything going in the first half, while the Porcupines added another score on a 72-run by Hill to take a 14-0 lead at the half.
If Aubrey’s well was dry in the first half, it started overflowing in the third quarter when Chaps’ quarterback Connor Murphy found a crease between a wall of Porcupine defenders for a 47-yard run that ended with him in the end zone, making the score 14-7.
The Chaps tied the game, 1414, in the fourth quarter when wide receiver Parker Thurman caught a screen pass and slipped through the Porcupine defense for a 14-yard touchdown.
Aubrey punctuated its comeback effort with run-heavy final drive that ended with running back Jaxson Doramus plowing into the end zone from 2-yards out to give the Chaps a 21-14 lead near the end of the fourth quarter.
“It felt great to score, but all the credit goes to the o-line,” Doramus said. “They worked their tails off all week long and none of this is possible with them.”
While Aubrey’s offense was writing the ending the Chaps faithful hoped for their defense executed a plot twist Springtown didn’t see coming, shutting the Porcupines out in the second half and bookending the contest with an interception by defensive back Adrian Blanco to seal the 21-14 win.
“That interception was awesome,” Ivy said. “We knew they were going to be throwing it there with not much time left in the game, but see Blanco come down with the ball like that to seal it, there wasn’t a better way to end it.”
Blanco credited his preparation process for helping be in the right place at the right time to make the game-winning play.
“We did a lot of film study on them throughout the week, preparing for this game, and it was really just about reading the quarterback,” Blanco said. “I read his eyes and saw that he was looking outside, saw that the receiver was running a go [route], ran to the ball and caught it.”
With the win, the Chaps now sit at 2-0 in district play. Ivy said the team plans to continue working hard to stay near the top of their new district.
“We’re going to continue to grind and get better and not be complacent,” he said. “Our district is extremely good, so we have to continue to improve and keep our eyes on the prize and that’s the district championship.”
