AUBREY CHAPARRALS
With their fourth district win secured, the 4-3 Aubrey Chaparrals head out on the hunt for their fifth against the 5-2 Lake Dallas Falcons on Friday.
The Falcons come into the contest with a two-game winning streak after back-to-back wins over Ranchview, 69-27, in Week 7 and Alvarado, 51-28, in Week 8.
“They have a new coach this year, Coach [Jeremy] Males, and he’s done really good job with this football team,” said Keith Ivy, Aubrey athletic director and head football coach. “… They’re doing a lot of new stuff this year, but they’re playing at a high level on both sides of the ball, and they have some really good players. We’re certainly going to have to play at championship caliber to beat them.”
The Falcons have averaged 52 points per game over the last three weeks, powered by their passing attack spearheaded by quarterback Bode McDaniel, who has thrown for over 1,400 yards and 18 touchdowns through seven games.
McDaniel is supported by receiver Ben Cornist, who has tallied 29 catches for 502 yards and 8 touchdowns, and the Falcons’ top weapon receiver Luke Males and Ryan Young, who have combined for over 1,000 yards and 14 touchdowns.
“Their quarterback does a good job of dealing the football around and getting it to their playmakers,” Ivy said. “… Their two best players on both sides of the ball are the new head coach’s son, [Luke], and a son of one of the old coaches, Ryan Young. They like to use them in a lot of different capacities, like running back or wildcat quarterback.”
Ivy added that the Falcons like to give the defenses different looks and said staying keyed on their assignments will be important for the Chaps’ defense.
“They get in a ton of formations and use a lot of motion, so a big area will be for us to keep our eyes disciplined and communicate well,” he said. “… They also like to run trick plays and trick formations, and we have to recognize those. They do all that stuff to get your eyes looking in the wrong place and get you misaligned, so the biggest thing for us will be just getting lined up in the right place.”
With their unblemished district record on the line, Ivy emphasized that the Chaps are prepared to lay it on the line to stay in the driver’s seat at the top of the district standings.
“This game is massive for the district and our program,” he said. “If you were to slip up in this game, we could have a three-way tie for first between us, Decatur and Lake Dallas. I told the kids this morning, ‘We won’t get into the playoff scenarios because it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we have to work a little harder than we have all year and be prepared to go to battle to get this win and win this district outright.’” The Chaparrals and Falcons will kick their contest off at 7p.m. Friday at Falcon Stadium.
